Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The north touches on the Sahel and is mostly savannah with low hills. Mountains are
found only along the Cameroon border in the east, although there is a 1500m-high plateau
around Jos in the centre of the country. The coast is an almost unbroken line of sandy
beaches and lagoons running back to creeks and mangrove swamps and is very humid
most of the year.
An underfunded national parks service does exist, but in practice very little land in Ni-
geria is effectively protected. The expanding population has contributed to widespread de-
forestation - 95% of the original forests have been logged. However, the oil industry has
caused the greatest number of environmental problems: oil spills and gas flaring have
damaged the fishing industry, with little of the industry's wealth trickling down to the loc-
al level.
