Nigeria, one of Africa's most biologically diverse nations, is confronting an accelerating biodiversity crisis driven by compounding environmental stressors. This study examines the impact of three primary environmental factors — deforestation rate, pollution levels, and climate change indicators — on biodiversity in Nigeria over the period 1960–2025, while controlling for location, terrain, population density, GDP per capita, income level, invasive species presence, and natural disasters. Employing a blend of Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fixed Effects, Random Effects, Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS), and Dynamic OLS (DOLS) regression techniques, alongside robust post-estimation diagnostics, the study finds that deforestation exerts the most severe negative impact on biodiversity (β = −5.124, p < 0.001), followed by climate change indicators (β = −4.387, p < 0.001) and pollution levels (β = −0.312, p < 0.001). GDP per capita, income level, terrain elevation, and forest zone location are found to be positive moderating forces on biodiversity outcomes. The Johansen cointegration test confirms a long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables. These findings underscore the urgent need for multi-sectoral, evidence-based environmental governance in Nigeria. The study contributes to the environmental economics and conservation biology literature by offering one of the most comprehensive quantitative assessments of biodiversity determinants in Sub-Saharan Africa spanning six decades.
Onipe Adabenege Yahaya (Sun,) studied this question.