Sufuyan Ojeifo
15 May 2007
Abuja — In response to environmental and health threats posed by economic development in line with international conventions on the environment, the Senate has proposed the setting up of a National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).
The proposal, according to the Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani would be captured in a Bill for an Act to Establish the NESREA, whose public hearing has been concluded in Abuja by the Senate Committee on Environmental headed by Senator Victor Kassim Oyofo.
Nnamani said at the opening of the public hearing, which held in Senate Committee Room One, that "because the environmental risks we face as a developing country is varied, we need specialized agencies that can handle them effectively.
"We need agencies with specialized expertise and concentrated attention to handle these diverse environmental challenges."
He said that the Senate had lined up a series of Bills that would help the nation protect its environment in its quest for "fast-track economic development."
He pointed out that in order to ensure effectiveness and avoid any unintended consequences, the Senate mandated its committee on the Environment to "consolidate the various Bills on the environment in order to streamline agencies and functions and avoid jurisdictional conflicts and duplication of bureaucracies."
He stated that with the passage into law of the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency Bill, the NESREA Bill was the second of the bills that create agencies for the enforcement of safety standards and environmental best practices.
The Senate President explained that the National Assembly understood the linkage between and among the environment, development and political stability, adding, "We realize that the challenges of development carry with it the risks of reckless environmental degradation."
He added: "As a fledgling democracy and an aspiring economic medium power, Nigeria has a responsibility to design actionable plans on protecting the environment and remedying degradation."
He assured that NESREA would be responsible for the protection of the environment, conservation of biodiversity, upgrading of environmental technology and knowledge and promotion of sustainable development in line with the Rio and Johannesburg Declarations and the Millennium Declaration Goals.
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