The Nigerian economy has been described as a mono-economy as it relies mainly on the proceeds from crude oil production as the source of revenue to fund government policies and programmes. Exploration and production of crude oil in the country have continued over the years leading to increased activities and growth of the oil industry. The production of oil and gas in the country has had enormous impact on the environment sometimes leading to oil pollution which has adversely affected human lives, plants and animals, social and economic lives of the people living in the affected areas. Findings have shown that though there are laws that protect the environment but these laws do not provide for compensation to victims of oil pollution in the country. Therefore, the victims are left to seek redress in the court of law for remedy, which in most cases, the victims are confronted with a lot of challenges. These challenges make it difficult for the victims to get compensation for loss or damage suffered by them and sometimes, the court awards compensation that is not commensurate with the extent of loss or damage incurred by the victims. Therefore, an alternative measure to ensure that the victims of oil pollution are able to obtain relief becomes a compelling necessity as it is obtainable in other jurisdictions. This work concludes that unless Nigeria adopts the best practice in compensating victims of oil pollution in the oil producing communities, the victims of oil pollution will continue to suffer without adequate compensation or no compensation for the destruction of their means of livelihood. This work, therefore, recommends, the establishment of environmental fund to compensate victims of oil pollutions in Nigeria.
Citation: Udok U and Umeojiako M.C., Ikott A.J (2022) Comparative and Global Perspectives on Environmental Fund: A Blueprint for the Establishment of Environmental Fund in Nigeria, Global Journal of Politics and Law Research, Vol.10, No.8, pp.90-115
Keywords: environmental fund and blueprint, global perspectives
