3.1.3. Public Participation
Public participation in the EIA procedure in Niger is
legislated by Articles 10 and 11 of the Decree 2000-397 on the EIA procedure.
The publicity mechanism of the EIA is done through informing the population of
the eventuality of the project, consulting the people concerned by the project
during data collection for the elaboration of the EIAR, and making accessible
the EIA reports to the public at the BEEIA. Moreover, the decree states that
this population should be informed and concerted about the content of the EIAR
by all appropriate means. After approval of the project by the CA, the EIA and
the final decisions are consulted at BEEIA office.
3.1.4. Climate Change in Niger EIA legislation
No provision, neither the Ordonnance 97-001 nor the decree
2000-397, refers to the consideration of CC regarding impacts and mitigation or
enhancement measures during the implementation of a project. The project
mitigation measures are mentioned in Article 7 of the Decree 2000-397 but they
are related to biophysical and human components such as water, wildlife, air,
population health, etc., not global aspects such as CC. Nevertheless, there are
provisions related to the protection of the atmosphere and the fight against
global warming in Law 98-56 on the management of the environment (Article
37-41), but decrees on the application of that law are not yet adopted.
3.1.5. EIA Procedure Limits
3.1.5.1. Inadequate Public Participation
Article 11 of the Decree No. 2000-397 provides that» the
EIA reports and final decisions shall be consulted at the BEEIA office. Under
no circumstances can they be loaned and /or taken away by private
individuals». The Decree does not provide another mechanism for widespread
dissemination such as the posting of the draft report in the localities
concerned or a time period given for the public to express their comments or
concerns. In addition, only few institutions receive a copy of the EIA report
(article 8) and the remaining members of the ad-hoc committee do not receive
the final copy of the report after the project approval while international
best practices, in particular the World Bank Group standards, advice wide
publicity of EIAs (World Bank, 1999).
3.1.5.2. Environmental Monitoring Missions Funded by
the Project Developer
Although it has not been clearly stated in the legislative
texts, costs related to environmental monitoring are estimated in the
Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), i.e., supported by the
developer. That could reduce the independence and impartiality of the BEEIA
staff conducting the monitoring.
3.1.5.3. Ambiguity Related to the Scope of the EIA as a
Tool
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From the statement of Article 4 of Ordinance 97-001, it is
clear that EIA is compulsory both for projects and for development programmes.
This creates an amalgam with respect to the scope of both tools (EIA and
SEA).
3.1.5.4. Failure to Categorise Projects Subjugated to
EIA
The Decree No. 2000-398 / PRN / ME / LCD of October 20th, 2000
determining the list of activities, works and planning documents for which
environmental impact assessments are required does not classify the various
projects into categories. That does not allow knowing the ones that require a
thorough EIA, or a simplified EIA.
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