Applied Environmental Philosophy and Professional Practice in Environmental Impact Assessment in Delta State

This study examines how applied environmental philosophy can improve professional practice in environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Delta State, located in Nigeria's South South geopolitical zone. EIA is a regulatory requirement for development projects that seeks to ensure that environmental consequences are identified and mitigated before projects are approved, yet the philosophical foundations of EIA practice in Nigeria are rarely articulated or critically examined by practitioners. Using a professional practice design, the study draws on environmental philosophy from Holmes Rolston III, Val Plumwood, and indigenous Delta ecological philosophy, supplemented by secondary literature published between 2020 and 2024. Structured interviews with 20 environmental consultants, regulatory officers, and philosophy academics in Asaba and Warri provide the primary data. Documentary analysis of selected EIA reports for petroleum infrastructure projects in Delta State from 2021 to 2024 provides the case material. Findings reveal that EIA practice in Delta State is dominated by an anthropocentric and technocratic philosophy that reduces environmental ethics to quantifiable risk management, systematically undervaluing non-human ecological interests and the intrinsic rights of local communities. The study argues that integrating ecocentric and indigenous environmental philosophies into EIA methodologies would produce more ethically robust assessments. Recommendations include mandatory environmental philosophy modules in professional EIA training programmes in Nigeria. Keywords: environmental philosophy, environmental impact assessment, Delta State, ecocentrism, professional ethics.