By Patricia Amogu
INDUSTRY stakeholders have called for urgent amendments to Nigeria’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Act to address inherent gaps and adapt it to address contemporary environmental challenges.
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural, and human-health impacts – both beneficial and adverse.
The experts and other stakeholders made the call during the National Dialogue on the ESIA Act, organised in Abuja by the Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).
The event, with the theme: “Engaging Stakeholders on Nigeria’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act,” brought together environment experts, policymakers, civil society organisations, and private sector representatives to deliberate on the Act, which has been in place since 1992.
Discussions centred on critical areas requiring reform.
Speaking at the event, Dr David-Michael Terungwa, Executive Director of GIFSEP, emphasised the need for Nigeria to align its environmental laws with global best practice. noting that the current framework has struggled to keep pace with evolving challenges.
He stated that environmental sustainability is at the heart of development, underscoring the urgent need to take an in-depth look at the root causes of the country’s unique environmental challenges.
Prof. Jude Omeje, a don at the University of Abuja highlighted the need for a more effective ESIA Act that will be holistic in adapting to emerging issues.
He said that a lot of peculiar and pressing issues have emerged since the enactment of the ESIA Act.
“At the time, emphasis was made on developmental issues, oil and gas, and mining, but today, there are direct impacts of activities which may not be developmental in nature but strategic projects that are urgently needed.” he added.
He observed that several government projects such as mass housing schemes have had unintended consequences on the environment, citing deforestation.
“When you build two houses, you replant trees there to cushion the effects of climate change.
“These discussions highlight the need for amendments to this Act, the need for upscaling data collection as part of measures to curb environmental hazards among others.”
In her charge, Grace Alawa, a lecturer at the Rivers State University, highlighted what she called “weak implementation of the laws and policies” within the current ESIA.
“I also think that the scope should also be broadened to cover areas like airports and shipyards because environmental issues don’t consider borders.
“For things like airports, shipyards we are going to be talking about things like transboundary issues.”
She suggested that the scope of the ESIA Act could be increased and observed that penalties captured in the Act are very minimal as compared to the offences stipulated.
“I think we should work toward reviewing the present ESIA and see how to work toward enforcing the laws within the EIA,” she added.
Other stakeholders, including representatives of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Abuja Geographic Information Service, Department of Climate Change (DCC) who made remarks during the event, stressed the need to strengthen enforcement mechanisms to prevent environmentally harmful projects from bypassing due process.
They also called for the inclusion of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies within the EIA framework to ensure its relevance in a rapidly changing world.
Additionally, participants advocated for greater community involvement, underscoring the importance of listening to the voices and taking into consideration the interests of host communities in environmental assessment processes.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that participants at the dialogue identified significant gaps in the existing legislation, particularly its limited enforcement mechanisms, outdated provisions, and insufficient consideration of emerging issues like climate change and biodiversity loss.
The lack of meaningful involvement of local communities in environmental decision-making processes was also highlighted as a major concern. (NAN)
