B,environmental impact assessment of emissions from major facilities at qit. The main objective of the eia is to ensure that potential environmental impacts are foreseen at the appropriate stage of project design and addressed before any decision is taken on the project. By its revision, environmental impact assessment eia became a mandate to development assistance project. The south african national roads agency limited sanral is the proponent for the proposed.
Nesrea and the challenge of enforcing the provisions of. Evaluation of environmental impact assessment system in nigeria. E akpofure abstract as a consequence of the illegal dumping of toxic wastes in koko, in the former bendel state, in 1987, the nigerian government promulgated the harmful wastes decree which provides the legal framework for the. Act, as it is informally called, deals with the considerations of environmental impact in respect of. Environmental impact assessment act arrangement of sections part i general principles of environmental impact assessment section 1. Environmental impact assessment is a tool in ensuring environmental protection.
National coalition on gas flaring and oil spills in. Projects which impact the environment significantly are assessed with the aim of predicting the consequences as well as identifying appropriate measures for minimizing. In new south wales, the environment planning and assessment act 1979. Evaluation of environmental impact assessment system in nigeria chris o. One of the key objectives of the esia is to assist in ensuring. National environmental standards regulations and enforcement agency establishment act 2007 nesreaa and the 33 regulations made by the minister of environment under section 34 of the act this statute was created under the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria section 20 and repealed the federal environmental protection act 1988. This act may be cited as the environmental impact assessment act. The nigerian constriction, for one, makes provision for environmental protection and management in sections 12, 20, 33 and 34. Registered quantity surveyor and attorneyatlaw paulb nigeria limited plot 284, parakou crescent wuse, 11, abuja nigeria tel. The legal and regulatory framework for environmental impact. In practice and with few exceptions such as nigeria, there are no. Interpretation in this act, unless the context otherwise requires activity includes a project, programme or policy.
Act, as it is informally called, deals with the considerations of environmental impact in respect of public and private projects. Eia was first introduced in the usa under the environmental policy act 1969. This article examines legislation and practice concerning the environmental impact assessment eia process for oil and gas projects in nigeria. Environmental impact assessment as a tool for sustainable development. Control act environmental impact assessment regulations, 1997. Evaluation of environmental impact assessment system in. Read this article to learn about environmental impact assessment eia.
In addition, nigeria is a signatory to a number of international multilateral conventions, which are related to the environment. Simply defined, the eia process helps identify the possible environmental effects of a proposed activity and. Overview of the eia process environmental law alliance. Environmental impact assessment is defined as an activity designed to identify the impact on the biogeophysical environment, on man and wellbeing of legislative proposals, projects, policies, operational. Environmental impact assessment as a tool for sustainable. Environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment. Environmental impact assessment eia now enjoys at least statutory status in a number of third world countries twcs, including ghana. Nwoko department of environmental technology, federal university of technology, pmb 1526, owerri, nigeria. Initial environmental examination iee an iee is the initial process which studies whether or not the potential impacts of a project, business or activity will be significant, and whether or not it is necessary to carry out an environmental impact assessment, or to prepare and submit other stipulated documents.
The environmental impact assessment act cap e12 lfn 2004 provides for the operation and maintenance of a public register which gives public access to information on potential hazards likely to impact negatively on environmental health and safety. Globally, environmental impact assessment eia is recognised as a tool for achieving sustainable development. Environmental impact assessment act of 1992 eia act. An environmental impact assessment eia is an assessment of the potential impacts whether positive or negative, of a proposed project on the natural environment. In view of the colossal damage to the environment, governments and public are now concerned about the environmental impacts of developmental activities.
The federal ministry of environment of nigeria has laid down procedures for conducting the environmental impact assessment eia and enforces the eia decree no. Where a project for which an environmental assessment is not required under section 15 of this decree is to be carried out in nigeria and the agency or the president, commanderinchief of the armed forces is of the opinion that the project is likely to cause serious adverse environmental effect on federal lands or on lands in respect of which a state or local government has interests, the. The national environmental standards regulation agency, nesrea the agency has the responsibility for the protection an development of the environment, biodiversity conservation and sustainable. This was the first attempt to introduce eia systems in the field of. Where a project for which an environmental assessment is not required under section 15 of this decree is to be carried out in nigeria and the agency or the president, commanderinchief of the armed forces is of the opinion that the project is likely to cause serious adverse environmental effect on federal lands or on lands in respect of which a state or local government has. Legislation serves as an effective instrument for environmental protection, planning, pollution, prevention and control. Restriction on public or private project without prior consideration of the environmental impact. A act, as it is informally called, deals with the considerations of environmental impact in respect of public and private projects. Environmental impact assessment law of the peoples republic of china adopted at the 30th meeting of the standing committee of the ninth national peoples congress on october 28, 2002, promulgated by order no. Environmental assessment ea is the assessment of the environmental consequences.
Section 33 and 34 guarantee right to land and human dignity and it is said to associate with the necessity for safe and healthy environment. Environmental regulation directorate of investment and. One of the difficulties, however, in implementing eia has been the design of an. Principle of environmental impact assessment best practice pdf. Environmental impact assessment and statement 1 where the competent authority determines that the proposed activity is likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact, it shall require that such activity undergo an environmental impact assessment, the costs of which shall be borne by the developer. Environmental policy and its enforcement in nigeria. Department of environmental affairs, 2014, environmental impact assessment and management strategy for south africa draft. Environmental impact assessment eia course curriculum for tertiary level institutions in pakistan national impact assessment programme niap pakistan thomas b fischer phd fiema and obaidullah nadeem phd fipp september 20. The role of legislation in inducing responsible attitudes and behaviours towards the environment cannot be overlooked. Environmental impact assessment system, environmental regulatory framework enacted by the department of petroleum resources for the petroleum industry in niger delta region of nigeria and the ensued environmental degradation in order to identify the. Legal and judicial eia quality control mechanisms in nigeria.
Environmental impact assessment is defined as an activity designed to identify the impact on the biogeophysical environment, on man and wellbeing of legislative proposals, projects, policies. Paper presented at the 21st annual conference of the nigeria mining and geosciences society, jos, nigeria. It argues that although eias have become a standard legal requirement for all oil, gas and mining projects in nigeria, not much is achieved in terms of managing the impacts of these projects. In 1981, the us agency for international development usaid revised the national environmental policy act nepa. Environmental impact assessment eia act no 86 of 1992, which restricts public or private development projects without prior consideration of the environmental impact. May 07, 2019 environmental impact assessment eia development projects in the past were undertaken without any consideration to their environmental consequences. Goals and objectives of environmental impact assessment. In nigeria, environmental impact assessment eia must be carried out prior to the construction of a dam. Environmental impact assessment prepared in accordance with eia act cap e12lfn of 2004 of proposed bifsam limited prepared by prepra nigeria limited.
Environmental impact assessment eia is not a new feature of nigerian regulation of the hydrocarbon industry. An environmental impact assessment shall include at least the following minimum matters, that is a a description of the proposed activities. Thus, to assess the environmental impacts, the mechanism of eia was introduced. The recommendations do not necessarily carry the full support of all the sectors represented. The analysis and recommendations of this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the department of environmental affairs. The environmental impact assessment eia process is an interdisciplinary and multistep procedure to ensure that environmental considerations are included in decisions regarding projects that may impact the environment. Pdf environmental impact assessment prepared in accordance. Environmental impact assessment in nigerias oil and gas industry mohammed nuruddeen isah a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy cardiff university september 2012 school of earth and ocean sciences cardiff university park place cardiff cf10 3at united kingdom.
It contains information regarding the project, the likely significant effect of the project, the baseline scenario, the proposed alternatives, the features and measures to mitigate. Final environmental and social impact assessment report for. Pmbs, uip office, ibadan, nigeria received 3 august 1990 this paper examines the present state of environmental impact assessment eia in nigeria, using some examples. Dec 16, 2008 globally, environmental impact assessment eia is recognised as a tool for achieving sustainable development. The environmental impact assessment practice in nigeria. Practitioners and operators should have significant experience that can. Usa, april 1926 2002 2 contact ifeanyi tim anago esq. Environmental impact assessment eia development projects in the past were undertaken without any consideration to their environmental consequences. The nigerian experience fig xxii international congress washington, d.
Final environmental and social impact assessment report. Since then it has evolved and a variety of offshoot assessment techniques have emerged focusing, for example on social, biodiversity, environmental health and cumulative effects and risk acting as a broader impact assessment toolkit. A act, as it is informally called, deals with the considerations of environmental impact in respect of public and. Government of sierra leone environment protection agency.
Eia report the environmental impact assessment report is the document prepared by the developer that presents the output of the assessment. Environmental assessment ea is the assessment of the environmental consequences positive negative of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. The environmental impact assessment is required in terms of the environment conservation act, 1989 act no. The eia process in victoria is intertwined with the environment effects act 1978. One of the early buildups to environmental impact assessment can be found in a. In this context, the term environmental impact assessment eia is usually used when applied to actual projects by individuals or companies and the term strategic. National environmental standards and regulations enforcement agency nesrea act 2007. The agency initiates legislative proposals, standards and guidelines on the environment in accordance with the act. Abstract environmental impact assessment eia came into being in nigeria with promulgation of the act establishing three independent eia systems the eia decree 86 1992, the town and country planning decree 88 1992 and the petroleum act 1969. Amidst mounting criticism of environmental impact assessments eias carried out in nigeria under the three independent eia systemsthe eia decree 86 1992, the town and country planning decree 88 1992 and the petroleum act 1969the paper traces the evolution of nigerias systems and appraises current practice and shortcomings. Environmental impact assessment eia law and practice in. It then focuses on the ways and means of integrating eia with development planning, including financial, legislative and institutional requirements.
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