The impact of the Niger delta environment on EIA follow-up of oil and gas projects

Abstract

The adoption and application of Environmental Impact Assessment around the world is considered popular because of its capacity to contribute to quality environmental management decisions and drive sustainability. The follow-up component involving the implementation of Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is regarded as the engine room for achieving the goals of EIA [1, 2, and 3]. The implementation and effectiveness of EIA and indeed follow-up have been researched around the world beginning with work of [4]. Reports have shown implementation to be inadequate for all components of EIA with the implementation of EMP described as the weakest component [5, 6]. Researchers have also attempted to identify factors responsible for weak implementation [7]. However, according to [8] been sensitive to a region’s context is essentially necessary to understanding the performance of EIA system and its evaluation. Studies on EIA and indeed EMP have shown that the level and quality of implementation vary from one jurisdiction to another and suggest that local factors comprising social and environmental factors could have significant impact on the implementation process. While this may be more significant at a wider level of an EIA jurisdiction, understanding these dynamics within specific sub-regions and sectors within an EIA jurisdiction is equally important. Attempts have been made by different researchers to evaluate the implementation of follow-up at various scales with [9] and [10] differentiating between the micro and macro scales. They argue that understanding practices at different scales will enhance application of corrective measures to improve practices and achieve success.