Energy – Environment interaction is one of the major challenges in
both developed and developing countries. In the developing countries
extraction of energy sources from the environment without degrading
it has become a daunting task. Yet energy is a key ingredient for the
development of all sectors of the economy. Data for this research were
generated through field surveys and observations as a life time resident
of the region and the tools for analysis used include descriptive
analysis and the use of pictures, and diagrams The results have shown
that the geographical region of Northern Nigeria is a vast region
covering over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s land area with a population of
over 80 million people today. The region is well endowed with energy
resources which include hydropower, biomass energy, solar energy,
wind energy and crude oil deposits which were recently discovered and
exploration is to commence soon. However, over the years the
utilization and extraction of these energy sources (especially fuel wood
from biomass and dam building for hydro-electric power) has brought
about several negative consequences on the environment of the region.
These consequences include dam flooding, spread of water borne
diseases, deforestation of savannah vegetation and air pollution. It is
therefore recommended that conscious efforts should be made to
minimise the negative consequences and their impact on the local
people of the region. Furthermore as crude oil exploration is about to
start the region must learn from the experiences of southern Nigeria
where oil extraction has lead to massive negative impact on their
environment. Besides this the region should give more emphasis on
exploiting its potential in renewable energy such as solar, wind and
biogas for sustainable development.