Handbook on Environmental Assessment Legislation in the SADC Region

1. Handbook on Environmental Assessment Legislation in the SADC Region Presentation by Bryony Walmsley

2. Rationale and background • Major developments in EIA legislation over the past 10 years in SADC region • Changes, revisions and amendments are continuously occurring • Development in SADC region is booming and developers and consultants are becoming more regional in their scope of work • Development finance is in demand • Projects need to be compliant with national EIA legislation as well as with each country’s international and SADC obligations with regard to treaties, protocols and conventions

3. Rationale and background • In some cases information on EIA laws, regulations, policies and guidelines is: • Difficult to find; • Not in the English language; • Disseminated; • Not in electronic format; • Confusing and complex; • In 2003, “EIA in Southern Africa” was published by SAIEA with DANIDA funding, but the sections on EIA legislation are now mostly out of date

4. Need for Handbook • Therefore DBSA contracted SAIEA to compile a Handbook on EIA legislation for each SADC country, in order to: • Empower all players to be proactive wrt compliance with environmental legislation • Reduce project risk • Reduce delays in project authorisation • Assist developers to use EIA tools to promote sustainable development in the region

5. Structure of Handbook Preface Introduction Background and summary of EIA legislation, administrative structures and procedures; summary of international and SADC obligations DBSA EA Policy and Procedures DBSA profile and overview of the EA process and procedures Country Chapters Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles*, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

6. Structure of Country Chapters • The Constitutional requirements for environmental protection; • The institutional and administrative structures for EIA; • The policy and legal framework for EIA, including information on the relevant: • policies • acts • regulations • guidelines • penalties • fees • environmental standards • EAP certification and registration requirements

7. Structure of Country Chapters contd. • The EIA procedural framework including the steps to be followed through screening, scoping, EIA and EMP, as well as the Authority review process and the appeal procedures; • A summary of other potentially applicable environmental legislation; • Appendices containing lists of projects which require EIA; • Acronyms and useful contacts.

8. Key findings • All countries have recognised the need for environmental protection through: Constitutions, NAPs and NEAPs, Visions, Policies and Strategies • All countries have an EIA Act (draft or final) except DRC, which only has EIA requirements in the Mining Code • Most countries have EIA regulations or guidelines in which the EIA process is specified • All countries have a dedicated national agency for environmental management and control is centralised (except RSA and Tanzania)

9. Key findings contd. • Most countries follow the traditional EIA process: Screening – scoping – EIA but terminology differs • Weaknesses/inconsistencies include: • ToR approval; • Public consultation; • EMPs; • SEA required for PPPs in Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, RSA, Swaziland and Tanzania

10. Key findings contd. • Registration of consultants – at present, only 3 countries require EAPs to be registered (Botswana, Mozambique and Tanzania) • 4 countries are busy with certification systems (Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland and RSA) • Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland will require reciprocity of certification schemes

11. Document Availability and Updates • Hard copies published in 2007 • Update currently underway • Websites: • www.dbsa.org • www.saiea.com • Needs to be widely advertised • Aim to revise and update bi-annually

12. Conclusion • The Handbook has already proved to be an invaluable source of information…but • Legislation is changing all the time, so always check first with local environmental authorities and check for updates on our websites. Thank You!