Nigeria: Oil spill legislation

 

According to GLOBE International, Senator A. Bukola Saraki, Chair of the Committee on Environment and Ecology of the National Assembly, has introduced a bill to amend the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency Act (NOSDRA) 2006. The amendment seeks to:

• Strengthen the institutional and regulatory capacity of NOSDRA to proactively manage oil spills in a much more robust and effective manner,
• creating a clear and specific regime of penalties and responsibilities for oil spills
• providing a consistent guide and procedure for assessing and accessing compensation for oil spill and other civil liabilities.

With an estimated 13 million -16 million barrels of oil spilled in the Niger Delta over the past 50 years, this legislation would strengthen the governance and penalty system.
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Tehran Convention: COP-3 Outcomes

The five Parties to the Tehran Convention on the Environmental Protection of the Caspian Region agreed to two new protocols during COP-3 in Aktau (Kazakhstan). Once ratified, the Protocol on Regional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollution Incidents will introduce an emergency response system for oil pollution incidents. Agreement on the text of the Protocol on Environmental Impact Assessmetn in a Transboundary Context was reached "in principle" and is intended to provide common rules for the parties to assess any planned activities that could cause significant adverse effects on the Caspian Sea's marine environment. The protocol also would require countries to notify one another of such activities.

The draft Protocol on Regional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollutions Incidents (Document TC/COP3/6), as conveyed in the Note of the interim Secretariat to COP-3.

The draft Protocol on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Document TC/COP3/4), as conveyed in the Note of the interim Secretariat to COP-3.