Environment
Environment could be defined as the aggregate of the external
circumstances, conditions and things that affect the existence and development
of an individual, organism or group. The word is probably derived from the
French word, 'environ', and includes: air, land, water; plant and animal life
including man; the social economic and
cultural conditions that influence the life of man or a community; any
building, structure, machine or other device or things made by man; any solid,
liquid, gas odour, heat, sound, vibration or radiation resulting directly from
the activities of man; or any part or combination
of the foregoing and the interrelationships between any two or more of these. 'Environment'
was described as the global issue of the year in 1970 and as the desecration of
nature and the sources of livelihood of man progressed, there was a build up of
concern. This concern culminated in the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the
environment. Environmental issues have since gained prominence in national and
international statutes and conventions, the latest of which arose from the Rio
global environmental summit of 1992. All sectors of the global society now
acknowledge the centrality of environment to human existence.
Nigeria’s involvement in the environmental movement can be traced as follow (Okorodudu-Fubara 1998):
a) Nigeria was one of the 114
governments represented at the historic United Nations 1972 Stockholm
Conference on the problems of the human environment;
b) Nigeria participated in the May 1982 10th anniversary of the Stockholm Conference which reaffirmed participants’
commitment to the protection and enhancement of the quality of the human
environment;
c) In April 1982, Nigeria hosted the 69th Inter-Parliamentary Union Spring Meetings at which the Committee on Education, Culture and Environment adopted a draft resolution on the ‘State of the World Environment Ten Years after the UN Conference on the Human Environment’, and the steps to be taken for improvement including the fields of national and international legislation;
d) Earlier, Nigeria was also part of the 1979 Rabat
Conference of Ministers and assembly of Heads of state of the O.A.U. which gave
due consideration to the environmental dimensions of development within the
framework of the International strategy for the Third Development decade – Africa Region.
Awareness has spread and images of the environment feature
prominently in social and political discussions in contemporary Nigeria. It has
been realised that environmental protection and conservation are crucial to the
principle of sustainable development and more importantly to the survival of
man.
Environmental impact assessment
Environmental impact can be defined as a quantifiable change in environmental quality brought about by an activity. The term connotes an estimate or judgement of the significance and value of environmental effects for natural, socio-economic and human receptors. Sadar and Associates (1996) define EIA as an activity which identifies, predicts, interprets and communicates information, and proposes ameliorative measures, about impacts of a proposed action or development proposal on human health and well-being of the ecosystem upon which human survival depends. It is a tool to use in integrated planning of development proposals, policies and programmes. The purpose of an EIA is to evaluate the environmental implications (negative and positive) of carrying out a development project, before irrevocable decisions are made. Such an evaluation can then be set alongside economic objectives of the proposal in order to make balanced decisions. One of the early build-ups to environmental impact assessment can be found in a provision in the 1981 – 86 National Development Plan to the effect that ‘feasibility studies for all projects, both private and public should be accompanied by environmental impact statements’ (Okorodudu-Fubara 1998). The National Council on the Environment at its meeting in November 1990 recognised EIA as an indispensable prerequisite for effective implementation of the National Policy on the Environment and directed that EIA be made mandatory for all development projects with effect from March 1991. The body also made environmental auditing mandatory for all existing industries and urged FEPA to establish EIA guidelines and procedures for operation all over the country.
The Environmental Impact Assessment
Process
The mandatory study list specified in the Schedule to the
Environmental Impact Assessment Decree, 1992, describes the types of projects
which fall within the requirements of the Decree. The 19 development activities
are listed below.
(a) Agriculture – Land development schemes greater than 500 ha, programmes
requiring the resettlement of 100 or more families and agricultural estates
covering 500 ha or more.
(b) Airports with runway >2 500 m, airstrip development in
state or national parks
(c) Drainage and irrigation – dams, man-made lakes, raining of wetlands or flooding of
forests >100 ha and irrigation schemes 5 000 ha or more
(d) Land reclamation (coastal) involving an area 50 ha or more
(e) Fisheries – construction of fishing harbours, harbour expansion, aquaculture
projects in mangrove or freshwater swamps 50 ha or more
(f) Forestry – conversion of hill forest land, logging r conversion of catchment
areas, logging covering 500 ha or more, conversion of 50 ha or more of mangrove
and clearing of mangrove swamps close to marine parks
(g) Industry – Chemicals >100 tonnes/day, petrochemicals of all sizes,
primary smelting of non-ferrous metals, cement 30 tonnes/hour or greater, lime
100 tonnes/day or greater, iron and steel >100 tonnes/day, Shipyard tonnage
>5 000 tonnes, pulp and paper industry >50 tonnes/day.
(h) Infrastructure – industrial estates, expressways, national highways, new townships
(i) Ports – construction and expansion
(j) Mining – mining in new areas with lease >250 ha ore processing, sand
dredging in excess of 50 ha
(k) Petroleum – oil and gas fields, pipelines in excess of 50 km, flow station
construction; processing, handling and storage facilities; oil refineries and
product storage depots in excess of 60 000 barrels or more
(l) Power generation and transmission – fossil fuel stations with a capacity of more than 10
megawatts; dams over 15 m high and ancillary structures in excess of 40
ha; reservoirs >400 ha; combined cycle power stations; nuclear-fuelled power
stations
(m) Quarries
(n) Railways – new routes and branch lines
(o) Mass rapid transport projects
(p) Resort and recreational development – coastal resort facilities or hotels >80 rooms,
recreational facilities in national parks or on islands near marine parks
(q) Waste treatment and disposal – Toxic and hazardous waste, municipal solid waste, municipal
sewage
(r) Water supply – dams creating reservoirs 200 ha or more, groundwater development
>4 500 cubic metres/day.
FEPA (1995) groups these projects into three categories with
certain agricultural, industrial, including petroleum–related activities and mining being placed in Category I – the most important. Category II projects involve activities
in the agriculture and rural development sectors and also those in industry and
infrastructure. Category III projects involve mainly institutional development
projects. FEPA emphasises that Category II projects can become Category I if
they are undertaken in environmentally sensitive areas such as mangrove swamps,
mountain slopes, archaeological sites etc. If an institutional development
(Category III) involves physical intervention in the environment, then it
becomes Category II.
Below are set guidelines and procedures contractors in Nigeria who need an EIA certificate should follow;
1. Project proponent should submit evidence of payment to Federal Ministry of Environment, Environmental Assessment Department and collect project registration/notification form
2. Proponent should return completed EIA registration form with EIA Terms of Reference (TOR) and comprehensive project proposal for the proposed project to the ministry
INITIAL ENVIRONMENT EXAMINATION (IEE)
3. Site verification of the proposed project location is conducted by the ministry with the proponent and their consultant (where applicable), in attendance
4. Scoping of the project is done. This is the process of determination, the most critical issues to study in the course of the EIA. With the host community involved to some extent, the project is categorized and a decision is made on whether or not full EIA is to be carried out.
5. EIA screening of the project scope and TOR, alongside the report of the site verification for the EIA categorization.
EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS
6. The EIA study is carried out, including baseline environmental data gathering and laboratory analysis of collected samples witnessed by the ministry for two seasons
7. Submission of hard copies (depending on magnitude and category) and electronic copy of the draft EIA report to the ministry.
8.The draft EIA report is then displayed for public review and participation, depending on which category the report is classified.
9.The draft EIA report is reviewed by independent Panel of Experts with relevant regulators. The approval or disapproval of the EIA of the product by the ministry is based on the recommendations of the independent panel of experts
10. If the draft report is approved, the final EIA report is produced by the proponent
11. Submission and approval of the final EIA report for issuance of EIA certificate and environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
12. Impact Mitigation Monitoring (IMM) is carried out on the project by the ministry in collaboration with state ministries of Environment and Local Governments to ensure the implementation of
- Conditions of approval
- Implementation of mitigation measures
- Environmental Management Plan
DECOMISSIONING
16. This is carried out either prematurely due to unforeseen circumstances or at the end of the project life cycle- which by Nigerian communication commission (NCC) is 25 years
TIMELINES
There is no timeline for carrying out EIA
Difficulties of EIA in developing
countries
The potential difficulties of accessing environmental impact in developing countries are fully realized. The difficulties most often cited are the scarcity or lack of well trained staff and environmental data, poor understanding of tropical ecosystems, inaccessibility of project arose, the scarcity of funds, the need to avoid delays in projects designed to raise living standards as soon as possible, the lack of institutional agreements for preparing and reviewing impact reports, the lack of an adequate system of environmental law and their enforcement and lack of a conservative ethic on the part of some officials or private developers.
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