Seventeenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

The place remains a significant factor in achieving sustainable development. Recent evidence equally attests to the significance of citizen science and governance in public policy coherence. The latter suggests a symbiotic relationship between responsible citizenship and political will. It is increasingly evident, however, that political dynamics remain a significant threat to public policy integration. Juxtaposing the significant role of place, responsible citizenship, and governance in achieving sustainable consumption, we highlight critical barriers to attaining sustainable development in Africa. Drawing on academic and grey literature and empirical evidence, we present the case of integrated resource planning and management for sustainable and inclusive development in Nigeria. Our findings show that whereas place-based factors such as institutional frameworks and local interactions are significant criteria for behavior change and responsible citizenship, many sustainable development policies in Nigeria are imposition or maladaptation of the global in the local. Until contexts dictate the direction of interactions between citizens and government; policies reflect real, local challenges and take inclusive routes to address them, citizen science may not have any significant contribution to collective actions to attain sustainable development in Nigeria and other African countries with peculiar conditions. Our study contributes to the literature on place-based governance on the integration of sustainable development goals.