Environmental
law has been defined as:-
Legal
strategies and procedures designed to combat the pollution, abuse, and neglect
of air, earth, and water resources and to address the management of the public
domain as well as the protection of health and the presentation of scenic resources and open space
Further,
Environmental
law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes,
regulations and common law that
operates to regulate the interaction of
humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing
the impacts of human activity.10
10 http://www.Env.Law. Wikipedia.com assessed on
15/5/12.
Charges; an established
or custom; a person who is a familiar sight in a locality; a collection of
rules or law; institutional adj. Pertaining to an institution; having organized
institution—14
The above definition
shows roughly seven meanings the word institution could be employed. However,
for the purpose of this paper, we take it for granted that the investing of a
clergyman with his spiritual charge’, and ‘a person who is a familiar slight in
a locality’ do not apply. The other aspects of the definition align with the
further definition of institution, which we hereby adopt, as:
The commencement or inauguration of anything as the
commencement of an action. The first establishment of a law, rules, rite, etc.
any custom, system, organization, etc. formally established. An elementary rule
or principle.. 15
On the other hand,
‘framework’ means “a basic structure which supports and gives shape, or a broad
outline plan, ect. Thought of having a similar function” .16
In essence, to
accede or ratify an IEL, the acceding or ratifying nation must have municipally
appreciated the treaty. This is why third word countries find it difficult to
ratify the climate change treaty because the issue of depletion of
stratospheric ozone layer is a creation of industrialized western world. Third
world countries, on this issue, often insist on debt-for-nature swap (that is
waving their debts in other to comply) and creation of world-atmospheric-fund
(that is raising a separate purse for atmospheric matters in order to comply with the treaty which they
feel would stall their developing as the western world). 58
Similarly, when
Nigeria made the municipal law, FEPA 1988, nobody complained because there were
state sanitation authorities doing similar jobs; but if National Assembly were
to legislate that every day, every Nigerian would do ablution three times as
environmental and or personal hygiene, majority of the southerners, especially
Christians, would honour it in breach because the subject or issue is alien to
them.
In essence, both
international environmental and Nigerian environmental law mutually influence
and affect the development of each other.
The third
noticeable comparison is that both laws often start in wishy-washy forms before
attaining full and accalaimable heights. For instance, none of the fishery treaties
of pre1945 era had a near universal application. Even, after 1945, no IEL was
of near universal application until Rio declaration. Similarly, before the
first environmental law in Nigeria (the Harmful waste Decree) aspects of
environmental related provisions were scattered in our laws, here and there;
and their penalties and enforcement were scattered and laughable.
Then, according
to Analysis:
Prior to the establishment of (FEPA)
Agency, the structure of the Federal protection of the environment was
predicated on ministries and departments of government which were expected to
deal with environmental problems related to their ministries functions. Thus,
environmental protection was only an incidental protection function in the
performance of the primary duties of these ministries and department. 59
Abroad
to be a crime within a legal system. The legislating state, cannot, however,
exercise such powers of arrest and trial in the territory of a state other than
its own without the consent of that state 61. this is where the
ultimate cooperation of state parties to
international environmental laws is needed so that foreign nationales who run
global corporations emitting pollutions in any country could be taloned by
their state of origin and prosecuted in view of the fact that they always bribe
the government of their state of operation to keep mute.
In
the same way an International Criminal Court can issue arrest warrants on even
a serving state president for genocide, it can be extended against even a
serving president who blocks extradition of environmental law criminal. Thus,
necessary new extradition treaty could be made and international environmental
law tribunal could be set up because there are more than 1000 treaties in
existence today; and no other area of law has generated such as large body of
conventions on a specific topic.” 62.
Fifthly,
the present ongoing Rio + 20 earth conference should be used to
access real compliance with Rio declarations and to disseminate research
findings in the area of environmental technology and especially as concerning
air pollution because it appears to be the most hazardous aspect of the
environmental degradation. The horror of air pollution is captured Dr. E.O.
Akanki 63 thus:
Human experience
reveals that it is the drama of death by air pollution that stirs up society to
control efforts. But air pollution is also a slow poison, a silent killer. When
air contaminants are low, the effort on human health is not immediate but
cumulative. Therefore, serious damage may be done health wise long before it is
noticed. As in the case of the cadmium poisoning in Japan in 1950, the brewing
damage may take years ‘before it rears its head in a severe disease and
ultimately death in susceptible victims. The cumulative affect of air pollution
in man may result in “birth defect”, “reproductive disfuntions”, “genetical
mutations” and “ieurological disorders”.