The impact of refugee movements on the environment: a study on the Liberian refugee camp in Oru Ogun State – Nigeria

Mohammed O. Lawal, Lagos State University
Leke Oduwaye, University of Lagos

This study tries to examine the inter-relationship that exists between man and his environment. An attempt is made to define who is a refugee? The characteristics that refugee streams display chiefly in terms of its geographical impact on the environment, causes of refugee migration, patterns of origins and destinations and the flows between them. A global general survey of refugees was carried out vis-a-vis that of Africa and West Africa. Our findings reveals that the impact of the refugees on the environment is not negatively significant due to the small number of refugees (4,000). However, the state of the environment within the camp is very deplorable. This includes poor housing standards, gully erosion, weeded bushes, undrained pot-holes, untarred roads, untrimed flowers, lack of cross ventilation, marshy spots which are breeding grounds for mosquitoes. KEYWORDS Environment, Refugee, Migration, Ecosystem, Carrying-capacity, Pollution, Edaphic.