CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW
2,1 Introduction
The most appropriate definition of environmental pollution would be the
introduction of different harmful substances (pollutants) into certain environment that
make this environment unhealthy to live in. The most common pollutants are usually
chemicals, garbage and waste water. Environmental pollution is happening in many parts
of the world, especially in form of air and water pollution.

Globally speaking environmental pollution problem is much bigger than we think

it is, even in many our cities there are problems with dirty air, or sound pollution from
traffic and different other disturbing noises. The most severe environmental pollution is
happening in developing countries of the third world because not only do they lack any
form of sustainable management but they also lack even the basic sanitation so you can
imagine how bad is the environmental condition in these countries ( Haluzan,2019).

The United Nations has identified environmental degradation as one of six

clustered threats with which the world must be concerned now and in the decades ahead.
Environmental degradation is the deterioration in environmental quality from ambient
concentrations of pollutants and other activities and processes such as improper land use
and natural disasters. It is the erosion of the quality of the natural environment caused,
directly or indirectly, by human activities. The United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction defines environmental degradation as the reduction of the capacity of
the environment to meet social and ecological objectives and needs (Fagbohun,2012).

The Food and Agricultural Organization (2020) succinctly captures the definition
of food security concept by stating that food security is a situation that exist when all
people at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and
nutritious food that meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and
healthy life. In essence the underlying theme of the food security concept underscores the
accessibility of the community’s or individual’s dietary needs at all times, which
behooves as a moral obligation on all human beings to ensure that this topmost priority
amongst the basic requisites of man is met for his survival. Therefore this paper is aimed
at defining what is environmental pollution and degradation, types and its effect on food
security in Nigeria.

2.2 Pollutants

Pollution can be classified into anthropogenic (man made) and natural. They are
classified into physical, chemical, microbial, thermal or radiation pollution. They can be
divided into bio-degradable and bio-non degradable. The phase of the pollutant can be
solid, liquid or gas. Example of pollutants are heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium,
arsenic, aluminium and nickel. Others include copper,tin,iron,zinc, barium,indium,
antimony, bismuth,tellurium and thallium. There are the volatile organic compounds
( VOCs) like isoprene (C5H8), terpenes (C10H15). Example of pesticides are
insecticides, herbicides, fungicides .There are the carbon oxides,nitrogen oxides and
sulphur oxides .The halogens (Flourine, Chlorine, Bromine and Iodine ) .Another source
of pollution are garbage found in many dump sites, litters like used polythene bag etc .
Their source ,mode of action and transportation differ but they all have serious harmful
effect to the environment and those living within it.

Atmosphere is an inseparable part of our planet. Life simply cannot exist without
air - whether we talk about humans, animals or plants. We absolutely depend upon the
atmosphere to protect all life on Earth. The atmosphere performs the following very
important environmental functions:

It provides us with clean air and oxygen, it protects the earth from ultra-violet solar
radiation, it regulates the global temperature and it keeps the climate stable for the whole
planet. From this perspective, if any of these atmospheric functions are impaired, we all
suffer alongside the wider environment.
Air Pollution

Air pollution is an obvious example of atmospheric degradation.

Possibly the biggest problem with air pollution is its trans-boundary nature: it travels
freely around the planet knowing no borders and spreading toxins around many different
regions of the world.

The most immediate concern about air pollution is, of course, the damage it can
potentially cause to human health.

Most gaseous air pollutants are tiny in size, and are easily lodged within a person's lungs.
From there they can transport themselves straight into one's blood supply and cause
havoc within one's whole body.

Particulate air pollutants are larger in size and cannot enter the blood supply as freely as
gaseous pollutants. Despite that, particulates too can cause all sorts of discomfort to
humans and animals alike.

Ozone Layer Depletion

The ozone layer in the atmosphere protects our planet from ultra-violet radiation from the
sun. If the ozone layer is damaged, excessive amounts of ultra-violet rays can reach the
surface of the Earth. Such excessive UV radiation is thought to cause health-related
problems for humans and animals including numerous skin conditions and issues with
eyesight.

In the middle of the 1980s, scientists warned of the formation of a big "ozone hole" in the
atmosphere above the Antarctic continent. The hole is believed to have been caused by
air pollutants called CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons).

Since that time, international legislation against CFCs pollution was put in place and, in a
rare case of successful co-operation between many countries, this issue has largely been
resolved.
2.3 Food Security And Environment Degradation In Nigeria

With over 160 million people, Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and
represents about 47% of the population of the whole of West Africa. It is extremely
known that Nigeria is highly abundant with load of natural resources from its agricultural
land, resources to its mineral resources and yet Nigeria is one of the largest importers of
food. Agriculture was formerly one of the major occupations in Nigeria, employing
almost two-thirds of the active work force and contributing 40% of the national gross
domestic product (GDP). In the 40’s and 50’s food insecurity wasn’t a problem which
Nigeria struggled with, the country as a whole was able to produce a large quantity of
food for personal consumption and also for the purpose of exportation. Different regions
in Nigeria specialised in different kinds of crop production which included cash crops or
food crops and there was unity in diversity. Every part of the country was into the
production of different varieties of crops which made the country to be self-reliant and
food secure. However, the industrial revolution following the discovery of oil in the 90’s
changed the tides. Among this were the decline of the country’s agricultural produce and
the neglect of the sector – formerly the economy’s primary source of revenue and foreign
exchange earnings. The impact of the decline of agricultural produce was steady and
gradual with rising cost of food items and scarcity of certain commodities. For example
the cost of rice increased significantly by 100% over the years going back to 2016.
Present statistics show that 2.5 million tons of rice is expected to sustain the country
annually, implying over 2 million tons deficit of rice, thus there’s a rising need to meet up
with the annual demand Today despite the vast potential of the agricultural sector, the
country is a net food importer of food commodities with the vast majority of people
engaged in agriculture operating at the subsistence level and many others malnourished
because they unable to afford basic food due to the extremely high prices of the imported
food products. The rural areas of the country have become vulnerable to malnutrition,
erratic supply of food items, high and unaffordable food products, low quality foods and
most of time complete lack of food. This situation is more prevalent in many parts of the
northern region of Nigeria which is caused by crisis and political insurgences. (Adeniyi
2017).

According to World Bank statistics over twelve million people are undernourished,
hungry and living without adequate daily calories as they suffer from hunger and live
without secure access to food. The people most affected by this problem are those living
in poverty. The number of undernourished people in Nigeria as at 2008 has been on a
continuous increase from 5.9% to 7% as at 2015. About 7% of Nigeria’s population still
remains undernourished. Thus, around one in fourteen people in Nigeria are likely to be
suffering from chronic hunger, not having enough and sufficient food for an active and
healthy life. Nigeria has been experiencing a rapid increase of undernourishment since
2008. The worsening food insecurity trend is associated with environmental degradation,
persistent increase in food prices, political instability, inadequate natural resources due to
rapid population growth, loss of soil fertility. According to Kendall and Pimentel (1994),
only a third of the earth’s soil is suitable for agriculture. It is expected that 30% of arable
soil would experience erosion by 2050 due to unsustainable agricultural practices.
Although the area of arable land is expected to increase by 500 million hectares by 2050,
the agricultural productivity of this land will be below current levels.

2.4 Environmental Degradation of Water

The loss of water quality and quantity is another huge sign of environmental
degradation. It is hard to over-estimate the importance of water for life on Earth. Water
covers 70% of the planet's surface, it makes up 60% of the human body and is also
present in the air in the form of vapor and clouds. So clean water is absolutely crucial for
human health as well as the health of our physical environment. (Ogundele 2019).

Water Pollution

Industrialized methods of production of physical goods and agricultural crops usually

require large quantities of water. Factories and especially modern agricultural practices
depend heavily on water for their mechanized processes. So water is drawn from
surrounding areas; once the production process is completed, the waste water is dumped
back into natural water reservoirs - rivers, lakes and so on, which are often expected to
re-absorb this polluted water, purify it to a certain degree and send it back into
"environmental circulation".

Urbanization doesn't help the situation either. Large cities require huge sewage systems.
Millions of people concentrated in relatively small areas generate far too much water
waste - and the neighboring environment usually doesn't have enough capacity to
neutralize such waste quickly before it starts contaminating it. (Fagbohun,O2019)

Potable Water Contamination and Depletion

Apart from industrially-induced water pollution, the next thing that comes to mind is
pollution of potable water that 7 billion of us human beings rely upon every single day.

There are at least two major issues we currently face with potable water:

• Many natural reservoirs of potable water, ex. aquifers, are either threatened with
contamination from surrounding areas (including from contaminated land), or getting
depleted due to being generally over-exploited; and

• Most of the water present on Earth is saline, and requires de-salination to make it
potable.

Any type of processing before safe water is delivered to consumers is often subject to
further risks of contamination which are not always easy to avoid.

On top of that, large and complicated systems of pipelines that deliver tap water to
millions of people are also susceptible to different types of contamination at many points
of such water-supply networks. And, since everything in nature is ultimately connected to
each other, we should never forget that industrially polluted water can also enter drinking
water supply systems.
Ocean Acidification and Acid Rain

Ocean acidification is probably one of the most invisible examples of environmental

degradation.

As a result of air pollution during the last 200 years or so, oceans had to absorb large
amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which inevitably led to their
"acidification". Ocean acidification damages many oceanic organisms which specifically
need calcium to form their shells. Also, since we know very little about oceans in general,
we still don't know about many other potentially destructive effects that acidification can
bring to organisms living under ocean water.

Just like ocean acidification, acid rain too originates from air pollution. Some air
pollutants for example sulfur dioxide (So2) interact with water molecules in the air and
form "acid rain".

Environmental Degradation of Land

Degradation of land is almost a natural "continuation" of air & water pollution.

Deposition of air pollutants onto the soil and seeping of water pollutants through to
adjacent land areas lead to land contamination and its quality deterioration. But in
addition to that, many other direct actions by humans make this situation even worse.
(Gray, 2019)

Deforestation

We have written a lot about tropical rainforests and their value for global ecology. Not
only do rainforests regulate regional & global climates, they are also incredibly large
storages of biodiversity which sustains life as we know it. Deforestation therefore may
lead to:

• serious destabilization of the climatic system of the world;

• loss of animal and plant diversity, including many foods that are unique to
rainforests;

• habitat loss for local tribes;

• irreparable damage to many other localized environmental services.

As industrialization and material consumption took an enormous leap forward, so did

regrettably deforestation. Our assumption is that forests are lost at a rate similar to that of
the growth in global consumption in general.

Desertification

I believe desertification is one of the most extreme and saddest examples of

environmental degradation land.

Desertification is a process during which productive lands with a healthy vegetation

cover turn into "empty dead sand spaces" unable to sustain plants, animals or any other
life around them.

There are many deserts in the world which had been formed naturally over many
thousands of years, with their own unique living systems.

But desertification that we are discussing here is often a result of human activities, and
may be caused by deforestation, global warming & droughts, over-exploitation of natural
water reservoirs, and so on.

In the savannah belt; it leads to the problems of desertification advancing south wards at
an average rate of 8km per annum. Nigeria is currently loosing about 351,000 hactares of
land to desert as is estimated. Economically, desertification account for 73 percent out of
the estimated total cost of about $5.1106m the country is loosing to environmental
degradation annually.
He further, noted that with Nigerian population projected to rise to over 250 million by
the year 2020, the fuel wood demand (a principal cause of deforestation in the north) is
expected to reach 188.87million cubic metres the whole of Nigeria’s forest reserve would
have disappeared and with the loss of agricultural soils, biodiversity, genetic materials,
industrial raw materials, habitat for billion of creatures and subsistence for 70 percent of
100 or 144.5m Nigeria’s (Abdul, 2001).Deforestation is often cited as a major contributor
to desertification in this part of the country.

The disproportionate disappearance of these free gifts of nature will definitely be

replaced by human misery in form of “food and social insecurity” because nature abhors
a vacuum (Abdul, 2001).

2.5 Soil Erosion and Chemicalization

Soil erosion is a reduction in the quality of topsoil, specifically from the view-
point of agricultural production.

Soil may quickly become infertile due to being over-exploited and over-treated
with harsh chemicals which are often used to increase crop yields.

On top of that, deforestation may also play a big part in soil erosion.

This is especially true for soils supporting vegetation in rainforests.

It is a well-known fact that rainforest soils are very poor nutrient-wise. All of the
"biological & nutrient goodness" of the rainforests is actually contained in the vegetation
above the soil - rather than deep down in the soil itself. So once the trees are lost, soil is
almost impossible to regenerate - nothing ends up growing there for many years to come.
(Paul, and Wahlberg, 2018):

2.6 Other Types of Environmental Degradation

Since environmental degradation covers a very wide area of global ecology, there
are of course many other important issues that deserve our attention.
Global warming, biodiversity loss, animal extinctionand a lot more demonstrate yet
again just how degraded our environment has grown to be over the last several decades.

I am concerned that the totality of all these issues may lead to a tipping point in the
history of our planet from where there may be no point of return.

Let's try to do everything we can to reverse this process before it's too late and leave this
world a better place for those who will come here after us.

2.7 Causes of Environmental Degradation

Over-Production, Over-Consumption and Over-Population

Well, all of them also contribute to many aspects of environmental degradation in general
that I have described above.

It's pretty much the same old problem: the more we produce, the more we consume and
the more of us living on this planet - the more damage we cause to the surrounding
environment, as simple as that.

Also, it's not only the fact that we produce and consume way too much of things we
really don't need.

The real problem is that too many of these used products are discarded as waste, and the
environment is simplyunableto neutralize them quickly enough before they start
damaging it.

And the growth of population numbers globally doesn't help the situation either, of
course.

Effects of Environmental Degradation

The main effect or should I say "consequence", of our complete disregard for the nature
stems from the inability of air, water and land - the three most important, life-giving
planetary dimensions - to deliver undisturbedenvironmental services required by all
living organisms.

We need clean air to breathe; we need clean water to hydrate our bodies; we need pure
land to grow healthy food. If we don't have all of this, we will eventually die.

Polluted air, water and land bring about disease and endless misery to humans, animals
and plants.

It has also led to over-production of cheap goods with very short lifespans which are
liberally discarded into the environment after use, and then new cheap goods are
purchased and discarded again, and this cycle goes on and on - affecting the planet's
capacity to restore its environmental services in good time. We have to change this
paradigm of our interaction with the environment. The nature doesn't owe us anything. It
is not there for us to "control" and "manage" it either. We were born to live in harmony
with it - indeed, we are a big part of it. And we certainly don't have the right to exploit
and destroy it without thinking about the future generations of humans and animals who
will be here after

2.68 Effect of Environmental Pollution on Agriculture

Pollution of the environment is causing great damage to ecosystem that depend

upon the health of this environment. Air and water pollution can cause death of many
organisms in given ecosystem, including humans. Water pollution according to some
estimates cause 14.000 deaths each day in the world, most of them in India. This is really
no surprise when you look at the data that says that 700 million Indians do not even have
access to a proper toilet, let alone clean water(Haluzan,2019).
Many developed countries have introduced certain laws to not only regulate various types
of pollution but also the laws to mitigate the adverse effects of pollution. Pollution levels
need to be controlled all the time if we want to keep our environment safe and healthy.
Without proper pollution control environment soon becomes unhealthy (Haluzan,2017).

Healthy environment is prerequisite of healthy life for us and our children, and fighting
pollution is definitely the best way to keep our environmental healthy ( Haluzan,2019).

In Nigeria for instance, environmental issues did not gain official prominence until the
1988 Koko toxic waste dumping saga which also brought to the fore the exigent need to
establish the Nigeria Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), Federal Ministry
of Environment and other relevant agencies, ostensibly to tackle environmentally related
issues in the country. These include issues such as environmental pollution, sanitation,
depletion of ozone layer, desertification, flooding, erosion, poverty, bush burning,
deforestation, soil conservation etc. All these mentioned above are a pointer to the fact
that issues of environment and infact environmental pollution which forms the basis of
this paper has taken a centre stage in the Nigeria,s development process (Ityavyar and
Thomas). Environmentally minded scholars: Ocheri (2003), Gbehe (2017), and Aja
(2018) have associated environmental pollution with human activities and albeit
persistent human interaction with the environment. Research has also shown that as the
population of a country grows/increases with attendant pressure on the environment
especially in the wake of improved technologies, environmental abuse and pollution is
nevertheless heightened with corresponding effects on lives of people and other living
organisms, (Ocheri, 2021), (Hausers, 2018). It has been observed further that man
through industrial, agricultural and the ever increasing urbanization process, security and
terrorist activities tend to directly and/or indirectly pollute the environment. Jande (2005)
and Aja (2005) in their separate observations, also in tandem with the foregoing agree
that unrestricted use of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides and indiscriminate dumping of
refuse, excreta and animal dung as well as spillages from refineries, large scale
bushburning etc are perceived as some of the leading factors of environmental pollution
in Nigeria.

Environmental degradation is of two broad types: when natural habitats are

destroyed or rendered unusable through pollution or contamination; or natural resources
are misused, over-used, made scarce and eventually depleted. Either of the two situations
can result in deprivation of the populace of such critical essentials like food, water,
quality air and basic survival resources. Where the situation degenerates into one of
desperation by the people for any source of relief, it may result in civil strife, instability
and anarchy, and thus a threat to the security of the region and anyone who may interact
with the region. Issues such as climate change, deforestation and loss of biodiversity have
been found as capable of threatening a nation’s food security. This is the link between
environment and food security (Fagbohun,2018).

Environmental degradation exposes the land to different hazards leading to a fall

in production and productivity, income generating capacity of the of the people and the
nation, impaired ability of the economy to generate employment ,inadequate industrial
materials and lowered ability to invest.

Climate Change

Climate change is already harming agriculture. The negative effects include droughts,
desertification, more frequent and serious storms, intense rainfalls and floods. Unusual
rains have drowned crops and carried away topsoil. Increasing temperatures have
enlarged the range of pests and crop diseases (Paul and Wahlberg 2008). Agriculture and
climate change are tied together in a “feedback loop.” While climate change negatively
affects agriculture, agriculture in turn negatively affects climate. Agriculture, as practiced
in the modern sector, is heavily dependent on fossil fuels to build and operate agricultural
machinery, to power irrigation systems, to create fertilizers and pesticides, to dry and
store crops, to process foods, and to transport foods to the marketplace. Agriculture also
contributes to the release of methane and nitrous oxide, mostly through rice farming and
livestock production. These gasses have a much more potent greenhouse effect than
carbon dioxide. Some experts estimate that the agricultural system contributes a third of
all climate changing gas releases – progressively reducing long-term food productivity in
the process (Paul and Wahlberg 2018).

2.9 Soil Depletion and Water Shortage

Modern ploughing, overgrazing, fertilizer and pesticide use result in the steady depletion
of worldwide topsoils. Water and winds carry away the bare soil, when it is not fixed by
plant cover. An estimated 25 billion tons of topsoil are lost to erosion each year. Flooding
and heavy rainfalls, due to climate change, worsen the process. The UN estimates that

erosion has now seriously degraded about 40% of the world’s agricultural land(Paul and
Wahlberg 2008). Food production requires a lot of fresh water. World-wide about 70% of
fresh water use is for agriculture. But water resources are getting scarcer in all world
regions, as demand soars for drinking water, industry, recreation, and other uses, as well
as more intensive farming methods. Heavy pumping of underground water has drained
aquifers and lowered water tables. Large dams for irrigation and flood control have been
built on many of the world’s rivers, so there are now far fewer opportunities to use this
approach. In fact, dam-based irrigation has caused salt leaching on farmlands, which
lowersproductivity dramatically or even ends fertility altogether (Paul and Wahlberg
2018).

Climate change contributes to water shortages too, by reducing the dependability of rain-
fed agriculture and by lessening the moisture in many regions. Serious droughts are
showing up in key watersheds with serious agricultural consequences (Paul and
Wahlberg 2018).
It is noteworthy in this regard that the United Nations has estimated that by 2025, two-
third of arable land in Africa would have been lost to desertification unless urgent and
concerted remedial efforts are taken (Fagbohun,2016).

In Nigeria, following incessant rains between June and August, 2010, hundreds of
thousands of people have been displaced while properties running into billions of naira
were destroyed. The worst affected are communities in Sokoto,Kebbi and Jigawa States
in the northern part of Nigeria where the Goronyo dam in Sokoto State overflowed its
banks, and in Lagos and Ogun States in the western part of Nigeria as a result of release
of water from the Oyan dam by the Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development ( Fagbohun,
2012).

2.10 Way Forward

Preventing introduction of pollutants into some environment is the best way to protect
environment from pollution. To do so it is important to develop ecological conscience of
nearby communities, and effective waste management in form of recycling
(Haluzan,2019).Developing transportation alternatives that are not based on carbon-type
fuels

Climate Change

There must be urgent action to stop climate change if the food system is not to collapse in
coming decades. Agriculture, with its large contribution to greenhouse gas emissions,
will have to be re-organized substantially as part of this process.

Soil Depletion/Water Shortage

There must be radical new agricultural practices that will conserve the soil and conserve
water resources. Short-term approaches to profit maximization at the expense of the
environment must be strictly outlawed.

Fuel/Energy
Oil appears to have reached its peak production, so supplies will decline in the future.
Immediate steps must be taken to develop a much less energy-intensive agricultural
system. New energy sources for agriculture will also be required, such as fuel-cell
equipment, solar and wind-based electricity.