INTRODUCTION/HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
After the United Nations Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972 and the United Nations Conference on Development and Environment held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, the environmental conscience of global, national, sub regional, local and non-governmental organizations (NGOS), was rekindled to the environmental fallouts of man’s development efforts. It finally dawned on mankind that scientific and technological improvements have left negative externalities in its train. The complexity of the nature of environmental degradation demands the training of a crop of highly skilled manpower equipped from a multi-disciplinary perspective, not only to ameliorate the fallouts of our technological advancement, but also more importantly to highlight the environmental impacts of our various developmental endeavors with a view to minimizing the effects and maximizing the gains of modern science and technology.
In view of the above a formal training on how to manage the scientific and technological impacts of human activities and excesses on the environment gave birth to this relatively new discipline called “Environmental Management”.
After the creation of Enugu state out of the old Anambra State in 199 the former Anambra State University of Science and Technology (ASUTECH) was split into two separate Universities namely: Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Enugu and Anambra State University of Science and Technology (ASUTECH) based in Awka. The ASUTECH at Awka later metamorphosed into Nnamdi Azikiwe University, (NAU) Awka, aka, UNIZIK.
In September 2001, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, mounted the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and one of the Departments was referred to as the Department of Geography and Meteorology/Environmental Management. This in effect means that the Department consists of two options: the Geography and Meteorology option and the Environmental Management option.
Right from 2001, the two options admitted her own separate students. Thus, in that September 2001, the Environmental Management option admitted 26 students with which it took off with five (5) academic Lecturers. In 2005, the two options were demerged and Environmental Management became a full-fledged Department.
Therefore, it can be said that the Department of Environmental Management came into being in November 2005. In the same 2005, it got NUC interim accreditation. In 2005/2006 session it graduated her first batch of B.Sc. students. In 2008, it got full accreditation from National Universities Commission (NUC) and the staff strength rose to eight academic staff and two non-academic staff.
The first Head of the Department was then Dr. (Mrs.) V.C. Nnodu who has now grown into the rank of a professor and incidentally the 2nd Professor in Environmental Management in Nigeria. She was in 2009 succeeded by Dr. B.O. Uwadiegwu who was a Reader (Associate Professor) then but has risen to the rank of Professor.
In October 2014, the Department was headed by Dr. C.0. Okoye, who has also risen to the rank of Professor.
The Department now has five full time Lecturers in the Professorial Cadre.
The Department also enjoys the services of a host of good lecturers. Click here to view the Departments staff strength