Advanced Natural Resources Stewardship and Environmental Advocacy
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EnvironmentalLaw_abbey_INRESNREM902.pptENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND LAW
Key concepts:
Policy: Oxford dictionary “a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual”. An agreed documented statement of position towards the environment.
Law: body of principles or rules recognized and applied by a community or state to regulate behavior and govern justice.
Protocol: the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic relations
Treaties: agreements under international law entered into by actors in international law
Convention: agreement reached at the end of an international meeting
Generic principles of environmental policy and law
- The polluter pays principle
- The preventative approach
- The precautionary principle
- Best available techniques (BAT)
- Producer responsibility
- Lifecycle thinking
- Best practicable environmental option (BPEO)
Environmental Law
- Environmental law is the body of laws that seek to protect or enhance the environment.
Two main types of law in Nigeria
Civil: concerned with competing private interests and obligations and abounds mostly in unwritten or judge-made laws
Criminal: seeks to protect the interest of the public at large by punishing certain conducts which are believed to be harmful to the society.
Sources of law
- Common law: is law that has been developed on the basis of preceding rulings by judges.
- Statute/Statutory law: written law as decided by the legislature or other government agency.
- The main differences are how the laws are created and the basis of challenges
Nigerian environmental law
- History
virtually non-existent to the recent enactment of twenty-four environmental regulations.
1917 the Public Health Act 9 (relevance in the regulation of land, air and water pollution).
Oil Pipelines Act 1956
Oil in Navigable Waters Act 1968
Petroleum Act 1969
Sources of current Nigerian environmental law
- International law: International law is an important source of environmental law
- Many conferences, conventions, treaties and protocols have been initiated to protect the world environment.
