International Journal of Humanities & Social Science: Insights & Transformations Vol. 3, Issue 1 - 2018 © Eureka Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved. ISSN: 2581-3587 A QUICK LOOK AT ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION AS A PARADIGM FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY NJAH BASSEY ETTA * , EMMANUEL NYONG INYANG * ABSTRACT The need to sustain our environment has become a matter of concern at the global circle. But how to create this awareness and drive certain programmes and policies to effect and behavior change on this issue depends on the communication strategies put in place to drive the purpose. Thus the need for Environmental Communication-a new transdisciplinary paradigm that involves the use of communication approaches principles and techniques to convey environmental information and data between people. The need for environmental sustainability with the help of environmental communication is what this research article suggests. The agenda-setting approach of the media can best be applied to achieve this goal. Communication is a vital tool that if properly applied can help to ensure environmental sustainability and promote healthy environmental best practices. KEYWORDS: Environmental Communication, Paradigm, Environmental Sustainability. INTRODUCTION Stories about the environment continue to make media headlines on daily basis-radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and even the new media of communication. The amount of environmental information available globally has increased considerably in recent times. A lot of support systems have been put in place as a consequence of the various international activities, seminars, summits, conventions and conferences in order to give the public access to environmental information and to arouse public consciousness on the negative effects of poor environmental practices. With approaches such as the United Nations Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972, The 5 th Action Programme of the European Communities as well as the implementation of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development also known as Earth Summit, 1992, and many others, the struggle for environmental sustainability has been treated with serious concern. Obabori, Ekpu and Ojealaro (2009) have noted that the promulgation of the Federal Environmental Agency Decree No. 58 of 30 th December, 1998 signaled attempts of contending with ugly incidents of environmental problems for Nigeria. Similarly, the World Bank’s 2002 interim gas flaring report on Nigeria has noted that the most striking example of environmental neglect in the country had been * Department of Mass Communication, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Cross River State. Correspondence E-mail Id: editor@eurekajournals.com