Exploring drivers of environmental degradation in urban centres of developing countries: a case study.

A serene and pollution-free environment is the desire of the United Nations through its Sustainable Development Goal 11. This research was designed to explore various human endeavours that drive pollution in urban environs in the developing countries with Iwo, Nigeria, as a case study. Out of the four hundred and fifty (450) respondents that were randomly selected, 410 copies of structured questionnaire were completed and returned for analysis. Descriptive and inferential analytical methods were adopted for the purpose data analysis. Of all the respondents, 69.5% were females, and 95.1% were between the ages of 18 and 65 years, while 85.3% of the respondents have a minimum of secondary education. The dataset was further subjected to KMO and Bartlett's Test, the results which showed that the data is factorable with 68% at confidence level of p ≤ 0.05. Factor analysis extracted 7 variables out of the 21 variables analysed. The identified and extracted variables explained 87.745% of the variance explained by the extracted factors and their respective explanation variance are as follows: (i) palm oil activities in urban centres (20.521%); (ii) food vending outlets (14.153%); (iii) individual households within cities (13.786%); (iv) activities in the slaughter slabs and houses (11.384%); (v) auto repair workshops (9.812%); (vi) unplanned refuse dumpsites (9.571%); and (vii) in-urban free-range keeping of animals (8.745%). This research should give further insights to stakeholders, especially the policy makers in urban planning on subduing the challenges of unabated urban degradation in developing nations if human comfort and sustainability will be enhanced and that SDG 11 will be a reality come 2030.

Evaluating factors promoting waste scavenging and its implications in a growing urban environ in Nigeria.

Despite the inherent risks associated with waste scavenging, it is surprising to note the age group involved in this activity. This study aimed to assess the motivating factors driving teenagers and youths to participate in waste scavenging, using a sample of 247 scavengers. The data underwent analysis using frequency counts, percentages, and factor analysis techniques. The findings revealed that all respondents were male and aged between 12 and 45 years. The primary sources of waste were dumpsites (61%), roadsides, and gutters (26%). Participants predominantly cited lack of formal education requirements and financial gain (93%) as key motivators for their involvement in waste scavenging. Additionally, 96% of scavengers were from northern Nigeria, with the remaining 4% from southern Nigeria. The factor analysis yielded significant results with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure and Bartlett's test value of 67.770%, significant at p < 0.05. Four distinct factors emerged as significant motivators: (i) Lack of formal education (31.784%), (ii) Financial incentives (22.912%), (iii) Availability of wastes (14.297%), and (iv) Industrial demand for wastes (13.495%), in descending order of influence. Together, these factors accounted for 82.487% of the motivating factors behind youth engagement in waste scavenging in the study area. This outcome highlights potential challenges for the prospects of young individuals involved in scavenging unless substantial interventions are implemented. It is recommended that policies be developed to discourage scavenging activities while simultaneously promoting access to education and social welfare for this demographic. Such initiatives are crucial for redirecting young people away from scavenging and toward more sustainable livelihood options, ensuring a brighter future for them and contributing to overall societal development.