Limitations of Law in Promoting Synergy between Environment and Development Policies in Developing Countries: a Case Study of the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria

摘要

Since the Stockholm Conference, there has been an increasing use of law as a tool for promoting synergy between environment and other sectoral policies at both the international and national levels. One area that has recorded a marked increase in legislation has been the integration of environment considerations into development projects in order to address the apparent conflict between environment and development policy. However, the existence of several laws has not been matched by a corresponding positive impact on the environment in several developing countries. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methodology, this article uses the petroleum industry in Nigeria, as a case study, to answer the questions of whether this is merely a problem of law enforcement or whether there are wider issues of policy involved.