J48716 Willend EIA ResearchReport V4 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 6
1.2 | This Project and its Aims
1.3 | Engagement and Analysis
Based on its’ presence in the Nigerian EIA market
and previous activity with the FMEnv on digital
EIA, Willend elected to fund a catalyst research
project to identify opportunities for the adoption
of digital approaches in Nigerian ESIA. The
research funding has been supported from the
UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT).
As a snapshot study, the research could
not seek to hold face to face workshops and
conduct broad scale engagement across
Nigerian EIA practice. As such, it focussed on
engagement with the FMEnv and opportunities
associated with both the way the legislative EIA
system operates and the existing progress in
adopting digital technology by environmental
consultants employed by developers.
To facilitate the study, Willend secured
agreement from the Nigerian Government’s
Minister of Environment that the FMEnv’s
Environmental Assessment Department would
actively engage in the research. With this
keystone organisation’s involvement secured,
Willend was able to utilize it strong professional
network in Nigerian practice, to link other core
EIA stakeholders into the research, including:
- National Oil Spill Detection and
Response Agency (NOSDRA)
- Leading Academics and EIA consultants,
who also have experience as expert panel
members for FMEnv EIA project review.
Willend commissioned the author of The Global
State of Digital IA Practice (IAIA, 2021) - Fothergill
Training & Consulting Ltd’s Founder Josh Fothergill
– to lead its’ study into the potential for uptake
of digital approaches across Nigerian EIA.
Engagement was conducted between August and
December 2022, through the use of email and
web-based survey and information exchange,
followed up with targeted online meetings and
facilitated discussions that sought to explore:
- Current use of digital technologies
in the EIA process,
- FMEnv ambitions related to future
application of digital approaches in the
delivery of EIA and related environmental
data (baseline and monitoring)
- Challenges likely to be faced in the uptake
and adoption of Digital EIA, and
- Defining the opportunities for action that would
be needed to catalyse Nigeria to be a leader in
digital EIA both in Africa and across the globe.
The aim of this catalyst research project
is to provide a snapshot review of:
- The current status and uptake of digital
approaches in Nigerian EIA, and
- Identify opportunities for making Nigerian EIA
practice more effective through increased
use of digital approaches and technology.
6
Willend Associates and FothergillTC Ltd – Research: Enabling Digital EIA in Nigeria
