Framework and Tools for Environmental Management in Africa

8 Environmental Impact Assessment and Public Participation

Chapter 8 Environmental Impact Assessment and Public Participation Introduction Until the mid-1990s, many development projects in African countries were implemented with limited environmental concerns. The results were catastrophic: severe environmental damage and unsustainable economic development ethics. This chapter is written within the context of the increased consensus on the part of African governments of the need to harness negative environmental impacts associated with development activities. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) must incorporate significant elements of public participation. It is recognised as a set of tools that can enhance good environmental management and governance, so as to make development sustainable. Since public participation is a slippery concept in decision making surrounding EIA, this chapter deliberates considerably on that question. Social and economic development in most developing countries currently represents a dilemma between meeting the basic human needs of an increasing population on the one hand, and conserving declining natural resources on the other. Development activities and policies concerning agriculture, dams and man-made lakes, drainage and irrigation, forestry, housing, industry, mining, power generation and transmission, waste treatment and disposal and water supply, bring about changes in the environment in which they are undertaken. These impacts can be severely adverse if the processes are not well regulated or controlled through improved project selection and more responsive planning and design. EIA is therefore introduced and discussed as a tool to chart a new course of development action, which ensures a balance between biophysical and human environments leading to the presumed state of sustainability. Analysis of the EIA process is, however, incomplete without an articulation of public participation. Public participation in EIA is a crucial link in achieving its success. It highlights the relationship expected between the various stakeholders who have a direct or indirect interest in a development activity, the impact of which, on the environment, is the subject of examination. Ideally, public participation should be an integral component of the entire EIA process. The critical stages in which this must be undertaken fully are during the scoping phase, during the preparation of the draft EIA statement, and during the review of the draft EIA. Framework and Tools for Environmental Management in Africa 120 What is Environmental Impact Assessment? This is probably the question with which most authors begin when addressing EIA within many contexts. Below are selected definitions of what could plausibly constitute EIA.The Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment (SAIEA 2004:1) defines EIA as ‘a process that assesses the impacts of a planned activity on the environment – physical, social and economic – providing decision-makers with an indication of the likely consequences of the development actions’. Therefore, as an integral component of the planning process, EIA enables ‘potentially negative impacts to be mitigated (and positive impacts to be maximized) early in the design stages’. Through the EIA process, the developer can enhance the manner in which a project is planned, implemented and, in some instances, de-commissioned. El-Fadl and El-Fadel (2004:553) maintain that ‘environmental impact assessment (EIA) was devised as a decision tool in response to grand swell of ecocentric concerns to mediate between the technocentric view of continued development and the ability to create economic growth while overcoming environmental problems’. The government of Zimbabwe defines EIA as ‘an assessment of the environmental impacts of an activity, based largely on existing information and some field reconnaissance’ (MoMET 1997a:5). To this end, an EIA should be undertaken during the early feasibility studies with the purpose of identifying ‘likely impacts, to estimate their severity, to indicate which impacts may be significant, and to indicate what opportunities are available to avoid or minimise negative impacts and enhance potential benefits (MoMET 1997a). Hugo (2004:275) describes EIA as: ‘a site specific environmental management tool designed to bring all the relevant detailed information regarding site specific development to light, which encompasses methodologies and techniques for identifying, predicting and evaluating the environmental impacts associated with project developments and actions’. From the definitions outlined above, the following deductions can be made regarding EIA; that it is: z a tool used to guide decision-making in ensuring that environmental as well as technical and economic considerations are taken into account z project and site specific, thus, leading to it being highly contextual z a process with cyclical and simultaneously linked stages z supposed to provide monitoring, evaluation and decommissioning facets to a development project z used to identify both the negative and positive impacts with the intention of mitigating against the negative impacts whilst...