Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3240 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3259 (Online) Vol.54, 2016 40 The Legal Framework for the Protection of Wetlands in Nigeria Maureen Ngozi Agbasi Lecturer, College of Law, Afe-Babalola University Ado-Ekiti Ekiti State Nigeria Ngozi Oluchukwu Odiaka. College of Law, Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria Abstract Traditionally, wetlands have been viewed as places to be avoided and dreaded or as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, diseases and sources of air pollution. But times have changed. Various roles have now been attributed to wetlands which have succeeded in elevating those to popular venues not only of recreation, but also being economic power houses. Wetlands are described as “areas of marsh, fen, wetland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres. The purpose of this paper is to examine the existing legal framework for the protection of wetlands in Nigeria with a view to identifying gaps and deficiencies in the laws. The paper notes that the existing legislations are inadequate. Recommendations will also be made for possible rules that can be accommodated in future to ensure a vibrant legal framework for ensuring a healthy and sustainable use of wetlands in Nigeria. 1.0.0. INTRODUCTION Wetlands have been described as water body in the terrestrial and semi terrestrial ecosystem characterised with low drainage, soil and plant habitat. 1 Wetlands perform important ecological functions including water retention and purification, flood and erosion control. The importance of wetlands also lies in acknowledging the amount of wildlife that would be rendered homeless by their removal. 2 Some of the world’s largest wetlands include the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the Pantanal in Brazil, as well as the Ga-Mampa wetlands in South Africa. 3 In Nigeria they can be found in the Niger Delta and North East areas. Wetlands are very beneficial as they ‘…perform a wide range of functions that are essential for supporting plant and animal life and for maintaining the quality of the environment. These functions include: flood control; shoreline stabilization; sediment, nutrient and toxicant retention; and food chain support.’ 4 Studies have shown that in pointing out this interrelatedness of the ecosystem, all life on earth is part of a dynamic interdependent ecological system. 5 The ever increasing demand for agricultural and other natural resources to meet the needs of an ever growing population has continued to impact on wetlands. The Ramsar convention was a crystallization of the arising awareness about the environment. At the international level, it became fashionable to talk about ‘sustainable use’ and ‘sustainable development’ 6 Parties are to align their activities in such a way that the environment is not unduly degraded. 7 At the MAR Convention 8 the idea was mooted that it was necessary for governments to know what they had to conserve through classification and designation of wetlands of international importance. 9 1 J.P Raffety., “Lakes and Wetlands” in Olalekan E.I and Abimbola L.M et.al. (ed) Wetland Resources of Nigeria: Case Study of the Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands Rosane Publishing Group (2011) 2 Missouri Botanical Garden 2002, www.mgbnet.net/on accessed on 27th September 2016 3 International Water Management Institute(IWMI) ; Contributors: Matthew McCartney et.al. ‘Wetlands and People’ www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Books/PDF/wetlands-and-people.pdf pp1-36 4 Edward Matby., ‘Wetlands and their Values’ in Max Finlayson and Michael Moser (eds.) Wetlands (Oxford/ New York: Facts on File), 8 in 7 Michael Bowman, “The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: Has it made a Difference? Yearbook of International Co-operation on Environment and Development 2002/03”p.61 5 Gretchen Daily, ed., Natures Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems (Washington, Island Press, 1996) in Hunter, D., et al International Environmental Law and Policy 2 nd Edn, (New York Foundation Press: New York: 2002) p.6 6 The move for conservation was started by the International Union of the Conservation of Wetland Resources (IUCN) in the 60’s. They were concerned with the conservation of wetlands, in <www.iucn.org> accessed from <www.ramer.org> on 06 June 2015, pp. 27-29 7 International Union of the Conservation of Wetland Resources (IUCN) p.29, supra 8 The Mar Conference was organised by Hoffmann in 1962. Representation IX was mainly concerned with the compilation of a list of wetlands of international importance. It was designated project MAR; the first three letters represent the word for wetlands in several languages; marshes, marismas, marecages It also recommended that the list was further to serve as foundation for international convention on wetlands. Thus this was when the idea for the Ramser Convention was conceived. See Matthews, G.V.T ‘The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: its history and Development’ (1993) www.ramer.org accessed on 06 June 2015, pp.1-90. 9 See Article 2.1. of the Ramsar convention; See also Matthews G.V.T ‘The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: It’s history and Development’ p.1-90 at 31.