A Guide to Environmental Assessment in Swaziland

Table of Contents

Introduction
Integrated Environmental Management (IEM)
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
The EIA Process
The Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA)
Illustrative List of Project Categories
The SEA Process for obtaining an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC)
Conclusion

Introduction

In recent years there has been a remarkable growth of interest in environmental issues particularly in the area of sustainable development. Public, institutional and international bodies are looking for ways of better managing the environment on a sustainable basis. In developing countries, where much of the world’s primary resources and populations are located, the exploitation of these resources over the decades has left a wasteland of environmental problems. Land degradation, overgrazing, air and water pollution and health problems are all the result of this fast rush for development.

Many of these environmental problems have a direct effect on the populations living in the affected areas. Health, social and economic problems are the principal by-products of environmental damage or change, yet development implicitly means a change in one or all of the categories. Whilst development can bring about positive change it can often lead to conflict.

The need to avoid adverse impacts and to ensure the long term benefits of development has become an essential feature of development. Many lending institutions will no longer provide the necessary financing for a project unless the environmental implications of the project have been taken into account. This is regardless of whether there is local legislation requiring them to do so. Institutions such as the World Bank and African Development Bank have environmental provisions tied into the loaning of finances.

To successfully manage our environment entails a multidisciplinary approach bringing together a diverse range of factors and skills and then trying to integrate them for the benefit of all those affected by the environmental change. This is what has been termed "integrated environmental management".

Integrated Environmental Management (IEM)

Environmental management is a broad term that describes the sustainable use of a resource for the generations to come. The process of "management" is not as simple as it sounds particularly when it is the environment we are trying to manage. The environment in which we live is a complex and dynamic system that has, over the millions of years of development, become one in which we can live. Being a complex system there are many individual components that when combined make up this environment - each intrinsically linked to each other. These components can include the physical, biological, social, economic, cultural, historical and political components that make up this world we live in. To try and manage one component only would mean not acknowledging the importance of another. This brings us to the concept of Integrated Environmental Management - i.e. the acknowledgement that all parts of the environment are part and parcel of the whole and therefore have to managed as a whole.

Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) is designed to ensure that the environmental consequences of development are understood and adequately considered in the planning process. The term environmental is used to encompass all biophysical and socio-economic components.

The basic principles underpinning IEM are that there be:

informed decision making

accountability for information on which decisions are taken

accountability for decisions taken

a broad meaning given to the term environment (i.e. one that includes physical, biological, social, economic, cultural, historical and political components)

an open participatory approach in the planning proposals

consultation with interested and affected parties

due consideration of alternative options

an attempt to mitigate negative impacts and enhance positive aspects of the proposals

an attempt to ensure the "social costs" of developmental proposals be outweighed by the "social benefits" as a result of the actions of the developer

democratic regard for individual rights and obligations

compliance with these principles during the planning, implementation and decommissioning of proposals

the opportunity for public and specialist input in the decision making process

IEM aims to ensure that the negative impacts of development projects are mitigated and positive aspects enhanced in such a way that the social costs of development projects be outweighed by the social benefits. These principals make sound environmental sense, and few could quibble with them. In essence, the goals of IEM are nothing more than wise planning.

In order to predict environmental impacts, including social and economic impacts, and to provide an opportunity to mitigate against negative impacts and enhance positive impacts, the environmental impact assessment procedure was developed in the 1970’s.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

In the twenty plus years since its inception, environmental impact assessment, a procedure for assessing the environmental implications of a decision to enact legislation, to implement policies and plans or to initiate development projects, has become a widely accepted tool in environmental management. EIA has been adopted in many countries with different degrees of enthusiasm where it has evolved to varying degrees of sophistication.

An EIA may be defined as:

a formal process to predict the environmental consequences of human development activities and to plan appropriate measures to eliminate or reduce adverse effects and to augment positive effects

The EIA provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate ways in which the environment may be improved as part of development.

EIA is a management tool for planners and decision makers and complements other project studies on engineering and economics. Environmental assessment is now accepted as an essential part of development planning and management. It should become as familiar and important as economic analysis in project evaluation. It is important that an EIA is not considered as just part of the approval process, but rather as an action plan to be followed during the planning, implementation and post implementation phases of a project cycle.

The EIA Process

In essence, EIA is a systematic process that examines the environmental consequences of development actions in advance. The emphasis of an EIA is on prevention. The process involves a number of steps and it should be noted that these steps, although outlined in a linear fashion, are in fact cyclical with feedback and interaction between the various steps.

Project screening narrows the application of EIA to those projects that may have significant environmental impacts. Screening may be partly determined by the Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations and categories therein.
Scoping seeks to identify at an early stage, from all the project’s possible impacts and from all the alternatives that could be addressed, those impacts that are the key significant issues.
Consideration of alternatives seeks to ensure that the proponent has considered other feasible approaches, including alternative project locations, scales, processes, layouts, operating conditions and a "no action" plan.
Description of the project/development action includes a clarification of the purpose and rationale of the project, and an understanding of its various characteristics.
Description of the environmental baseline includes the establishment of both the present and future state of the environment, in the absence of the project, taking into account changes resulting from natural events and from other human activities.
Identification of key impacts brings together the previous steps with the aims of ensuring that all potentially significant environmental impact (adverse and beneficial) are identified and taken into account in the process.
The prediction of impacts aims to identify the magnitude and other dimensions of identified change in the environment by a project, by comparison with the situation without that project. Typically an EIA would predict the effect of the project on human beings, the flora, fauna and geology, land, water, air and climate and other indirect and secondary effects.
Evaluation and assessment of significance seeks to assess the relative significance of the predicted impacts to allow a focus on key adverse impacts. Cost-benefit analysis and monetary valuation techniques are used to evaluate the significance of the project.
Mitigation involves the introduction of measures to avoid, reduce, remedy or compensate for any significant adverse impacts, e.g. air quality, visual quality, transport, and employment.
Public consultation and participation aims to ensure the quality, comprehensiveness and effectiveness of the EIA, as well as to ensure the public’s views are adequately taken into consideration in the decision-making process. This should then result in a clearer and more effective decision being made.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) presentation is a vital step in the process. If done badly, much of the good work in the EIA may be negated. The EIA provides documentation of the information and estimates of impacts derived from the various steps in the process. It should be comprehensive and fulfil the requirements of the SEA Regulations.
Review involves the systematic appraisal of the quality of the EIA as a contribution to the decision-making process. This would normally be done by staff at the SEA, but when the authority receives a very technical EIA, they may call in technical experts.
Decision-making on the project involves consideration by the SEA, or other relevant authority together with material considerations.
Post-decision monitoring involves the recording of outcomes associated with development impacts, after a decision to proceed. Monitoring involves the measuring and recording of physical, social and economic variables associated with the project. It can contribute to effective project management.
Auditing follows monitoring. It can involve comparing actual outcomes with predicted outcomes, and can be used to assess the quality of predictions and the effectiveness of mitigation. It provides a vital step in the EIA learning process and avoids the constant "reinventing of the wheel" in EIA.

The Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA)

In accordance with international environmental norms and practices and as a result of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio De Janeiro in June 1992, the Government of Swaziland passed, in December of 1992, an Act of Parliament that provided for the setting up of the Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA), of which the main functions are to:

establish standards and guidelines relating to the pollution of water, land and air as well as those relating to noise and other forms of environmental pollution
develop in co-operation with other Government authorities economic measures to encourage environmentally sound and sustainable activities
promote training and education programmes in the field of environment to create national awareness of environmental issues
ensure the observance of proper safeguards in the planning and execution of all development projects, including those already in existence, that are likely to interfere with the quality of the environment
initiate measures for the co-ordination and enforcement of environmental protection legislation

In April of 1996, the Minister of Natural Resources and Energy in consultation with SEA gazetted environmental regulations called the Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations which established guidelines and requirements for environmental impact assessments and environmental audit reports. The Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations (1996) require any new and existing projects, that are deemed to have an impact on the environment, to ultimately obtain an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the SEA through the receipt of an Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) report and a Comprehensive Mitigation Plan (CMP) or an EIA report which contains a description of the mitigation measures to be implemented to reduce the environmental impacts of the proposed project. The EIA report is normally made available for viewing and comment by interested and affected parties prior to the SEA giving the go ahead with the project. Any comments made will be taken into account before a final report is submitted to the SEA.

This legislation represents a major step in co-ordinating national developmental projects on an environmentally sustainable basis. To show Government’s commitment to the protection of the environment, anyone who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding E50,000 or imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.

The SEA has published an illustrative list of projects and categories into which they fall, which are likely to have some impact on the environment. The categories form the starting point for obtaining an ECC.

Illustrative List of Categories 1, 2 and 3

Category 1 Projects

Projects under this category are unlikely to cause any significant environmental impact. Types of projects which may be allocated to category 1 include, but not limited to :

residential development not exceeding three houses;
renovations to existing structures not involving asbestos or other hazardous substances;
small scale commercial buildings or structures;
research activities;
prospecting for groundwater, minerals and hydrocarbons using vibriosis and similar techniques;
small scale social infrastructure provision (e.g. rural health, educational, family planning);
technical assistance and institution strengthening activities;
small scale tourist projects.

Category 2 Projects

Projects under this category are likely to cause environmental impacts some of which may be significant unless mitigation actions are taken. Such projects cause impacts which are relatively well known and easy to predict. Also the mitigation actions to prevent or reduce the impacts are well known. Types of projects which may be allocated to Category 2 include, but not limited to :

agro-industries (medium scale);
electrical transmission lines and rural electrification (medium scale);
irrigation and drainage (medium scale);
renewable energy production;
residential development exceeding three houses;
hotels, camp sites and lodges;
rural water supply and sanitation;
watershed management and rehabilitation;
urban area rehabilitation (medium scale);
small scale infrastructure (roads, sewage systems, water pipelines and treatment works);
hospitals (medium scale);
non-food industries (medium scale) without discharge of toxic substances or storage and use of hazardous substances;
projects located near environmentally sensitive areas

Category 3 Projects

Projects under this category are likely to have significant adverse impacts whose scale, extent and significance cannot be determined without in-depth study. Appropriate mitigation measures can only be identified after such study. Types of projects which may be allocated to Category 3 include, but not limited to :

residential development exceeding ten houses;
dams and reservoirs;
afforestation schemes and wood processing facilities (large scale);
irrigation, drainage and flood control (large scale);
mineral development (including hydrocarbons);
reclamation and opening of new areas for agriculture;
resettlement schemes;
river basin development;
thermal and hydro-power;
manufacture, transport and use of pesticides or other hazardous substances;
agriculture (especially involving large scale monoculture);
roads
projects located in environmentally sensitive areas;
mining and soil excavation (large scale).

The SEA Process for obtaining an ECC

The Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations provide the guidelines and documentation required for the preparation and submission of an EIA for the granting of an ECC.

Any new, or in some cases existing, projects now require the proponent of the project, be it government or private, to obtain an ECC before the project can be given the go ahead. Just as it was necessary to obtain permits or licences to develop an industrial plot or rezone land, it is now law to get an ECC in addition to all other types of documentation as stipulated by, for example, City Council’s. In essence, as long as the project requires a permit, licence, approval or other consent from an authorising agency, it is now subject to the Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations.

It is up to the SEA to determine whether any significant environmental impacts are likely to occur and determine under which category the project falls following the review of the Project Proposal. For example, a developer wishes to construct five houses on a plot of land in an urban area. The developer will submit his plans to the authorising agency, e.g. City Council or Human Settlements Authority, to obtain permission to continue with the development. The authorising agency is then obliged to submit the proposal to the SEA within 15 days.

If the SEA is satisfied that the project falls under Category 1 an ECC will be issued and the project can proceed.

If the project falls under Category 2 or 3 the project is not allowed to proceed further until the proponent has submitted an Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) report and a Comprehensive Mitigation Plan (CMP) following an approved format and layout.

The SEA will review the IEE and CMP to ensure they conform to the prescribed reporting requirements as gazetted. The SEA may request that amendments or changes be made and the reports re-submitted. The proponent is responsible for all expenses incurred including the preparation of the IEE, EIA reports and CMP. The proponent is also required to provide sufficient copies of the reports for all review stages.

Prior to the issuing of the ECC, the SEA will carry out an internal review of the IEE and EIA reports and the CMP and shall elicit objections, comments or submissions from all interested and affected parties.

If the reports and CMP meet all the requirements of the Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations, the SEA will issue the ECC and the project will be given the go-ahead.

If the reports do not meet the requirements because they bring about unacceptable environmental impacts or that the mitigation measures are inadequate, the proponent shall be asked to submit a revised or amended CMP.

When the revised CMP meets all requirements an ECC will be issued. If the CMP does not meet the requirements, the project will be refused permission to proceed.

During the implementation of the project the authorising agency will carry out inspections to ensure that the CMP is being implemented and identify and evaluate the actual environmental impacts occurring. The project proponent is also obliged to submit regular Project Compliance Reports to the SEA which detail the progress of the CMP. Any irregularities in the implementation of the CMP must be reported to the SEA.

Conclusion

It is necessary to understand the consequences of our actions, and to accept responsibility for the decisions we take. Such decisions cannot be made without being properly informed of all the environmental impacts of our actions and it is through the Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations gazetted by the Government of Swaziland that our environment will be adequately represented and protected in all developmental projects.

To ensure the long term economic sustainability of the Kingdom, the environment and Man’s interaction with the environment need to be given the highest priority. Only through such processes can there be any social and economic upliftment of the population and the alleviation of hunger and poverty.

The Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations must not be seen as just another hard earned piece of paper to be obtained before the go-ahead of a project is given, but rather as a way of protecting our children’s future. As Dieter Frisch the ex-Director General of Development of the European Union once said "We have not inherited the land from our parents, we are borrowing it from our children".

This page was last updated on 05 November 2001