UNIPORT Environmental Summit Calls for Action-Oriented Education to Address Nigeria’s Ecological Crisis

The Department of Adult and Non-Formal Education, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt, in collaboration with the Centre for Social Studies and Development (We the People), has called for a shift from environmental awareness to practical action as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s growing ecological challenges.

The call was made at the Environmental Education Summit, at the Faculty of Education Auditorium, University of Port Harcourt, under the theme, “From Literacy to Action: Developing a Blueprint to Strengthen Environmental Education for Achieving Environmental Sustainability in Nigeria.”

The summit brought together academics, environmental experts, policymakers, development practitioners, civil society organisations, students, youth leaders and indigenous knowledge holders to examine how environmental education can contribute to sustainable development.

Participants identified pollution, biodiversity loss, climate change, deforestation, flooding, coastal degradation and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources as major environmental challenges facing Nigeria.

They also noted that environmental education remains inadequate across formal, non-formal and informal learning systems, resulting in a significant gap between environmental knowledge and practical action.

Speaking at the summit, environmentalist Rev. Dr. Nnimmo Bassey stressed the need for environmental literacy to empower citizens to distinguish genuine environmental solutions from approaches that commercialise environmental crises.

He also called for stronger community-based learning, preservation of indigenous ecological knowledge and practical responses to decades of environmental degradation, particularly in the Niger Delta.

Professor Babatunde Bolaji Benard described environmental education as a crucial bridge between awareness and responsible action, advocating the integration of traditional conservation practices, circular resource use and responsible biodiversity management.

Professor Moses Inyang-Abia, meanwhile, presented a strategic roadmap for strengthening environmental education through evidence-based approaches, including atmospheric, biological, ecological, forest, hydro and lithospheric pedagogies. He also proposed a national curriculum framework linking environmental education directly to sustainable development outcomes.

The summit observed that indigenous knowledge systems contain valuable environmental management practices that should be documented, preserved and integrated into contemporary education.

Participants further stressed that environmental sustainability requires collaboration among government, academia, communities, civil society, the private sector, women, youths and development partners.

At the end of the summit, participants resolved to promote environmental education as a national development priority and develop a practical blueprint linking environmental learning to measurable environmental action.

They also called for stronger partnerships between educational institutions, government agencies, communities and civil society organisations, while urging universities and research institutions to translate research findings into policies and practical community interventions.

The summit recommended increased investment in youth leadership and women's participation in environmental governance, as well as greater emphasis on sustainable resource management, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration.

It also called on governments to adequately fund environmental education, educational institutions to mainstream sustainability across curricula and communities and traditional institutions to preserve indigenous ecological knowledge.

Participants concluded that Nigeria's environmental challenges require more than policy declarations and academic discussions, stressing that environmental education must produce citizens capable of changing behaviours, influencing policies and protecting ecosystems.

The summit therefore committed to advancing the blueprint developed through the dialogue into concrete actions aimed at strengthening environmental education and promoting sustainable environmental governance across Nigeria.