Environmental degradation is one of the major issues confronting many governments around the world. This problem is acute in
developing countries where the lack of proper regulatory enfo rcement and ineffective monitoring mechanisms due to weak
legislation have led to serious envir onmental degradation in the form of soil, air, water pollution, degradation of native and planted
vegetation and scarring of the land surface. Southern Nigeria, which is the prime focus of this study, is not an exception. The region
is home to the industrial heartland sustaining the political economy of the country under the orbit of Global capital. While th e region
embarks upon a rapid phase of economic expansion, it faces several environmental challenges caused partly by the pressures induced
by anthropocentric activities through petr oleum activities, economic deve lopment and demographic changes. This continued growth
has resulted in environmental problems such as coastal wetland loss, habitat degradati on, water pollution, gas flaring, destruc tion of
forest vegetation and host of other issues. The gravity of thes e problems underscores the urgent need to design new approaches for
effectively managing these resources. Despite previous efforts, there has not been any major emphasis in the literature focusing on a
remote sensing based assessment of the growing incidence of environmental change within the coastal and forest zones environmen t
of the study area. This project explores th e applications of remote sensing in the fo rest and coastal zone environments with emphasis
on the environmental impacts of economic development in the coastal regions of Southern Nigeria.