Redirecting to www.unep.org/nigeria

Fact Sheet

  • Since 2000, the world has witnessed over 35 major conflicts and some 2,500 disasters.
  • UNEP’s first environment assessment was conducted in 1991 following the Iraq war.
  • UNEP has responded to crisis situations in more than 25 countries in the last decade.
  • Since 1990, at least eighteen violent conflicts have been fuelled by the exploitation of natural resources.
  • All of UNEP’s post-crisis environmental assessments are conducted in an equally neutral, impartial and scientific basis.
  • Environmental degradation and climate change are major drivers in both forced and voluntary migration.
  • Sea-level rise and unsustainable human development are contributing to the loss of coastal wetlands and mangroves and increased damage from coastal flooding. Millions of people are projected to be flooded annually by 2080 due to sea–level rise.
  • 40% of all intrastate conflicts since 1960 have a link to natural resources.
  • Intrastate conflicts linked to natural resources are twice as likely to relapse to conflict in five years.
  • Less than a quarter of peace negotiations aiming to resolve conflicts with links to natural resources have addressed resource management mechanisms.
  • The UN system must systematically integrate environment, conflict and peacebuilding analysis throughout all phases of planning.