Lagos State government has urged stakeholders to embrace Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as a critical tool for environmental management.The state’s Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, who stated this during a stakeholders’ engagement on mainstreaming EIA and safeguard instruments into developmental initiatives at Alausa, said the move was meant to achieve sustainable development.

Wahab, who was represented by the Director, Sanitation Services, Dr Hassan Sanuth, said EIA would help in identifying the likely adverse and beneficial impacts of a project with the aim of putting in place measures to mitigate the adverse effects.

“For us, regulating development in the built environment is not a contest of popularity but a determination to do the right thing. EIA has become a global decision-making tool by policy-makers in protecting the environment.

“Nations across the globe enacting laws and setting stricter standards to ensure compliance and Lagos State cannot be an exception,” he said.

The commissioner said that Lagos State remains the preferred destination for many businesses operating within the various sectors of Nigeria’s economy and this opens the state to economic prosperity and growth, adding that it comes with various types of environmental and social challenges.

He said that the establishment of industrial facilities, creation of new settlements and construction of building and infrastructure come with huge adverse environmental impacts, ranging from pollution of environmental media (air, land and water) to irreversible environmental degradation if not properly managed.

The commissioner stated that the workshop was designed to bring together Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and relevant stakeholders in the built and environment sector to brainstorm on the critical role of EIA and other safeguard instruments in a collective strides towards sustainable development in Lagos State.

He stressed that the workshop became necessary in view of the recent circular from the Head of Service, which re-enforces the need for all MDAs and project developers in the state to subject their projects to EIA through the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.

According to him, it is for these obvious reasons that the state, through the Environment Ministry, has adopted the application of the EIA process in ensuring sustainable implementation of development projects in the state in line with global best practices.

He said the government could not afford the huge cost of addressing environmental degradation and ecological challenges resulting from unwholesome project development activities, adding that the cost of doing the right things is cheaper than the cost of correcting the consequences of refusal to do them.

Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Dr GajiOmobolaji Tajudeen, in his welcome address, said EIA had become a major management tool that any nation that is determined to achieve sustainable development could not afford to be jettisoned in project consideration and design.
Gaji, who was represented by the Director, Environmental Assessment, Dr Olasunkanmi Sojinu, said MDAs and other stakeholders are the cornerstones for the realisation of the objectives of the agenda as they implement various projects that are expected to impact positively on the lives of the people.