Environmental Centre for Swaziland

working towards sustainable development

Introduction

The Environmental Centre for Swaziland (ECS) was established in 1997 as an environmental web resource for the Kingdom providing a range of environmental resources services.

The ECS's main objective is to assist researchers, consultants and the public on line with varied environmental information not necessarily available elsewhere.

This website aims to bring you a unique collection of environmentally related articles, legislation, reports, policies, action plans and much more. We hope you find the content of this site useful.

The site and its content are periodically updated with new resources and information as and when they become available.

Popular sections

29/09/05 - With the support of UNDP and NERCHA, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives have formulated a National Food Security Policy (880kb) which presents strategies to address the four pillars of food security: Pillar 1: Food Availability; Pillar 2: Food Access; Pillar 3: Food Utilisation and Nutritional Requirements; and Pillar 4: Stability In Equitable Food Provision. 

21/01/04 - New sub-site for the National Capacity Self-Assessment for Global Environmental Management (NCSA) Project. The NCSA aims to identify, through a country-driven consultative process, priorities and needs for capacity building to protect the global environment. It will analyse capacity gaps and capacity building needs for each of the three Convention thematic areas, namely biodiversity, climate change and land degradation. Capacity will be assessed at the individual, institutional and systemic (policy and legislative framework) levels, as well as looking at vertical (local & regional authorities - national government) and horizontal (government - NGOs/CBOs - private sector) coordination structures. 

17/07/03 - New sub-site for the Lubombo Conservancy. An organisation who's aims are to:

  • Promote co-operative management of conservation areas in NE Swaziland
  • Re-establish species and restore degraded areas
  • Promote sustainable management
  • Promote nature based tourism
  • Promote conservation based community development opportunities
  • Improve quality of life of rural based communities
  • Promote cultural tourism
  • Promote transfrontier co-operation

26/06/03 - New sub-site for the Renewable Energy Association of Swaziland (REASWA). An organisation who's aim is to promote the cost-effective use of renewable energy in Swaziland in an environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable manner.

23/05/03 - The National Solid Waste Management Strategy presented in this document was compiled by the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Communication in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, including government at all levels, business and industry, as well as non-governmental organisations. The National Solid Waste Management Strategy for Swaziland represents a long-term plan (up to 2010) for addressing key issues, needs and problems experienced with waste management in Swaziland.

22/05/03 - The National Drylands Development Programme (NDDP) - The NDDP is formulated on the basis of the CCF and through a process of consultation with relevant stakeholders including regional authorities, MOAC, SEA and UNDP staff. The programme is planned to be implemented in the dryland areas of Swaziland. The National Drylands Development programme consists of three broad outcomes to be achieved through the implementation of 24 specific activities with the focus on:

  • Social and environmental root causes of drylands degradation are elevated to mainstream national policy and planning forums;
  • Poor drylands populations are less vulnerable to climatic shocks, and have a greater adaptability to climate change;
  • Drylands communities benefit from improved local governance in the area of natural resources management (NRM).

22/05/03 - The Rural Resettlement Policy, 2002 - Arable land is disappearing rapidly, even as the communities that depend on it for their livelihoods are growing at an accelerating rate. Soil erosion, haphazard location of non-agricultural activities, outdated grazing practices, expanding population and the changing needs and nature of rural society – all these factors pose tremendous challenges to Swaziland’s pursuit of sustainable development and food security. To meet these challenges requires a new vision, a new commitment and a new strategy. This Policy is an effort to define that vision, to mobilise the needed commitment, and to establish a sensible, effective strategic framework for sustainable land management and resettlement. Central to the vision of this Policy is the word "resettlement." Resettlement has had varied meanings in Swaziland. Historically, it has often referred to efforts to re-arrange land uses within rural communities. The emphasis has been on correcting or preventing the often haphazard allocation of land to homesteads, cropping and grazing, so that arable land is not wasted, erosion is minimised and service provision is facilitated. This understanding of the word "resettlement" remains very strong today in rural Swaziland, and is the main focus of this Policy.

25/03/03 - Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF)
The ESMF draft document for the BCPD Project is available for comment. The ESMF document describes the environmental management procedures that will be used for all B-T Corridor projects planned for implementation under the BCPD project. The ESMF: (i) describes the kinds of activities and investments likely to be undertaken under the project for which Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Mitigation are likely to be needed; (ii) describes the process that will be undertaken during project implementation to do environmental screening, preparation, consultation and approval, and to ensure the implementation of any resulting mitigation measures; (iii) assesses existing national policies and procedures to determine whether they are consistent with World Bank requirements; and (iv) assesses the capacity of relevant institutions to undertake the environment screening, assessment and environmental mitigation that may be identified through the site-specific environmental assessment process. Purpose 

29/9/02 - The Swaziland National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan
Swaziland, despite its small size, supports a diverse assemblage of habitats which are home to a wide range of organisms. Although the information base on Swaziland’s biodiversity is still incomplete, survey work has shown that a significant portion of southern Africa’s plant and animal species occur here. The eastern region of Swaziland, for example, forms part of the Maputaland Centre of Plant Diversity (one of the World’s "hotspots" of floral, as well as faunal, species richness and endemism), while the western region falls within another area of global significance, the Drakensberg Escarpment Endemic Bird Area. The value of Swaziland’s biodiversity has long been recognised by Swazis who make use of it on a daily basis for various reasons including: traditional medicine, food, building material, traditional attire. Traditional systems of conserving biodiversity also exist but have not been documented and are currently being eroded.

27/9/02 - Swaziland's First National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Swaziland was amongst the 150 nations that signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change during the convening of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The country subsequently ratified the Convention, becoming Party to it in 1996. The Convention process was the culmination of international concern on the global increase of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mainly due to human activities since the industrial revolution. In compiling her National Communication, Swaziland seeks to comply with provisions of Articles 4 and 12 of the Convention which enumerate commitments and implementation issues. In the country’s willingness to contribute to the protection of the climate system it's intervention is to follow after the Convention's guiding principles, namely the consideration of Swaziland as a developing country Party with special circumstances, the extent of its capabilities, regards for the common but differentiated responsibilities, and equity.

24/9/02 - The National Forestry Programme
The issues and policy statements defined in the National Forest Policy indicate a need for a National Forestry Programme. The main purpose of the National Forestry Programme is to identify the priority problems, the corresponding plans for action and the projected timing of starting and duration. The formulation of the action plans of the National Forestry Programme necessitates the identification of institutions to manage the implementation. The Programme needs to evaluate the functions and services required from the Ministry responsible for forestry and other institutions in order to determine the necessary institutional changes.

21/9/02 - The National Forest Policy
The National Forest Policy intends to achieve sustainable forest management and sustainable development of all types of forests. It is the wish of Government that all stakeholders and other interested parties including traditional authorities and communities will work together in furtherance of the achievement of the forest policy objectives and goals. The forest policy elements will be translated into forest legislation and a national forestry action programme, which will define the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, including Government, the private sector, communities, non-governmental organisations and other interested groups.

4/9/02 - Aerial survey of raptors in the lowveld of Swaziland, July 2002
An aerial survey, exclusively for the censusing of vulture and eagle nests, was conducted in the lowveld of Swaziland in July 2002. The position of all nests located from the air was stored on a GPS. A total of 272 active nests was recorded, of which 219 nests belonged to the African White-backed Vulture. This species nests in three discrete regions in Swaziland, with the highest population and density located in the Hlane-Mlawula-Mbuluzi network of protected areas.

Contact ECS

Email: ecs@africaonline.co.sz