J48716 Willend EIA ResearchReport V4 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 8
2. Digitization in and around Nigerian EIA
2.1 | EIA in Nigeria – Origins and Development
of Practice
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in
Nigeria is led and regulated by FMEnv – via the
Environmental Assessment Department. The
legislative origins and primary governance of EIA
in Nigeria started with the 1992 Environmental
Impact Assessment Act. This legislative basis has
developed into three key governance process for
general development, the oil & gas sector, and
town & country planning. Alongside the legislation
more than 25 Government guides have been
produced to help enable effective application
of EIA process steps and the consideration of
the range of environmental topics that must be
considered.
States and local Governments collaborate in the
delivery of Nigeria’s EIA system providing inputs
and engaging with EIA’s relevant to their area. In
addition to this, collaboration occurs with other
parts of the Federal Government in relation to EIA
developments in specific sectors, including both
mining and fossil fuels, the latter via the Nigerian
Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission
within the Federal Ministry of Petroleum. However,
the FMEnv provides leadership to Nigeria’s EIA and
receives all Environmental Statements, with over
500 being registered with the Department in 2021
alone.
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The practice of EIA in Nigeria, as in other nations,
has been a learning curve, with the need for ongoing capacity building and enhancement being
a key on-going feature. The move toward digital
approaches to EIA will add to this challenge, as the
application of information computing & technology
(ICT) requires different skills, knowledge and
experience which, up to now, has not been part of
the suite of capabilities needed in the professional
EIA community.
The EIA process has not changed significantly
since its origins in the early 1990’s, but its
effectiveness and the way information is gathered
and exchanged has developed to deliver more
effective practice. Once the need for EIA has been
determined, the key steps of the Nigerian EIA
process include:
- Registration of Project EIA with FMEnv, and
assignment of a file number.
- Site veri昀椀cation, FMEnv visit the proposed site
to confirm details of the site and surroundings,
to better understand the environmental and
community risks and, importantly, confirm that
no work has already begun on the development,
which is an on-going challenge for Nigerian
practice.
- Categorisation of the project, a written report
is produced to assign the Project EIA a category
based on its environmental risks; the category
assigned defines the baseline sampling
requirements for developer environmental data
collection.
Willend Associates and FothergillTC Ltd – Digitization in and around Nigerian EIA
