Understanding how equitable and efficient land governance can influence environmental sustainability status: Evidence from Ibadan, Nigeria

Environmental sustainability in Global South cities has continued to be a matter of concern in development research and policy discourses. While there have been opinions that land governance would be instrumental in advancing this agenda, there is no empirical evidence to substantiate this claim. Thus, this study explores the potential for improved equitable and efficient land governance to foster environmental sustainability based on residents’ judgments in Ibadan urbanizing areas. The data, got from a survey of 452 household heads, were analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis to consolidate the variables and Multiple Linear Regression to investigate the relationships between the outcome and predictor variables. The results showed that the perception of equity (β=0.248, p-value=0.01, 95 % CI) and efficiency (β=0.326, p-value=0.02, 95 % CI) were significant predictors of environmental sustainability status, explaining 30.1 % of the variance (R²=0.301). This implies that strengthening governance structures is crucial to promoting environmental sustainability in Ibadan suburbs. Although achieving sustainability is not solely dependent on land governance, effective and equitable practices in land governance can play a valuable role in achieving it. Based on these findings, the study provides relevant recommendations for policy and practice.