Consideraciones generales

3.2 Socio –cultural effect on Environmental Law

3.3 Non Compliance vis Enforcement of Environmental Law 3.4 Enforcement Constraints of Environmental Laws

3.5 Political and Social Context of Enforcement Constraint 4. Conclusion

5. Summary

6. Tutor-marked Assignment 7. References/Further Readings 1.0 Introduction

In this Unit, we shall discuss the impact of Town and Country Planning on Environmental law, Socio-cultural effect, its non-compliance and enforcement constraints of environmental law in Nigeria.

2.0 Objectives

At the end of this unit, students should be able to:

a. Understand the impact of Town and Country Planning on Environmental Law.

b. Identify the non – compliance and enforcement constraints of environmental law c. Who enforces what?

3.0 Main Content

3.1 The Impact of Town and Country Planning

The Impact of Town and Country Plannin g in the recent times, most states in Nigeria are becoming conscious of criticisms and are equally implementing suggestions that had become unnecessary for national and state development and planning. This development regulations tends to orderly regulates the planning and growth of a country, city and town by emphasizing standards for all areas of planning. The rule stipulates that there must be adequate light well spacious environment/ventilation recreation space for the children and elders, open space for social festivities, Country

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Health Centre and Estate/Community Market space. All these are metaphor for a well laid out town/city or countr y planning which ensures further that residential, educational, industrial, commercial and agricultural areas are well and carefully zoned. This is to avoid conflict and avoid breach of peace and promote harmonious relationship.

Country/City or Town Planning control is inevitable, solely aimed at checking nefarious activities of developers, landowners, land speculators and estate quacks from building their houses as they like at the detriment of the public interest. The main fact is that a development plan cannot work in the absence of planning regulations.

Oni C. S. posited that “Town planning is perhaps the oldest of the arts and the newest of the sciences. In modern practices before making plans, pictures and fine-looking models of how the future city will look – these has to be a careful diagnosis of everything that makes the term ‘tick’, that is, good road network, railways, industries, shops, houses, schools, health services and most importantly, its local administration.

Once this diagnosis is done, a cure for the various ailments and maladjustments of the city can be prescribed in terms of the ascertained needs of the people and place itself.

The plan ought to grow out of the city naturall y”. In addition, Lawrence Atsegbna et al states that in improving urban design in Africa, it is essential that adequate standard of density, land use and utility services be established, that sand planning principles and techniques and a mature philosophy of contempo rary aesthetic considerations be developed and that those and other urban factors should be related to the over-all development plan by preparing three-dimensional plans and models of the neighbourhood. Urban design is a social art that has its purpose the proper arrangement of the physical facilities that form our urban environment. It is an art and technique, which requires the freedom and enthusiasm of creative designers. The element of design should become once again a living part of the organic pattern of our cities. An attitude to quieta non mavere – let sleeping dogs lie - should be avoided b y community leaders and environmental designers. There must be a search for beauty and undue reliance on controls should be avoided whether it is Haussamann’s Paris, Wren’s London, Burnham’s Chicago, or Lutyen’s New Delhi.

Furthermore, a city is not an inanimate object upon which any plan can be imposed – nor can it with impurity be hacked about or messed up by any kind of haphazard development that can be got away with (as it is found in some indigenous African countries especially Nigeria particularly cities/towns like Ibadan, Aba, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu etc). for observation of planning control and adherence to environmental

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regulations before and after permission or app rovals sought has b een given, arch itects, builders speculators and contractors must pay special attention to the following hints.

1. Building Line – nearness to roads or footpaths

2. Density Control – number of rooms to be built on a given land

3. Zoning - The type of buildings that could be created in a given area from a functional point of view, such as commercial, industrial, residential and recreational areas.

4. Orientation – sides to axis of the sun to catch prevailing breezes and cut off direct sunlight as much as possible.

5. Lighting – openings given, including the necessary air spaces to be observed.

6. Availability of amenities – kitchen, store, bathroom, toilets and drainage.

7. Facades – appearance from elevation and how harmonious the facades are in relation to other existing buildings.

8. Plot ratio – percentage of the land to be built on and percentage to be left undeveloped to provide open spaces and necessary greens.

All these points as a matter of practice must be given consideration before obtaining approval or permission and it is important that the building must conform with the approved plan. The quantity and quality of materials used should be as such that match with modern architectural designs.

It is hereby suggested that the definition of ‘development’ should include timing and engineering operations since agriculture is not the only industr y in the country.

Conservation experts of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) tend to discount recent theories of global changes as the main reason for land loss.

Despite such natural disaster as the Sahel drought, they maintain that most damage is either man – made or due to human negligence.

Causes mentioned include the disastrous effects of animals overgrazing, shifting cultivations of agriculture on a fragile soils, poor planting and maintenance of irrigation systems, forest clearing in flood – prone areas, stripping of tree cover for fuel-wood gathering , bushfires and lack of greenbelt planting against desert spread.

(Ola C. S).

In the World Conferences of Agrarian Reforms and Rural Development has held many meetings on agricultural problems since the UN was established in 1945 and nearly all African and other third World nations have been participating and equally signatory to various treaties. For instance, special African concerns were discussed at the 10^th FAO Region al Conference in ARUSHA, Tanzania.

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In this wise, agrarian reform and rural development are generally considered to be political issues, conference studies also stress falling landmark ratios in most developing countries. Population growth is the main reason, but land lost through ecological deterioration is an increasing important factor.

However, total rural population of the developing world, despite massive irrigation in cities is expected to grow by 900 million by turn of the country. At the World Desertification Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, global land loss from manmade causes was already estimated to cover an area bigger than the entire Saharan Desert. More than 680 million people were said to be living on land which could no longer support permanent cultivation or was in danger of deterioration.

Be that as it may, in Nigeria, where about 90% of the population are farmers or nomadic herdsman, more than 20.6 million people live in the 15 percent of the country which is semi –arid. At least two – third of Kenya is classified as arid or semi –arid, yet land loss is continuing through new land clearing on fragile soils, bush fires and indiscriminate burning of trees and shrubs for charcoal.

In Tanzania, where 93% of the land is rough grazing forest area, growth of both human and animal populations is facing a change from traditional bush fallow farming to static agriculture and more of semi – arid lands. Egypt has made a major effort to reclaim desert land through irrigation, but faces continuous problems in the reclaimed areas from salinit y, alkalinit y and a rise in the water table. Israelis gover nment equall y have used technology to reclaim and develop rocky land. Meanwhile, drifting and deposits threaten huge areas of the Nile valley.

With the above facts, comforts stations containing wasting, bathing and toilet facilities in public places are extremely desirable. Local government in urban areas should build parks, public toilets and little cafeterias or encourage co-operative or clubs to establish cafeteria in strategic places. Proper caring of public toilets can be financed by a system of coin slot payment. Refuse depots should be constructed within easy reach of the inhabitants and the old system of visitation of homes by Public Health Inspectors should be revived. In that wise, Town Planning Authority Officials whose time is expensive should have field officers to ensure that all buildings comply with approved building plans.

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Self Assessment

Highlight the impact of Town and Country Planning on Environmental Law.