Stakeholders Seek Implementation Of EIA Act

Low sensitisation and poor awareness have been identified as the bane of Environmental Impact Assessment Act Implementation in Nigeria.

This observation was made by participants at a recently held two-day capacity building workshop on Environment Impact Assessment Act No.86 of 1992 organised by Social Action in conjunction with Right to Know (R2K) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Addressing participants at the event, the Executive Director of Social Action, Isaac Osuoka said there were obvious gaps and shortfalls in the implementation of EIA in the country. This he said was due largely to low capacity by bodies charged with enforcing this law as well as civil society organisations and communities which he said were meant to play active part in the process to ensure strict compliance to laid down rules and standards. This situation he lamented had led to the present threat faced by the Environment in Nigeria especially in the Niger Delta where oil is a significant factor in pollution.

Osuoka said the workshop was aimed at building the capacity of civil society organizations with respect to the enforcement of the Environmental Impact Assessment Decree.

In her own speech the representative of Right to Know, Ene Enonoche, who pointed out the diverse environmental problems in the Niger Delta said that research had shown that there exists several environmental laws in the country which if well implemented would go a long way in protecting the Environment and disclosed that the workshop was therefore put together to start a process of building a mass of environmentally conscious people to tackle the problems of non-compliance/inadequate enforcement of the EIA Act in Nigeria.

In their submissions, participants at the workshop agreed that EIA issue in Nigeria is one that needs serious attention and concerted action by government, project proponents as well as communities and civil society organizations to achieve set goals and objectives.

They said communities and the public must be well sensitized to demand for proper compliance with the EIA act, adding that civil society organizations should enlighten communities on legal opportunities for enforcing proper compliance with EIA Act.

Calista Ezeaku