CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
is defined as
the process of examining the environmental effects
of the development – from consideration of the environmental aspects at design
stage, through to the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement,
evaluation of the EIS by a competent authority and the subsequent decision as
to whether the development should be permitted to proceed, also encompassing
public response to that decision.
Sridhar (2001) define Environment
Impact Assessment (EIA) as the systematic identification and evaluation of the
potential impact (effects) of a proposed project, plans, programme or
legislative action relative to the total environment.
The Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) is defined as “a statement of
the effects, if any, which the proposed development, if carried out, would have
on the environment”(EnvironmentalProtection Agency,
2002). Certain public and private projects that are likely to have significanteffects on the environment are subject to EIA requirements derived from EIA
Directive 85/337/EC(as amended by Directive 97/11/EC). The requirements
of Directive 2003/4/EC on public access toenvironmental information
took effect from June 2005. This Directive further strengthens provisionsfor
ensuring public access to environmental information. Insofar as roads are
concerned, the EIADirective is transposed into law in Ireland through
the Roads Act, 1993 (No. 14 of 1993).
An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an
assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project
may have on the environment, together consisting of the environmental, social
and economic aspects.
The
purpose of Environmental Impact Assessment process is to encourage the
consideration of the environment in planning and decision making and to
ultimately arrive at actions which are more environmentally compatible.
1.1.0Where does EIA come from?
The EIA
process derives from European law. The European law basis is Directive 85/337,
The Assessment of the Effects of Certain Public and Private Projects on the
Environment as amended by EC Directive 97/11/EC. The Directive is mainly
implemented in UK legislation through the Town and Country Planning (Assessment
of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1999
(SI 1999 No. 293). This is generally known as the EIA Regulations. Important
guidance on the interpretation of the EIA Regulations and on the procedure to
be used can be found in ODPM Circular 2/99 Environmental Impact Assessment.
The Regulations only cover decisions made under Town and
Country Planning legislation. However, the Directive requires that all types of
developments having significant impacts on the environment go through the EIA
process. Therefore there are separate pieces of legislation (and some
non-legislative processes) covering EIA for other types of developments
including highways, power stations, water resources, land drainage, forestry,
pipelines, harbour works and many others. UK regulations have been criticised
as not fully interpreting the spirit of the EIA directive. Individual cases
over major development proposals have led to controversial debates about
quality of EIA. Third parties have complained to the European Commission about
the failure of the UK Government to fully implement the EC directives on EIA.
1.2.1How it came
into being in Nigeria
Environmental
impact assessment (EIA) came into being in Nigeria with promulgation of the Act
establishing three independent EIA systems—the EIA Decree 86 (1992), the Town
and Country Planning Decree 88 (1992) and the Petroleum Act (1969). Despite a
sound legal basis and comprehensive guidelines, evidence suggests that EIA has
not yet evolved satisfactorily in Nigeria, as the current system amounts to
duplication of efforts and cost. An evaluation of the EIA system against
systematic evaluation criteria, based on interviews with EIA approval
authorities, consulting firms and experts, reveals various shortcomings of the
EIA system. These mainly include inadequate capacity of EIA approval
authorities, deficiencies in screening and scoping, poor EIA quality,
inadequate public participation and weak monitoring. Overall, most EIA study
rarely meets the objective of being a project planning tool to contribute to
achieving sustainable development and mitigate impact from development project.
The work concludes on the suggestions to involve in EIA process relevant
authorities and to increase the competence of EIA consultants.
1.2.2EIA concept
and legal basis in Nigeria
Globally,
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is recognized as a tool for achieving
sustainable development. The main objective of the EIA is to ensure that
potential environmental impacts are foreseen at the appropriate stage of
project design and addressed before any decision is taken on the project. The
EIA involves a systematic process for identifying, predicting and evaluating
potential impacts associated with a development project. The EIA process must
proffer mitigation measures to avoid, reduce or minimize the negative impacts
on the environment, public health and property and may highlight the
foreseeable positive impacts. The mitigation measures entail identifying
possible alternative site, project, process design, including that of not
proceeding with the project. The EIA is not a one-off process which terminates
in the production of a report on the effects of the project and associated
mitigation measures. It also deals with monitoring the construction and
operational phases, and this continues till the project is decommissioned. The
post-closure care is also an integral part of the EIA process.
EIA
legislations and the required procedural guidelines for carrying out the EIA
process became effective since the 1970s in developed countries. Nigeria took a
giant leap when she promulgated her main EIA legislation (i.e. EIA Act No.86)
in 1992. EIA is proclaimed in Principle 17 of ‘Agenda 21’ (Agenda for the 21st
century) of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED), which was held on the 3rd to14th of June, 1992, in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. It states that: “Environmental Impact Assessment as a national
instrument shall be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have
a significant adverse impact on the environment and subject to a decision of a
competent authority.”
The EIA Act
No. 86 of 1992 makes the EIA mandatory for development projects likely to have
adverse impacts on the environment prior to implementation. Prior to the
enactment of the EIA Act in Nigeria, project appraisals were limited
predominantly to feasibility studies and economic-cost-benefit analysis. Most
of these appraisals did not take environmental costs, public opinion, and
social and environmental impacts of development projects into consideration.
Currently,
EIA is practiced in over 100 countries of the world (Jay et al., 2007). While
its effectiveness has been explored to a certain extent in some developed
countries, the research in developing countries such as Nigeria requires
consented effort. Even if most of the scholars generally agree that EIA plays
an important role in environmental decision-making, the effectiveness,
accessibility and influence of EIA, and specifically the accuracy and the
methods of the assessment can be openly questioned and criticized. The field
scholars attempt measuring the EIA effectiveness either through the quality of
EIA report and EIA procedural implementation or relate it to the viability and
the role of EIA in factual development planning (Bailey, 1997; Baker and Wood,
1999; Simpson, 2001; Ogunba, 2004; Sakalauskiene et al., 2004; Pinho et al.,
2006; Pölönen, 2006).
(Enweghara 1999) said
that most developing countries government lack of necessary experience in
fostering public participation and often the exhibition of superiority to
the participation of public, by the
implementing agency, tends to take assessment to environmental impact
implementation and will task and has led to abandonment of many projects.
Ajator (1997) stated that the
construction industry is slow in taking her inertia in response to
environmental issues compared with other major industries, however,
increasingly legislation are solving to police her interest, much of the
current debate is now on how construction industry might be encouraged to make
sure that its activities are not damaging to the environment, and much is being
banded in the process of environmental impact assessment on how the
construction can help to protect environmental damage.
In identifying environmental impact
assessment process the relevant significant environmental issues shall be
identified and studied before embarking on any project or activity covered by
the provision of decree no. 86 of 1992 are likely to have serious environmental
impact in Nigeria environment. An environment impact assessment shall include
at least the following minimum matters
Description of proposed activities
• A description
of the potential affected environment including specific information necessary
to identify and assess the environment effects of the proposed projects or
activities.
• A description of the practical
activities as appropriate.
• The project will really emphasize on the
benefit of assessment of environment impact of construction work.
1.3.0STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM
The problem identify is that the
Government, public or private are sometimes ignorant of the involvement of the
communities in assessment of environmental impact for a successful
implementation of project and decision making.
And to be able to know the impact of
communities in which a proposed activity is going to take place in ensuring a
completed environmental impact assessment.
1.4.0HYPOTHESIS
To test whether there is any
relationship between assessment of environmental impact of construction work
and the construction of road in Isin LGA
To test whether there is any
relationship between client role and professional qualification
1.5.0AIM AND OBJECTIVE
I. To identify the effects of construction
works on communities
II. To assess the roles of the construction
professionals in the management of environment during construction works
III. To examine the roles of the communities in
assessing environmental impact of construction works
1.6.0SIGNIFICANCE OF
THE STUDY
The
significance of this study is to know the effects of carrying out an assessment
of environmental impact of construction works before the commencement of the
project and to know the impact of the public or communities in achieving a
successful assessment of environmental impact of construction works.
1.7.0SCOPE AND
LIMITATION
The EIA
involves the analysis and assessment of the following:
(1) (Direct
and indirect) impact of the project on the environment including the impact on:
i.
Condition of air, water and soil (natural environment),
ii.
Condition of flora and fauna (nature),
iii.
Human health and living conditions, tangible goods and
culture heritage objects (social environment) and
iv.
Inter-relations of the above as well as
v.
Access to mineral resources;
(2) Options
and methods of preventing and minimizing the negative impact on the
environment;
(3) necessary
scope of monitoring, which, in the case of “more onerous” projects,
will make it possible to determine the actual impact on the environment already
at the stage of project implementation and, optionally, will enable to modify
accepted means which are to reduce the negative impact on the environment.