Page:Niger Delta Ecosystems- the ERA Handbook, 1998.djvu/161

Environmental Impact of the Oil Industry 15 THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE OIL INDUSTRY ON THE NIGER DELTA
 * The Nature of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
 * The Potential Environmental Impact of the Oil Industry
 * The Actual Adverse Environmental Impact of the Oil Industry
 * Common Impacts
 * Specific Impacts
 * The Economic Costs of Oil Production in the Niger Delta

The early parts of this chapter are a fundamental discussion about EIA. They stress that good environmental assessment is much more a frame of mind than the following of a recipe. A good frame of mind, which enables the assessor to have a clear idea of the environmental impacts of a particular human activity, rather than, as is often the case, an emotional and unscientific reaction to environmental change.

Thus, anyone wishing to undertake environmental assessment must read sections 1 and 2 of this chapter, which are based on the real field experience of ERA. Otherwise, for a description of the actual impacts, only sections 3, 4 and 5 need be read.

15.1 THE NATURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA)

What is EIA? In order to be able to have a clear and objective view of how the oil industry makes an impact upon the environment it is necessary first to understand the nature of environmental impact assessment in terms of the mining of oil. Six ideas about EIA need to be grasped.

15.1.1 THE THREE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF GOOD EIA

In the first place, good EIA of the oil and gas industry in the Niger Delta depends upon satisfying the three essential components of EIA. These are:
 * a thorough understanding of all the component activities of the oil and gas industry; and, the potential environmental impact implications of these activities;
 * a thorough understanding of the environment in which these activities take place in terms (as this book has taken pains to stress) of the dynamics of human ecosystems, the ultimate manifestation of which is human society; and
 * A thorough understanding of the dynamic relationship between the activities of the oil and gas industry and the environment; this last component being EIA.

15.1.2 EIA INVESTIGATES WITH AND WITHOUT SCENARIOS

The activities of the oil and gas industry have an environmental impact upon dynamic human ecosystems. Because they are dynamic, these ecosystems will change, in any event, even without the impact of the oil industry. This is clear in the Niger Delta, as explained below, not least because the presence of a large and growing population itself has a significant impact. Therefore EIA must be understood in terms of the environment 159