1 / 10

WESSA (WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA) COMMENTS ON:

WESSA (WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA) COMMENTS ON: THE EFFICACY OF SOUTH AFRICA’S EIA REGIME By Rendani Mammbonani & Steven M. Mbopha. Introduction. Definition of EIA Purpose of EIA - Sustainable development - Planning & regulatory tool.

mmorningstar
Download Presentation

WESSA (WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA) COMMENTS ON:

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. WESSA (WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA) COMMENTS ON: THE EFFICACY OF SOUTH AFRICA’S EIA REGIME By Rendani Mammbonani & Steven M. Mbopha

  2. Introduction Definition of EIA Purpose of EIA - Sustainable development - Planning & regulatory tool

  3. Why the full potential of EIA has not been reached Used by EAPs to motivate activities Tool to propose mitigation Rarely change outcome Weaknesses

  4. Weaknesses on the EIA system • Poor monitoring & enforcement conditions - Lack of developer accountability - Undermining sustainable development 2.Poor assessments of cumulative impacts - Can be additive, synergistic and neutralizing - Impacts on ecosystem - Insufficient consideration of social & environmental costs

  5. 3. Poor assessments of alternative development options - Decreases EIA effectiveness - Very selective information, few alternatives - No-go alternative seldom explored 4 . Unsatisfactory authorisation processes - Difficult to appeal against MEC decision - Expensive legal review process - Threat of costs to civil society

  6. 5. Lack of ensured independence of the environmental assessment practitioner (EAP) - EAPs appointed to fulfil applicants’ interests. - EAPs often partial and biased 6. Assessment of the need & desirability of a project -Is real desirability, need, right time, location? - Political interests? - Un/Sustainable job?

  7. 7. Utilizing other instruments in combination with or instead of EIA - Negligence of other tools - Need to establish a broad contextfor an EIA 8. Public participation - Transparency, clarity - Public’s input on EAPs - Incentives

  8. 9. Lack of biodiversity considerations - NEMA and biodiversity - Biodiversity role on CC Development impact - EIA as a tool

  9. 10. Abuse of Section 24G - 3 punitive measures - 24 G fine transparency

  10. CONCLUSION “Everyone has the right to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that secure ecological sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.” Section 24 of SA Constitution

More Related