NESREA: National Environmental Law

NESREA as Environmental Regulator, as Environmental Operator, as Capacity Builder, as Job Creator; and NESREA as Environmental Advisor.

NESREA Functions

National Environmental Standards And Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has responsibility for the protection and development of the environment, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of Nigeria’s natural resources in general and environmental technology including coordination and liaison with relevant stakeholders within and outside Nigeria on matters of enforcement of environmental standards, regulations, rules, laws, policies and guidelines.

Some functions of the Agency are to:

•             enforce compliance with laws, guidelines, policies and standards on environmental matters;

•             coordinate and liaise with, stakeholders, within and outside Nigeria on matters of environmental standards, regulations and enforcement;

•             enforce compliance with the provisions of international agreements, protocols, conventions and treaties on the environment including climate change, biodiversity conservation, desertification, forestry, oil and gas, chemicals, hazardous wastes, ozone depletion, marine and wild life, pollution, sanitation and such other environmental agreements as may from time to time come into force;

•             enforce compliance with policies, standards, legislation and guidelines on water quality, Environmental Health and Sanitation, including pollution abatement;

•             enforce compliance with guidelines, and legislation on sustainable management of the ecosystem, biodiversity conservation and the development of Nigeria’s natural resources;

•             enforce compliance with any legislation on sound chemical management, safe use of pesticides and disposal of spent packages thereof;

•             enforce compliance with regulations on the importation, exportation, production, distribution, storage, sale, use, handling and disposal of hazardous chemicals and waste, other than in the oil and gas sector;

•             enforce through compliance monitoring, the environmental regulations and standards on noise, air, land, seas, oceans and other water bodies other than in the oil and gas sector;

•             ensure that environmental projects funded by donor organizations and external support agencies adhere to regulations in environmental safety and protection;

•             enforce environmental control measures through registration, licensing and permitting Systems other than in the oil and gas sector;

•             conduct environmental audit and establish data bank on regulatory and enforcement mechanisms of environmental standards other than in the oil and gas sector;

•             create public awareness and provide environmental education on sustainable environmental management, promote private sector compliance with environmental regulations other than in the oil and gas sector and publish general scientific or other data resulting from the performance of its functions; and

•             carry out such activities as are necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions

Our Activities

Deriving from the Act establishing the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and in line with the Agency’s Mandate, Vision and Mission, NESREA programmes and activities as categorized below is contributing to national socio-economic advancement and expanding the country’s space in the global environmental arena:

NESREA Functional Strategies/Policy Thrust

             Developing and maintaining strategies for effective environmental compliance monitoring and enforcement;

             Establishing a robust environmental information management system including database/databank;

             Increasing significantly the level of environmental awareness and creating partnerships with relevant stakeholders at both national and global levels;

             Carrying out effective environmental compliance monitoring and enforcement programmes to ensure the sustainable use of Nigeria’s natural resources, and to protect citizens’ wellbeing and control air, land and water pollution; and

             Coordinating and promoting research and studies, in collaboration with public and private agencies, institutions and organizations, on various aspects of environmental degradation and pollution including technological transfer.

NESREA Strategy

As part of the NESREA strategies towards effective implementation of her mandate, the Agency shall:

             Ensure inter-sectoral linkages between relevant bodies with respect to development planning and decision making processes;

             Adopt a system of national accounting to internalize environmental costs;

             Develop environmental awareness programmes for nationwide implementation;

             Embark on continuous compliance monitoring and environmental enforcement programmes;

             Promote voluntary environmental compliance programmes;

             Undertake aggressive public awareness campaign and advocacy at all levels to properly communicate the concept of voluntary compliance and should enlist the support and participation of all key stakeholders including trade unions, professional and business associations, civil society organisations, traditional, natural and faith-based organizations;

             Conduct baseline studies on the state of the Nigerian environment and build a databank;

             Monitor the state of the Nigerian environment on a continuous basis and publish regular reports to guide policy formulation and decision-making;

             Promote the development of local technologies to aid compliance to environmental legislation;

             Create fora for dialogue, exchange of information and experience as well as build consensus and partnerships among all stakeholders;

             Develop environmental education curricula in the area of compliance monitoring and enforcement for integration into formal and informal education system;

             Develop new, and the review of existing obsolete environmental guidelines, regulations and standards; and

             Initiate regular sector-specific consultative meetings for sharing of ideas and experience, and better dissemination of information.

NESREA Missions

The mission of the Department is to ensure effective mainstreaming of existing and emerging policy issues into the mandate of the Agency through effective planning and public education including application of information management system and the building of viable partnerships at all levels.

The Department has three Divisions:

•             Policy Analysis and Research (PAR);

•             Planning and Information Management (PIM)

Mandate Includes

             To ensure effective mainstreaming of existing and emerging policy issues into the mandate of the Agency;

             To ensure effective planning and develop appropriate compliance monitoring and enforcement strategies in collaboration with relevant departments;

             To ensure adequate Stakeholder’s engagement for environmental governance in the country;

             To ensure Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening for the Agency; and

             To carry-out monitoring of the Agency’s programmes and activities for quality assurance.

             Meet the Director General/CEO

             Professor Aliyu Jauro is the Director General/ Chief Executive Officer of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA. He assumed office on the 25th of March 2019.

             Before his appointment, Professor Jauro was Deputy Director at the National Centre for Petroleum Research and Development at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, (A.T.B.U) Bauchi. He holds a Bachelor of Tech. Degree in Industrial Chemistry from A.T.B.U Bauchi and MSc and PhD Degrees in Industrial Chemistry from the same University. He joined the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University as a Graduate Assistant in 1997 and rose through the ranks to Professor in Industrial Chemistry in 2014.

             Professor Aliyu Jauro had won the German Academic Exchange Scholarship (DAAD) and the European Association of Organic Geochemists (EAOG) Travel Grant in 2005.

             He is a fellow of the Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN), as well as a member of the Institute of Chartered Chemists of Nigeria, (MICCON) and member of Polymer Institute of Nigeria (MPIN).

Top Management Team

The Federal Government in line with section 20 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, established the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Environment.

The Governing Board has the responsibility of policy making and administration of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA). NESREA Management is empowered with the day to day running of the Agency under the leadership of the Director General/Chief Executive.

Supervising Authority

•             Honourable Minister of Environment

•             Governing Council

NESREA’s top management team are

What is Environmental Quality Control (EQC)?

All actions that help to induce efforts to ensure optimum quality of environment to meet the conservation, social, economic, health, and other requirements and goals of Nigeria.

In practical terms environmental quality control entails surveys and assessments, standard setting, monitoring for air, water and land quality, as well as biodiversity, and includes compliance monitoring of non-point sources responsible for environmental degradation.

Thrust

To ensure continuous monitoring and assessment of the environment so as to generate scientifically-based information for setting standards and their enforcement, for a cleaner and healthier environment for Nigerians.

Goals

Ensuring Ecological/Environmental Integrity through:

             appraising environmental resources and assessing ecosystem health to facilitate setting and enforcing regulatory standards and safety limits;

             monitoring ecosystem processes and trends to promptly identify adverse events and initiate/enforce mitigative measures; and

             facilitating compliance by assessing and promoting technologies and best practices for abating environmental degradation and ecosystem restoration.

Building Partnerships With Stakeholders

As part of the partnership strategy, NESREA has Zonal Headquarters in the six Geo-political Zones, and proposes to have offices in all the States of the Federation. For the Agency to effectively implement her mandate at the state, she is reaching out to state governments for viable partnerships.

This is one of the main objectives for the Agency’s courtesy calls to the Executive Governors of various states of the federation. Such courtesy visits provide a unique opportunity to explain to the Executive Governors the activities of NESREA and discuss areas of collaboration and partnerships between the State Government and NESREA. Presently NESREA has presence in 22 states of the federation.

Building viable partnerships with State Governments makes for a win-win situation for both NESREA and the State Governments. Such partnerships will help to create more jobs, promote environmental awareness and consciousness, and also ensure a cleaner and healthier environment for the people of that state. Success stories from such partnerships have become models that are being replicated across the federation.

Mandate Includes

             Monitor and enforce National Standards and Regulations on air and water quality;

             Collaborate with relevant local authorities and other stakeholders on compliance monitoring of air and water quality;

             Monitor and control priority pollutants with adverse effect on ecosystems integrity and human health;

             Develop environmental monitoring networks on Air Quality;

             Compile an emission database for compliance, monitoring and enforcement;

             Identify and promote appropriate technology alternatives including sound practices to ensure environmental compliance;

             Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to develop new Technologies and Innovations for environmental compliances;

             Undertake, coordinate, utilize and promote the expansion of research, experiments, surveys and studies by public or private agencies, institutions and organizations, concerning causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction and elimination of pollution that would promote compliance with environmental standards and regulations;

             Enforce the provision of international environmental agreements in the green environment, to which Nigeria is signatory, such as CITES, RAMSAR, Convention on Biodiversity and access and benefit sharing and such other Agreements that may from time to time come into force;

             Enforce in collaboration with relevant authorities, the National Guidelines on logging and harvesting of timber products and the set standards for the export of forest products and the import of forest industry equipment;

             Enforce control measures on the protection of vegetation against wild and incidental forest fires and bush burning;

             Enforce in collaboration with relevant authorities, the National Bio-safety Policy and Guidelines to ensure that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are not harmful to the environment and people;

             Ensure that relevant permits are obtained before GMO products are imported, marketed or patented;

             Enforce the Regulations against the disposal of solid wastes in drainage channels;

             Enforce watershed management guidelines to protect water sources from flood, to prevent erosion, deforestation, degradation and contamination of spring sources;

             Enforce dam regulatory Guidelines for Dam break, sediment load and Dam water releases to prevent downstream flood;

             Enforce the incorporation of Erosion and flood control measures at the designed stage of major infrastructural / physical developments;

             Enforce the restriction of Sand dredging for beach nourishment from fragile shore areas and within areas of long shore transport; and

             In collaboration with relevant agencies, enforce urban zoning regulations including standardization of drainage infrastructure in ecological zones and protection of marginal Lands.

Functional Strategies Include:

             Developing and maintaining strategic sectoral alliances;

             Collaborative approaches with state and local governments as well as traditional institutions;

             Forging partnerships with civil society, bilateral and intergovernmental organisations;

             Emphasising science-based information and public awareness; and

             Continuous building of capacity.

EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY(EPR) PROGRAMME

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme is a framework of action for a collaborative and partnership approach between Government, Business and the larger society towards achieving a zero waste society in the near future. The overall objective of the EPR programme is to ensure a decreased in the total environmental impact from a product including its packaging.

This is to be achieved by making the Producers of the product responsible for the entire lifecycle of the product, and in particular, the take-back, recycling and final disposal of the product and its packaging. The Primary responsibility of EPR lies with the Producer, who makes designs and marketing decisions.

The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has commenced the registration of Operators in the EPR Programme, including Producers, PRO, Recyclers and Collectors. Interested operators are to Download the Registration Forms for the EPR Programme.

TYPE OF OPERATORS IN THE EPR

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Programme will have the following operators:

1.            Producer: the most responsive entity which may include but is not limited to the brand owner, manufacturer, franchisee, assembler, filler, distributor, retailer or first importer of the product who sells, offer for sale, or distributes the product.

2.            Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO): a third party organization formed to enable Producers to collectively manage or manage on their behalf, the mandatory take back scheme or other Product Stewardship Programmes.

3.            Recycler: a person or organization who reprocesses waste for the original purpose or for other purposes.

4.            Collector: a person or organization that operates a Centre or point where wastes are collected or stored temporarily for the purpose of recycling.