Introduction
Development will be meaningful if it does not increase a
country's vulnerability to environmental impacts. If a nation's environmental
foundations are depleted, its economy may well decline, its social fabric may
deteriorate, and its political structure may even become destabilized. The
environment is, however, a complex and interactive system consisting of the
atmosphere, land surface and bodies of water, as well as living things. The
degradation of an element of the environmental system will have positive or
negative feedback effects on the others. For example, human induced increased
injection of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has resulted in global warming
with its consequent large variability in climate in the form of extreme weather
events that are generating floods (e.g. the 2012 major flood disasters
witnessed in more than half of the States of Nigeria) and massive erosion of
land. Thus, the environment must be managed in a coherent and integrated manner
through the implementation of a well formulated policy framework.
Nigeria formulated its first national policy on the
environment in 1991. It was revised in 1999, and seventeen years down the lane,
it is due for another revision in order to capture emerging environmental issues
and concerns. Thus, the purpose of this National Policy on the Environment is
to define a new holistic framework to guide the management of the environment
and natural resources of the country. As a framework document, it prescribes
sectoral and cross-sectoral strategic policy statements and actions for the
management of the country’s environment for sustainable development.
In addition to the existing 1991 and 1999 draft policy
documents, this Policy derives its strength from the fundamental obligation for
the protection of the environment as stated in section 20 of the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 which provides that the “State
shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air and
land, forest and wild life of Nigeria”. In addition, Nigeria is party to
several international treaties and conventions governing environmental issues.
It is on the combined thrust of these instruments that the National Policy on
the Environment rests
Nigeria Environment
Where we are and why
The Nigeria environment is plagued by myriads of
problems.The under-listed is the easily identified problems:
1. Drought and desertification
2. Wind,sheet and gully erosion
3. Costal and marine erosion
4. Land subsidence
5. Flood
6. Uncontrollable logging and tree falling
7. Inappropriate agricultural practices
8. Uncontrolled use of Afro-chemical and fertilizer
9. Loss of aesthetic values
10. Damage to marine and wildlife
11. Frequent gas flaring
12. Oil spoilage
13. Decrease in fishery resources
14. Mining wasteland
15. Urban decay and squatter settlements
16. Stack fumes and unregulated and grossly excessive
automotive and related exhausts
17. Incidence of invasive species such as water hyacinth and
quell birds
18. Frequent climatic changes and
19. Ozone layer depletion
Environmental Policy and its Enforcement in Nigeria
What is the basis of environmental policy in Nigeria and
which agencies/bodies administer and enforce environmental law?
The basis of environmental policy in Nigeria is contained in
the 1999 Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. Pursuant to section 20 of the
Constitution, the State is empowered to protect and improve the environment and
safeguard the water, air and land, forest and wildlife of Nigeria. In
addition to this, section 2 of the Environmental Impact
Assessment Act of 1992 (EIA Act) provides that the public or private sector of
the economy shall not undertake or embark on or authorise projects or activities
without prior consideration of the effect on the environment.
In this regard, the Federal Government of Nigeria has
promulgated various laws and Regulations to safeguard the Nigerian environment.
These include:
• Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act of 1988 (FEPA
Act) repealed by the National
Environmental Standards Regulation Agency (NESREA) Act 2007.
The following Regulations were made pursuant to the FEPA Act:
National
Environmental Protection (Effluent Limitation) Regulations:
National
Environmental Protection (Pollution Abatement in Industries and
Facilities Generating Wastes) Regulations; and
National
Environmental Protection (Management of Solid and Hazardous
Wastes) Regulations.
• Environmental Impact Assessment Act of 1992 (EIA Act).
• Harmful Wastes (Special Criminal Provisions etc.) Act of
1988 (Harmful Wastes Act).
The National Environmental Standards Regulation Agency,
(NESREA) (the agency) has the
responsibility for the protection an development of the
environment, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of Nigeria’s
natural resources, environmental technology, including coordination and liaison
with relevant stake holders within and outside Nigeria on matters of enforcement
of environmental standards, regulations, rules, laws, policies and guidelines.
Other regulatory agencies with oversight functions and responsibility over
specific industries have also issued guidelines to regulate the impact of such
industries on the environment such as the Environmental
Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in
Nigeria (EGASPIN) 2002, published by the
Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
The NESREA Act allows each State and Local Government in the
country to set up its own agency for the protection and improvement of the
environment within the State. Each State is also empowered to make laws to
protect the environment within its jurisdiction. All the States have
environmental agencies and State laws; e.g. Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Abuja.
The Federal Capital Territory has issued the Abuja
Environmental Protection Board (Solid Waste
Control/Environmental Monitoring) Regulations 2005 also
referred to as "the Abuja Environmental
Protection Board Regulations" which principally governs
solid waste control in Abuja. In Lagos
Situation Analysis
The environment is the life supporting system for human
existence and survival and provides much of the physical milieu and the raw
materials required for socio-economic progress. Humanity has no choice but to
interact with it. Unfortunately, human interaction, natural disaster and
climate change are putting unprecedented pressure and impact on the quality of
our environmental conditions. Climate change, in particular, is currently one
of the most critical issues facing mankind today. It strikes at the very heart
of the sustainability of our life, and is compounding human efforts to attain
sustainable development. Nigeria is strongly predisposed to severe negative
impacts of climate change due to the nature of its economy, weak resilience and
low adaptive capacity. Much of the economy is dependent on climate- sensitive
resources. For example, the agriculture sector (crop production, livestock and
fishery) and forestry which employ up to 70% of the workforce and contributes
about 22% of the rebased GDP is very climate sensitive.
If the environment is properly managed, it can be a
productive resource to meet our socio-economic and aesthetic needs, not only
for today, but also for the future generations. Conversely, if poorly managed,
the environment could easily become hazardous and threatening to the country’s
survival. Where human interaction with the environment results in degradation,
it can be a significant source of economic loss and stress upon human
societies. By the 1990s, a World Bank report estimated that Nigeria was losing
about US$5.1 billion per annum to environmental degradation, in the face of
poor mitigation measures and initiatives.
Nigeria's environment is under increasing threat from human
activities and natural disasters. There are already certain ominous problems
with the environment and visible scars associated with the destruction of the
natural resource base (land, water and air) upon which all life depends are
being noted. The country's large population of about 170 million and its rapid
growth rate of 2.8 per cent are contributing to its environmental degradation.
The key environmental issues facing Nigeria include land
degradation, deforestation, and land, water and air pollution among others.
Land is by far the most important resource necessary for subsistence. Simply,
put land is
that part of the
earth's surface that is not covered by water, To this has to be added
wet lands which are
seasonally or permanently under water. Much of this land is rural, carrying
farmlands and vegetation of various types as well as water reservoirs. This
portion of the country’s land area is the stock from which urban uses are
aggressively incurring into to meet growing unbridled non- land use demands.
Earth mining for urban development is a major component of this “eating” up the
rural land that has evidently been ignored over the years. Left uncontrolled as
it is today, future access to rural land for agriculture will be precarious.
Effort must therefore be made now to enforce land demarcation for rural
especially at the LGA levels. Such land declared as rural would not be allowed
to be converted to urban uses of any form. There must also be a watch on idle
urban land to control
Wastages associated
with land speculation.
Even the land now
under rural use is severely threatened. Much of Nigeria's arable land is being
sapped insidiously of its productive potential through overuse, inappropriate
technologies and urbanization. Rapid deforestation, resulting from multiple
uses of forest resources for human survival (e.g. fuel wood and energy, housing
etc.) is a major contributing factor to land degradation. The end result of deforestation
and other agricultural activities, including intensive grazing, and
over-cultivation, is severe land degradation.
Fossil fuel use, particularly oil and gas exploration, has
aggravated the problem of ecological damage in the Niger Delta. Similarly,
indiscriminate and illegal mining for tin and columbite on the Jos Plateau and
other mineral resources in many parts of Nigeria have left many areas of the
country severely degraded.
There is also a growing concern about air and water
pollution, associated with continued urbanization and industrialization in the
country. Pollution from oil exploration activities and gas flaring in the Niger
Delta remains a source of concern to the government. Oil spills from leaking
underground pipelines and storage tanks are a regular occurrence, rendering
vast tracts of land and water bodies unproductive in the region. National Oil
Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) recorded in first half of the year
2007 a total of 424 spill incidents involving 33,799 barrels of oil. In
addition, pollution from gas flaring goes on daily because the flare-free
deadline set by government has been postponed many times. The resultant heat
stress and acid rain continue to degrade the ecosystem. Nigerians in general
are increasingly being exposed to the hazards of highly polluted gaseous and
dust emissions from industries and vehicles and dangerous industrial wastes
that are constantly being discharged into the environment.
Although there have been many national efforts to tackle the
problems, Nigeria continues to rank very low in terms of its environmental
performance rating. In 2016, the country's Environmental Performance Index (EPI)1
was 58.27, ranking it as number 133 out of 190 countries surveyed in the world.
The low EPI figure puts the country behind many other African countries like
Egypt (66.45), South Africa (70.52), Namibia (70.84) and Kenya (62.49). A value
of 58.27 indicates that while Nigeria has shown some improvement in the last
two years from a low value of 39.20 in 2014, the country still has limited
capacity to handle environmental problems and it has not been able to
significantly reduce its high rate of air, land and water pollution. When
compared with other oil producing countries like Norway (86.90), Canada
(86.06), Saudi Arabia (68.63) and Venezuela (76.23), Nigeria has a lot to do to
achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that are related to the conservation
and sustainable use of its natural resources for meaningful socio-economic
development. The situation is being compounded by climate change. The country
is strongly predisposed to severe negative impacts of climate change due to its
weak resilience and low adaptive capacity.
Addressing these issues and considering the fact that
understanding the trade-offs between present and future consumption of
resources have to be carefully analyzed, provide the justification for this
policy. It also gives the framework to guide the country’s
efforts to deal with the ever-growing environmental challenges, such as:
i. Sustainable management of natural resources:
Environment-unfriendly practices such as large- scale deforestation and land
clearing, inappropriate and illegal mining, excessive irrigation water supply,
inappropriate use of agrochemicals and inorganic fertilizers, uncontrolled and
poor livestock farming practices, gas flaring, have resulted in alteration in
vegetation cover, soil degradation, as well as distortion in drainage system,
loss of biodiversity, overgrazing and
1 The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks countries’
performance on high-priority environmental issues in two areas protection of
human health and protection of ecosystems.
disruption of the ecological systems, pollution, increased
incidence of disease vectors and the like in many parts of Nigeria.
ii. Environmentally sound technology: The exploitation of
natural resources, consumption of energy, production processes and generation
of environmental pollution, wastes and degradation depend on the types of
technology adopted. The major challenge for the country is to adopt and use
environmentally sound technologies (ESTs), whether exogenously or endogenously
developed because they will contribute significantly to productivity and the
sustainability of resources through renewable-energy generation, pollution
control, and waste reduction.
iii. Climate change and disaster management: The effects of
the change are already manifesting in increasing extreme climatic events
particularly storms, flooding and rising temperatures as well as altered
climatic and weather regimes. These are creating many other effects such as
declining productivity of rain-fed agriculture and relocation of populations
with all its consequences. In the long run all the sectors of the economy could
be severely impacted with huge losses including life. This would slow down the
pace of development in the country as many economic activities are climate
sensitive. There could be shift in the boundaries of ecological belts. The
challenge is the promotion of climate compatible development for disaster risk
reduction and sustainable development
iv. Land degradation and desertification: Severe land
degradation continues to ravage the country, resulting in drastic reduction in
the productivity of land resources. Reducing the rate and severity of
desertification and reversing land degradation is a key challenge for
environmental sustainability and sustainable development of the country.
v. Waste management: Poor waste management that is prevalent
in Nigeria is inimical to the sustenance of the environment as well as the
overall economic development of the country. Controlling indiscriminate dumping
of household and industrial wastes on land, water and air remains a major
environmental challenge.
vi. Pollution: Pollution continues to be a major
environmental challenge in the country, with significant impact on the
well-being of the country’s environment and the people.
vii. Environmental hazards and disasters: Despite their
devastating impacts on many sectors of the economy and the livelihoods of the
people, the management of environmental hazards and disasters remain a major
challenge, due generally to inadequate capacity for their effective prediction,
mitigation and management.
viii. Urban decay: Nigeria ranks among the most urbanized
countries in the world with the rate about 56% in 2015. The pace of
urbanization increase has been such that maintenance of modest environmental standards
had inevitably lagged behind. The functionality of most urban areas is thus
reduced in addition to exerting adverse impacts on households, macro-economic
performance and social well-being. This situation poses a major challenge to
economic growth and development.
Integrated coastal management: Nigeria’s
coastal region suffers degradation from diverse of human activities,
particularly oil exploration and exploitation, agricultural and industrial
development. Attempts to address critical environmental problems have been
mainly piece meal. The main challenge for the sustainable management of the
coastal and marine environment is to put in place an integrated approach that
will address the issues.
x. Weak environmental governance: Weak and fragmented
environmental governance remains a major bane of environmental sustainability
in the country. Many of the institutions dealing with environmental issues have
weak capacity and adopt sectoral, rather than integrated, approaches. They are
generally under-funded and ineffective in their core functions to have
meaningful impact on environmental sustainability. Weak enforcement of laws and
weak implementation of policies remains a major issue of concern in Nigeria’s
environment sector.
xi. Inadequate environmental education and awareness:
National efforts to address environmental issues have not been broad-based.
But, broad public participation in decision making processes is one of the
fundamental preconditions for sustainable development. This will enable many
Nigerians to be aware of their role in environmental management and also
enhance their access to timely and accurate information on the environment.
Sound environmental management has to be based on openness and inclusiveness at
all levels. Therefore, it is imperative that environmental education and public
awareness is promoted to ensure broad-based environmental management, involving
the many and varied stakeholders.
xii. Dichotomy between environment and growth, and
environment and poverty alleviation: Environmental issues and concerns are
lowly rated in national priorities. The fact, therefore, is that over time
environmental degradation and intractable poverty have become more complex.
Alleviating poverty and protecting the environment for sustainable development
is not only necessary but also imperative. For sustainability, there is the
need to maintain balance between (i) maintaining a constant natural capital
stock and environmental “sink” capacity and (ii) improving the quality of life through
poverty alleviation.
xiii. Limited private sector participation in environmental
management: A prosperous economy depends on a well-defined and functional
market. But for environmental resources, the market forces are not functioning
well and this is one of the reasons for environmental degradation. The private
sector as a major player in the market forces must therefore be adequately
involved in environmental management. Improving the level of private sector
participation in environmental management to take economic responsibilities for
damages done to the environment is critical. This would mean establishing a
framework for proper environmental valuation of the activities of the private
sector. The cost of environmental mitigation needs to be incorporated into the
capital outlay as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of every
private establishment.
xiv. Conservation of shared natural resources: Conflicts
over control and management of shared resources are very common in many parts
of Nigeria. For example, the Lake Chad region experiences perennial conflicts
concerning access to its water and fisheries resources. This calls for a
framework for a harmonized and common approach to the conservation and
management such shared resources.
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