Environmental Sanitation Activities Utilized in Resolving Environmental Issues for Sustainable Community Development in South East States, Nigeria
Department of Continuing Education and Development Studies, Faculty of Education, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Agbani, Enugu State, Nigeria
mchlayogu@gmail.com
Abstract
This study determined the extent to which environmental sanitation activities are utilized in resolving environmental issues for sustainable community development in South East States, Nigeria. Using a descriptive survey research design, 420 respondents (297 male and 123 female members of community project management committees) from 942 communities were sampled. A 9-item structured questionnaire with Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.83 was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and t-test at 0.05 significance level. Results revealed that sanitation activities were utilized to a high extent in resolving environmental issues for sustainable community development (grand mean = 3.27). No significant difference was found between male and female members' ratings (t-cal = 0.23, t-crit = ±1.96). The study recommends that community project management committees ensure proper environmental sanitation activities in target communities, and that government encourage and support these committees to embark on more sustainable community development activities.
Keywords
Introduction
Environmental issues and difficulties have been sprouting on a daily basis globally, manifesting as drought, global warming, wildfires, flooding, gully erosions, typhoons, tornadoes, and hurricanes. These incidents bring about wastes, noise pollution, plastics, toxic materials, household wastes, oil spills, gas flaring, greenhouse gases, electronic wastes, and hospital wastes. In Nigeria, environmental management has remained consistently unpleasant, with cities frequently flooded, people made homeless, and properties worth millions of naira lost in floods arising from blocked drainages. The population has risen rapidly without commensurate provision of infrastructure, resulting in increased waste generation, over-utilization of limited facilities, indiscriminate felling of trees, erosion, lack of awareness, inadequate supply of portable water, and a general decline in the quality of human life. Environmental sanitation activities are therefore critical for protecting the environment and ensuring healthy living in communities in South East States, Nigeria.
Environmental Sanitation
Environmental sanitation refers to practical control of measures used to improve the basic environmental conditions affecting human health, including proper methods of refuse disposal, safe water supply, and safe food handling practices. It is associated with preservation of sanitary conditions of the environment to avoid harm to the health of persons. Environmental sanitation activities include activities and services aimed at reducing risks to the environment from contaminants such as hazardous materials and wastes, fuels, and oils. These activities address pollution prevention measures and regulatory compliance by providing procedures for safely working with these materials, inspecting storage vessels and locations, and designating preventative maintenance procedures. The main goal of Nigeria's National Policy on the Environment is to achieve sustainable environment by securing quality of environment adequate for good health, conserving natural resources for future generations, restoring and maintaining eco-systems, raising public awareness, and cooperating with international organizations to prevent environmental degradation.
Statement of the Problem
Remarkable efforts have been made by environmentalists, scientists, and corporate bodies to address and resolve environmental issues, with lots of funds employed into environmental sanitation activities. However, male and female environmental officers seem to have no detailed assessment of the effectiveness of these activities in ameliorating the afflictions of community members. Records in various local government areas show many completed and commissioned environmental sanitation activities in various communities, but also cases of uncompleted and jumbled sanitation activities that communities are not interested in. Lots of investments put into these environmental sanitation activities are not commensurate with their outcome, while some are outside the immediate needs of community members. It is therefore necessary to determine the extent environmental sanitation activities are utilized in resolving environmental issues for sustainable community development in South East States, Nigeria.
Methodology
The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The population was 7,536 male and female members of community project management committees in 942 communities in South East States, Nigeria. The sample size was 420 respondents comprising 297 male and 123 female members of community project management committees. A 9-item structured questionnaire was used for data collection, face validated by three experts from the Department of Continuing Education and Development Studies and the Department of Measurement and Evaluation. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.83. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, while the null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance with t-test statistics.
Results
The research question findings revealed that mean ratings on the utilization of sanitation activities ranged from 2.75 to 3.37, with all nine items having mean ratings above the 2.50 benchmark. The grand mean of 3.27 confirmed that sanitation activities were utilized to a high extent in resolving environmental issues for sustainable community development in South East States, Nigeria. Specific sanitation activities identified include: avoiding indiscriminate defecation in rivers and streams to prevent cholera, throwing wastes only into waste bins, participating in cleansing gutters and houses on environmental sanitation day, washing hands regularly to get rid of germs and bacteria, keeping food items in safe places to protect from pests, practicing water treatment by boiling and filtering drinking water, protecting sources of water supply to prevent typhoid, diarrhea, and dysentery, and building good toilet systems. The t-test analysis showed that the calculated t-value (0.23) was less than the critical t-value (±1.96), indicating no significant difference between male and female members' ratings.
Discussion of Findings
The findings confirmed that sanitation activities are utilized in resolving environmental issues for sustainable community development in South East States, Nigeria. This aligns with the view of Ibanga (2015), who maintained that sanitation is a way of life expressed in the clean home, farm, business, neighbourhoods, and community. The finding that there was no significant difference between male and female members' ratings implies that both male and female members of community project management committees agreed that sanitation activities are utilized in resolving environmental issues. This is consistent with the understanding that gender has no significant influence in environmental sanitation activities, as both men and women express concern for environmental issues, though in different ways—women focusing more on daily actions like recycling and conservation, while men tend to engage more in public, socio-political actions.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The study concludes that environmental sanitation activities are utilized in resolving environmental issues for sustainable community development in South East States, Nigeria. Community project management committee members aim at facilitating, formulating, implementing, managing, overseeing, and coordinating community development projects to ensure their successful planning, execution, and sustainability. They raise awareness about environmental issues and promote eco-friendly behaviours. Members of community project management committees should ensure that communities as beneficiaries of their activities are conversant with those activities. Government should encourage and support community project management committees to embark on more sustainable community development activities. The community project management committee should ensure appropriate environmental sanitation activities in target communities as a method of resolving environmental issues. Community members should utilize the opportunities provided by community project management committee members through development activities in their various communities to improve their living standards.