The Swaziland Environment Action Plan (SEAP)

Contents | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8

7.0 INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

7.1 The Swaziland Environment Authority

The Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA) was established as an autonomous body by the Swaziland Environment Authority Act No. 15 of 1992. It is served by a secretariat based in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, although the Agency has since been placed with the Ministry of Tourism and Communications. The main function of the Authority is to coordinate the government's efforts to incorporate environmental factors into Swaziland's development process.

The main responsibilities of the SEA are, in general, to:

1. promote the development of policies, legislation and enforcement mechanisms needed for sound environmental management, including the establishment of standards and guidelines related to pollution of the air, water and land;
2. coordinate the activities of all bodies concerned with environmental matters and serve as liaison for nation and international organisations on environmental matters;
3. monitor trends in the state of the environment. This includes monitoring the environment, instituting measures for environmental protection and improvement, and administering a system for environmental impact assessment and auditing;
4. conduct and promote research on environmental matters, and promote environmental training and education to increase public awareness and participation.

The Authority (effectively its board) is comprised of a Chairman, a non-voting Secretary (the Executive Director of the Secretariat), eight Principal Secretaries (Agriculture & Co-operatives, Works & Construction; Commerce & Industry, Economic Planning & Development, Natural Resources and Energy, Housing & Urban Development, Education & Health); four NGOs (Big Game Parks of Swaziland, Yonge Nawe, Natural History Society, Chamber of Commerce) and four private citizens appointed by the Minister responsible for the Environment.

The Secretariat, staffed by civil servants, formed part of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Energy. This institutional position of the Secretariat denies it administrative or financial autonomy. The current sectoral location of the Secretariat undermines its ability to coordinate the environmental management activities of other sectors (line ministries, parastatals, NGOs etc). This is in conflict with the 1992 Act which notes that the "Authority may delegate to another body or persons any of its functions".

The secretariat is aware that much of the Authority's mandate will be implemented in partnership with other institutions. To facilitate this, the Secretariat needs autonomous status and be located above the ministerial level within an institution that has no sectoral bias. A parastatal or agency attached to the office of the prime minister would provide appropriate location. The institutional future of the SEA as Swaziland's environmental coordinating agency should be a priority project activity within the SEAP.

7.2 Sectoral Agencies

To effectively implement the Environment Authority Act (1992), the SEA will need to formalise its current relationship with sectoral institutions responsible for undertaking environmental management functions. This will include reviewing environmental responsibilities of sectoral institutions, and where necessary, promoting the development of institutions to address outstanding environmental management requirements.

Key institutions responsible for essential environmental functions are listed below together with outstanding environmental management requirements:

• Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy;
• The Department of Geological Survey and Mines of MNRE has responsibility for mining. The Geological Survey Division is responsible for data on minerals and ground water, while the Mines Division is responsible for the assessment of ore bodies and the analysis of their commercial viability. It also administers laws that regulate the mining industry.

An Energy Section (ES) was established within MNRE in 1992 to serve as the focal point for national policy and operational activities pertaining to energy resources.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Communications, Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Ministry of Finance, City / Town Councils, Tinkhundla, Swaziland National Trust Commission, Swaziland Water Services Corporation, University of Swaziland, Swaziland Chamber of Commerce, NGO & Community groups sector.

7.3 Environmental Legislation

The Ministry of Justice provides the legislative framework to support the Swaziland Environment Authority. The responsibility includes drafting environmental legislation to support environmental policy initiatives and managing enforcement action through the court's on behalf of the Swaziland Environment Authority. Currently, the ministry's ability to provide specialist advice on environmental and natural resource law is limited. The SEA's ability to develop appropriate environmental policy and legislation and take enforcement action is undermined by the lack of legal environmental capacity within the Ministry of Justice.

A number of options exist to address this issue:

1. The Institution position of SEA is revised so that it is not dependent on the state for legal services
2. The Ministry of Justice employs an Environmental Law Specialist to service SEA's requirements
3. SEA recruits and retains its own Environmental Law Specialist.

7.4 Natural Resource Management

In preparation for the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), an inter-ministerial committee for the environment was set up in the mid-eighties to link all government ministries and departments concerned with the environment. The creation of the Swaziland Environment Authority was proposed in Swaziland National Report to the United Nations conference on Environment and Development established as a result of this committee.

Until the establishment of the SEA, the MNRE had overall responsibility for environmental protection including national parks and archives, physical planning, geological survey and mines, energy, rural water supply, water resources and solid waste management. The Ministry was also responsible for international environmental agreements.

The Natural Resources Board established through the Natural Resources Act of 1951, remains responsible for general supervision of natural resources, except in respect to Swazi Nation Land (SNL), where the Swazi Administration Act of 1950 prevails. The Board's function also includes stimulating awareness and recommending legislation to the Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Energy that is thought necessary for the conservation and improvement of natural resources.

The institutional framework for coordinating rural development in Swaziland is very complex. The Central Rural Development Board (CRDB), formed in 1954, oversees all activities on Swazi Nation Land. The Board's role is to approve all projects and plan for rural development schemes. In practice, the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (MOAC) comprising of Agricultural Extension, Land Use Planning and Land Development, is more actively involved in managing the rural development process on SNL. Land degradation is a particularly severe problem on SNL. With a 75% rural population, the impact of this problem on land productivity, and environmental health is serious.

Swaziland has no clear land policy. The requirement for a national land policy that addresses land management, administration, and legislation issues is essential. The Government of Swaziland is committed to drafting a national land policy by December 1997. The MNRE is the institution responsible for drafting the policy in collaboration with key ministries.

The current options for addressing the management of lands include integrating the Natural Resources Board and Central Rural Development Board. Placing Responsibility for Land in a newly created Ministry of Lands or Land Board, or creating an umbrella Ministry for Lands and the Environment.

7.5 Water Resource Management

Water Resource management in Swaziland is currently governed by the Water Act of 1967, implemented by the Water Resources Branch. The Water Act (1967) has been revised (1996) and recommends a revised institutional structure for the water sector made up of a National Water Authority with a Secretariat and Five River Basin Authorities. This structure would provide for effective water resource, management, water quality monitoring, environmental protection and enforcement.

7.6 Energy

An Energy Section (ES) was established in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy in 1992 to develop and coordinate energy related activities in Swaziland. The section is steadily building its policy development and research capacity. Establishing sufficient staffing levels is essential for assuring the environmentally sustainable management of the energy sector.

Dwindling wood fuel stocks are considered to be a potentially major environmental problem. In collaboration with the Forestry Section (Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives) the Energy Section is currently engaged in implementing a program to address the household energy needs to sustain socio-economic development and growth in both the rural and urban areas of the country. Part of this entails establishing pilot community woodlot projects. The Forestry Section is also promoting end-use efficiency of wood fuels, supporting the widespread deployment of renewable energy technologies and encouraging fuel switching to reduce pressure on wood fuels stocks.

A review of the Electricity Act No. 10 of 1963 and changes in the institutional set up of the parastatal Swaziland Electricity Board (SEB) are recommended. A key initiative would be the ending the monopoly for national power supply by opening up the market to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

Energy efficiency within the industrial sector is being addressed through the National Energy Management Committee (NEMCO) which offers an excellent forum for encouraging industry to adopt effective management practices. This ties in with the SEA's desire to promote a culture of energy efficiency and waste minimisation within the private sector.

7.7 Environmental Health and Human Settlements

The responsibility for environmental health falls on a number institutions, the key institutions involved being:

• SEA (MTEC),
• Environmental Health (MHSW),
• Housing and Human Settlements, (MHUD),
• MHUD/City Councils,
• Water Resource Branch (MNRE),
• Rural Water Supply (MNRE),
• Water Services Corporation (parastatal).

Human settlement in both rural and urban areas should be improved. Responsibility for physical planning lies with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD). The current Urban Development Project within the Ministry provides the appropriate institutional framework to address urban environmental health issues.

Environmental health in rural areas requires effective rural development policy/land policy. There is a requirement for land use planning, health care, infrastructural development (roads, water, energy), enterprise development, poverty alleviation measures. The Ministry of Agriculture is currently responsible for rural settlement.

7.8 Waste Management

The current institutions involved in waste management are the Swaziland Environment Authority (Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Communication), Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, Water Services Corporation and the City Councils

A National Solid Waste Management Strategy needs to be developed for Swaziland. The strategy should include the identification of an appropriate institutional framework to implement the strategy. [see Waste Regulations, 2000]

7.9 Pollution Control

The SEA's responsibility for pollution control is largely through the development of environment quality standards, appropriate legislation, coordination and monitoring, although it does not currently have the capacity to effectively control pollution in Swaziland.

The WRB currently provides a water quality monitoring service. The appropriate institutional framework should be put in place to develop capacity within the water sector. The SEA would ensure that appropriate pollution control policies are in place with accompanying legislation to enable regulation and enforcement.

SEA has overall responsibility for air quality. Meteorological Services would be the appropriate institution to develop capacity for air quality management. It is recommended that this option be pursued.

Pollution of land involves industrial waste and agricultural inputs (herbicides and pesticides). Industrial waste management should be coordinated through the development and enforcement of pollution control policies. In the agricultural sector, the extension services will have a key role to play in agricultural waste disposal and land contamination through education and training.

7.10 Environmental Education

The SEA has institutional responsibility for promoting and coordinating environmental training and educational programmes in collaboration with relevant bodies with a view to creating national awareness in all sectors and upgrading national capabilities and skills in these fields.

There already exists a nucleus of Environmental Education Programmes for communities and schools implemented by the NGO sector and by the National Environmental Education Programme (NEEP). SEA could address its responsibility by facilitating the development of a National Environmental Education Strategy for the purpose of developing a national framework for Environmental Education. The strategy should identify the appropriate institutional requirements to represent and coordinate the activities of existing institutions in EE.

The National Curriculum Centre of the Ministry of Education is the institution responsible for integrating environmental issues into the primary and secondary curriculum.

The institutional capacity for tertiary environmental education and research should be developed within the University of Swaziland. The faculty of Science is embarking on an expansion programme for environmental studies and research. The University could develop its research capacity to supply general environmental research services to government and private institutions. This could be managed through a limited liability company owned by the University.

Legislation should place responsibility with individual organisations for environmental training of employees within the industrial sector. Larger firms should be encouraged to develop environmental management plans which include environmental training requirements. Potential exists to build capacity of existing training institutions to provide environmental management training to this sector. Professional environmental management training could be provided through Mananga Management Centre which already provides environmental management training to industry. The Institute of Development Management, and University of Swaziland could also provide this service. The Factory Inspectorate could provide a monitoring function to oversee the health and safety aspect of environmental management plans.

7.11 Biodiversity and Tourism

The Swaziland National Trust Commission (SNTC), established under a 1972 Act is responsible for the establishment and administration of national parks, national museums, historical monuments , archaeological sites and protection of places of scenic beauty. It also delivers an environmental education programme through a National Environmental Education Programme.

The role of the Swaziland National Trust Commission in Biodiversity conservation and the management of Swaziland's physical and cultural heritage needs to be strengthened.

7.12 Priority Actions