Challenges of degradation in the tropical environment: causes, footprints and remedies

Abstract

One of the challenges that pose threats to human survival in these contemporary times is environmental degradation. The over-exploitation of natural resources is currently at an alarming rate in developing nations with an unabated population increase like Nigeria and may continue to spell hardship and discomfort if efforts are not made by all stakeholders to checkmate the trend.The rate at which the human population is increasing also needs to be checked in order to ensure sustainable availability of environmental resources for both present and unborn generations. The control is necessitated to ensure that the natural resources such as soils, water, forest, mineral resources amongst others are sustainably utilized for human survival. This review therefore examines the subject matter of degradation in the tropical environment, its remote causes, consequences in order to proffer measures for checkmating the trend. The planet Earth remains the only one in the universe that accommodates life in abundance, and so, all stakeholders in environmental management and other related professions need to put in necessary efforts through which the degradation of the Earth resources may be curtailed.