Civil Society Organisations and other stakeholders in the Niger Delta are seeking the inputs of oil producing and impacted communities in the production and formulation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIAs) Reports on projects in their communities.
The stakeholders said this at a one-day state level training on Environmental, Social And Human Rights Impact Assessment (ESHRIAs) in the Niger Delta, organized by Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Nigeria, with support from Cordaid Netherlands in Port Harcourt.
They noted that most communities in the Niger Delta, especially those in remote areas have no idea of the negative impacts of projects in their areas.
The stakeholders also stressed the need for both the state and Federal Government to ensure that the rights of communities are enforced. In an overview of the Environmental Social and Human Rights Impacts Assessment (ESHRIAs) in the Niger Delta, the State Coordinator, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Chiekwe described the Esthria process as a critical partner to help carry along the public for deepening and strengthening the process of ensuring that citizens’ rights especially communities are part of environmental impacts assessments in project design, implementation and government decisions.
Chiekwe said that the oil and gas region has long been a volatile area which has caused many deaths, degradation and unresolved crisis.
According to him, Esthria involves systematically, identifying, predicting and responding to potential human rights impacts of business operations, capital projects (oil, gas, solid minerals and other projects) trade agreement, government policies, community relations and protecting the civic space.
He further said that the PWYP intervention advocates that business operations follow the due diligence process.
“This can be summarised as community participation in the EIA process, companies especially the international oil companies involving communities in oil and gas management impacts on their communities and freedom to be part of the process”.
“Government at all levels involving communities in decision and policy making process, government, communities, international oil companies creating conducive environment for dialogue and continuous interface, while biodiversity audits every two year periodically in a participatory manner”, he said.
Chiekwe also said that the EIA Act Currently undergoing the process of amendment is a window of opportunity to get it right, adding that the different stakeholders should work together above personal, sectional and group interests to integrate community voice, inclusion of all concerned in the design and implementation of EIA and biodiversity audits.
On his part, a stakeholder, Mr. Clement Menedin said that elected leaders of the people should always take up the responsibility of enlightening their communities on EIA process with a view to getting their inputs into it.
Also speaking, the spokesman of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) Mr. Sunny Zorvah said that it’s criminal for companies to neglect their host communities in terms of projects.