Times are changing and nothing remains the same. Just like our lives: our natural environment evolves and changes its characteristics as the season demands. There are various natural environments in Nigeria. And this article explores the meaning, types, and examples of the Nigerian natural environment.
What is to come:
- What is a natural environment?
- Importance of the natural environment
- Types and examples of the natural environment in Nigeria
- Conclusion
What is a Natural Environment?
A natural environment is a co-existence of living and non-living things without man-made involvement. This means it is a space where you would find various interactions between different organisms; either with or without life.
This coexistence happens on earth – the only planet with signs of life. The living things in a natural environment include but are not limited to human beings(man) and mostly, animals of all kinds.
On the other side are the non-living things. This includes the climate, land, air, water, vegetation, and other natural resources. All these resources are utilized by man to sustain a living and accumulate wealth. 
Importance of the Natural Environment
There are several benefits of a natural environment around. You will read about them below:
- Source of Raw Materials for Industries: Industrialization and businesses cannot exist without the refining, usage, and fine-tuning of some naturally existing materials. The natural environment provides man with varieties of raw materials for manufacturing products for the world’s needs.
- Provision of Food: The natural environment comprises vegetative and cultivable lands. This gives humans the chance to plant and produce their foods. These farm products are still part of the materials the natural environment provides for industrialization. It is safe to say the environment feeds humans too and not only fends for our pockets.
- Recreation and Tourism: We need to unwind, relax and rest sometimes too. Especially after the stressful work and labor we undergo while trying to utilize the abundance of resources the environment blesses us with. The beauty and serenity of nature give us the luxury of spending our leisure time in recreation. The beach, the amusement garden and parks and whatnot. They all serve a great deal of exploration and adventure for us and even foreign people around us.
- Housing and Shelter: Lastly, we do not spend our entirety outside or exploring nature every day. Hence the need for an almost permanent retirement place. A home. And our natural environment just says, “look no further, I come bearing vast lands for you to settle on.” And boom! That is how we choose to use the raw materials it blesses us with to build houses and create shelter for ourselves. We even make a business out of it now in the 21st century. That is how useful the natural environment is and will always be for us.
Types and Examples of the Natural Environment in Nigeria
There are numerous examples of natural environments in Nigeria. But we would highlight a few of them below.
- Rainforest: This natural environment is usually dense and dominated by a close-knitted arrangement of trees. It naturally exists in vegetation with high water content. And the trees grow in a continuous and closed canopy-like pattern. This type of forest exists in parts of Nigeria like Ekiti state, Ondo state, Osun state, Rivers state, etc.
- Savanna: You will find a grassy and finely distributed number of trees in this type of natural environment. Unlike the rainforest, the trees do not usually form a closed canopy, but an open one. The savanna zone in Nigeria is dominated by the Northern parts of the country. An undeniable attribute of low rainfall in this region.
3. Freshwater Swamp Forests: These are a mix of forest and freshwater (not the water of the seas), which usually exist close to lakes. The Niger Delta freshwater swamp forest is a major example in the country.
4.) Mountain Forests: These forests naturally grow on mountains or lands within a range of 300m to 2,500mm above sea level. And sometimes, it is even higher. The land elevation usually determines the classification the forest gets. The forests are usually underlined with a close network of grasses. A typical example you can find in Nigeria is in the Taraba state.
5. Lakes: When a naturally existing area of water is surrounded by land, it passes to be called a lake. Nigeria has Lake Chad, Oguta lake, Nike Lake, Jabi Lake, etc.
6. Islands: Lands that are surrounded by water are islands. Just the opposite of lakes. We have Banana Island, Victoria Island, etc in Nigeria
Conclusion
We know this article will not teach you everything about the natural environments in Nigeria. But we are sure of one thing. Just one thing, which is that after reading this post, you will have a solid and ample knowledge of what natural environments are. Also, you will know the examples you can find in Nigeria, at least.
Written by: Aminat Olawoyin
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