Integrated Environmental Management and Urban Flood Resilience in Nigerian Cities: Challenges, Strategies and Planning Implications
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Rapid urbanisation, inadequate infrastructure, ineffective solid-waste management, uncontrolled land-use conversion and increasing climate-related hazards have created complex environmentalmanagement challenges in Nigerian cities. Urban flooding is particularly significant because its occurrence is influenced not only by rainfall but also by the condition of drainage infrastructure, waste-disposal practices, land-use patterns, development in flood-prone areas and the loss of natural drainage and infiltration surfaces. This paper examines the relationship between integrated environmental management and urban flood resilience in Nigerian cities. A qualitative documentary research design was adopted, drawing on policy documents, institutional reports and published studies on urban flooding, solid-waste management, drainage and climate resilience. Evidence indicates that inadequate drainage systems and poorly managed solid waste are important factors exacerbating flood risks in Nigerian cities. The World Bank reports that many Nigerian cities have inadequate or poorly maintained drainage networks and that indiscriminate disposal of solid waste can obstruct drains and waterways. The paper argues that conventional approaches that rely predominantly on emergency flood response are insufficient. Sustainable urban environmental management requires an integrated framework combining land-use planning, drainage management, solid-waste management, watershed protection, green infrastructure, development control, environmental monitoring, community participation and climate adaptation. The paper proposes a planning framework based on prevention, preparedness, resilience and adaptive management. It concludes that integrating environmental management into urban and regional planning can reduce environmental vulnerability, improve urban liveability and strengthen the resilience of Nigerian cities to flooding and other environmental hazards
Institutions: Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Abia State University
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7221788134
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