The Role of Planning Laws in Adapting to Climate Change: A Comparative Study of Nigeria

and South Africa

‘Bunmi AfinowiPhD student of the Public Law Department

Supervisor: Professor Jan Glazewski

Research Focus

Effects of climate change on the built and natural environment; Adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change; International and national commitments to build adaptation to the

adverse effects of climate change- International commitments to climate change adaptation and sustainable

planning systems; National commitments to sustainable planning methods and adaptation to

climate change - South Africa; and Nigeria

Chapter breakdown Part 1- Contextual Analysis

Part 2 – Physical Planning Framework

Chapter 4 examines the practice of indigenous planning in Nigeria and South Africa against the backdrop of customary land tenure systems;

Chapter 5 reviews planning law in Nigeria and the planning tools adopted in the planning process. The chapter will highlight the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in relation to planning. as well as the landmark case of Attorney General of Lagos v Attorney General of the Federation and 35 others;

Chapter 6 analyses planning law and instruments in South Africa, the powers of the Municipalities, Provincial and the National governments in relation to planning will be consider. As well as judicial precedents on the interpretation and implementation of these laws;

Part 3 – Comparison and Conclusion

Chapter 7 considers the extent to which climate change considerations, in particular, adaptation have been incorporated into the planning laws of South Africa and Nigeria; or if the laws of both countries make any allowance for the incorporation of climate change in the future;

And chapter 8 concludes the thesis by looking at the lacunae in the planning laws of both countries; looking at lessons that Nigeria can learn from South Africa and the lesson both countries can learn from international best practices.

Background to the study Climate change increase in temperature; extreme variations

in rainfall patterns; melting glaciers; rise in sea level natural hazards such as flood, wild fires, coastal erosions, droughts adverse effects on the natural and built environment and affect the functioning of available infrastructure increasing vulnerability to risks to human life, the natural and built environment.

Way out UNFCCC Article 4(1)(e) : Adaptation Especially in the areas of coastal management; protection and

rehabilitation of areas affected by droughts and floods; water resources and agriculture.

Physical Planning process spatial planning, adaptive environmental planning.

Legal framework

South Africa: Section 24 of the Constitution; the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA); the Integrated Coastal Management Act; the Western Cape Land Use Planning Act; and the Gauteng Planning and Development Act.

Legal framework

Nigeria: the 1999 Constitution; the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law in Lagos State

( URPDL); and Urban and Regional Planning Act (URPA).

Theoretical framework

Adaptation to climate change Land Use/Physical/Spatial planning Disaster risk management

Problem statement The impacts of climate change, when considered together with other

stress factors such as poverty, over-population, urbanization and urban sprawl, limited or complete lack of infrastructure, pose major developmental and economic challenges , especially in developing countries.

Impacts of climate change will lead to a stress on the natural and built environment.

South Africa will experience a decrease in rainfall in some areas, and excessive rainfall in other areas. These have the tendency to aggravate already existing environmental and infrastructural challenges such as fires, floods, water shortage, urban sprawl, over population, waste disposal, and so on.

In Nigeria, the change in climatic conditions has resulted in a rise in sea level, weather conditions have become rather erratic and rain fall no longer follows the established pattern, there are unusually long periods of drought and excessive torrential rainfall, and temperature seems to have hit an all-time high.

Adaptation to these adverse effects especially on the built environment and infrastructure is a major requirement to build resilience. Planning laws in South Africa has become more integrative with the SPLUMA giving extensive consideration to the natural environment and the Western Cape Land Use Planning Act of 2014 is very progressive in terms of climate change adaptation. Planning law in Nigeria has not scratched the surface on the need for an integrated planning system.

Both Countries have extensive policies on climate change adaptation. (South African National Climate Change Response White Paper GenN 757/34695/3, 19/10/2011 and The National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action on Climate Change for Nigeria (Naspa-CCN), November 2011 )

Relevance of study “…planning laws, though not originally fashioned to cater for

environmental challenges can be modified to meet even the challenges posed by climate change.”

The research aims to consider the ways in which planning laws can be used to mitigate the hardships posed by climate change in terms of land use and availability, re-zoning – taking into consideration particularly vulnerable areas, protection of fragile ecosystem, coastal land management, urban sprawl and future planning that integrates climate considerations.

The research also involves the comparative study of the legal regime of planning in Nigeria and South Africa. South Africa is more advanced technologically and economically and this advancement reflects in the planning regulations and the extent of environmental considerations.

Justification for Comparative work between South Africa and Nigeria

• Both are developing coastal countries;• Anglo-American planning heritage;• Both are likely to experience similar

adverse effects of climate change • South Africa is a semi-arid country

and is likely to experience a level of drought. The Northern part of Nigeria is bordered by desert regions and there has been some desert encroachment in these areas.

Adverse effects in South Africa and Nigeria•Increased number of warm days and increase in maximum daily temperatures;•Increase in rainfall in some parts and decrease in rainfall in other parts ;•Rise in sea level leading to increased danger for coastal development and infrastructure, especially in cases of storm surges.

Research questions To what extent has climate change adaptation been incorporated into

the legal framework for spatial planning in Nigeria and South Africa? This question is further broken down into four questions:

What role can planning laws play in the adaptation to climate change? What are the respective roles of the three tiers of government in climate

change adaptation through spatial planning laws? What roles are there to be played by non-government stakeholders? What lessons can Nigeria and South Africa learn from each other, and what

can both countries learn from other jurisdictions?

methodology Doctrinal research – Comparative analysis of the primary sources,

that is, legislation, case laws, rules and principles that relate to planning laws in South Africa and Nigeria, as well as all secondary sources such as texts, articles, commentaries and existing literature on planning laws in both countries.

Empirical research – conduct of semi- structured interviews with serving government officials in the government planning departments, planning practitioners and academics in spatial planning and planning law. , the aim of which is to look at planning laws in a broader context of social and environmental validity, in order to ascertain the efficiency and practicability of these laws and the disparities - if any - between the law and real life situations.

Expected Research Outcome The need for proper integration of climate change considerations into

planning laws especially in Nigeria; The inclusion of climate change in the environment considerations

listed in the South African constitution and the SPLUMA; Establish the need for shared responsibility in the adaptation to

climate change. Establish that stakeholders should be able to oppose a planning

permit or scheme on the grounds of climate change vulnerability;

Challenges encountered so far Research methodology Reaching out to officials to participate in the empirical research. Chapter 2 – Determining how to discuss the theoretical basis of

planning - Moral-based theories founded in philosophy or Practice-based theories founded in the sciences.

Thank you for listening.