J48716 Willend EIA ResearchReport V4 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 16
NOSDRA itself, however, has needs and
ambitions related to greater integration of digital
technologies in its operations. A clear priority is
the development of a smartphone based App
to enable its officers to record spill related data,
photos and the geolocation (GPS coordinates)
of spills and restoration work directly into the
Agency’s systems, rather than its current system
of photographing paper copy documents that are
currently completed in the field. There are potential
overlaps between this need and the potential
for similar environmental data recording Apps,
which could be developed and used by FMEnv
EA Officers in the field, or by EIA consultants,
working for developers, in compiling information to
produce the EIA Report. There may therefore be
opportunity for cooperation to develop and trial
APPs related to environmental monitoring.
Nigerian EIA Practice – Digital approaches by
Developers and EIA consultants
It is clear from discussions that EIA practice in
Nigeria has developed considerably over the last
20 years. Both in delivery of regulatory steps
and in undertaking fieldwork and data sampling
technology and digital approaches have been
adopted to drive efficiency. Despite this, however,
experienced EIA practitioners recognise there
is still much that could be achieved with a lack
of readily available and coordinated digital
environmental data being a key barrier in greater
advancement of technology that is widely adopted
in many other EIA systems. While GIS systems are
used by consultants there is much more scope
for their use. However, greater uptake is limited
by a lack of available digital data both related to
environmental topics considered in EIA practice,
plus relevant community and social data, see
section 3.2 discussion on digital IA barriers.
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Despite this the experts see clear advances in
technology with progress in the acceptance of
digital approaches to enable FMEnv activity
noted as beneficial. In relation to this the most
established move has been the acceptance of
soft-copy EIA Reports – on compact disc (CD)
or memory stick – however, the future ability to
submit the document via an online portal would
be appreciated by consultants as a next step
development. Further to this, the development of
FMEnv’s online registration system is also seen as
a positive step forward and an indication that the
FMEnv’s Environmental Assessment Department
is receptive to adoption of digital approaches to
drive efficiency and effectiveness. There was also
positive progress made during the pandemic to
accept online meetings as an acceptable form of
discussion and exchange for key meetings within
the EIA procedure, such as the Expert Panel
Review. While recognising the advantage of face
to face and onsite meetings, there was a desire
from practice to seek to learn lessons from the
pandemic to see where such online meetings can
become an additional facet of practice as we
emerge from the restrictions it imposed.
In practice, working for developers, the most
obvious sign of the application of digital ESIA
approaches by consultants is the uptake and
application of drone technology. While initial
usage related to fly-over video coverage of sites
to supplement site visits and enable additional
perspective on a proposed development site
and its surrounds, the use of drones has now
expanded beyond this into baseline data
gathering and monitoring. Drones as a means
of digitising aspects of ESIA baseline surveys
are now used for land use assessment, habitats
identification, to scope and identify GPS
locations of target sites for ecological, heritage
and other surveys, to gather air quality data,
and help search for the presence of nocturnal
species that can be otherwise hard to discern.
Willend Associates and FothergillTC Ltd – Digitization in and around Nigerian EIA
