Determinants Influencing the Environmental Impact Assessment Compliance Rate by Industries in Aba City, Southeast, Nigeria

Abstract

A United Nations (UN) report on the severity of pollution in cities around the world in 2020 rated Aba City, Nigeria, as the most polluted city in the world. This has become a source of worry and embarrassment for environmental policymakers in the country. The matter of whether industries are efficiently managing their wastes came to the fore, and policymakers questioned the compliance of these industries with environmental laws and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidelines and the reasons behind the seemingly non-compliance of the industries with these guidelines. The study aimed to investigate the determinants that influence compliance with EIA guidelines by industries in Aba. A survey research method was employed in the study. Questionnaires and interviews were also used to elicit data from industrialists and environmentalists in the study area. 384 industries were sampled in the study. Principal Component Analysis was used to test the hypothesis. The study revealed seven factors that influenced the compliance rate of EIA guidelines by industries, and they include weak public participation (65.5%), ignorance (54.5%), an effective legal system and legislation (42.4%), the cost of compliance (40.5%), weak coordination along the line of departments (town planning officers and consultants) (35.5%), delay in approval (30.5%), and limited scope (28.9%). It was recommended that the government strengthen the legal system as it relates to the implementation of EIA; then, there is a need to involve affected stakeholders in the preparation of EIA documents.