25 NOVEMBER 2008 - The
draft report on the effectiveness and efficiency
of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
system in South Africa was today presented
to delegates attending the Ten Years of
EIAs in SA conference in Somerset West.
The two day conference concluded today.
The Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism commissioned an independent
review to assess the effectiveness and efficiency
of regulated EIA since its implementation
in 1997.
The findings by the
independent consultants were presented today
and the draft report was released for comment.
The draft report serves as a resource document
and forms the basis for discussion, debate
and consultation with regards to contributing
towards the development of an Environmental
Impact Management Strategy and Action Plan.
Some of the findings
in the draft report state that:
• A more strategic approach to Environmental
Impact Management is required and that there
is a definite need to move away from an
“EIA only”-system to one based on integrated
environmental management.
• Overall there was a significant improvement
in effectiveness and efficiency of EIA from
the Environment Conservation Act (ECA) regulations
to the National Environment Management Act
(NEMA) regulations.
• The overall effectiveness of EIAs in South
Africa in meeting requirements of ECA and
NEMA is deemed in the draft report as moderately
effective but with substantial room for
improvement.
• The EIA process in SA is implemented relatively
efficiently if one considers the average
time it takes to produce and evaluate EIAs.
• The draft report states that public participation
in EIA is effective.
Some areas of concern
indicated in the draft report include:
• Monitoring and enforcement
in Environmental Management is one area
where the current EIA system is not effective
or efficient.
• The high turnover of personnel in departments,
consultancies and corporate sector is highlighted
as an area requiring attention.
• The cumulative (combined) impacts aspect
is generally not considered effective and
there is a lot of room for improvement.
“A Project Steering
Committee, Task Teams/Working Groups and
a reference group will be established to
work on finalizing the draft document. They
will comprise of government, industry, NGOs
and other key stakeholders,” said Ms. Lize
McCourt, Chief Director of Environmental
Impact Management at the Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism.
Stakeholders are invited
to submit comments on the draft report to
DEAT by 15 February 2009.
To obtain the report,
contact the DEAT call centre on 086 111
2468 or visit www.deat.gov.za (under hot
issues).
For media queries contact Roopa Singh
To access conference information click on
the link below:
http://www.mongoose.co.za/eia/default.html
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ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM ON
25 NOVEMBER 2008
SPEECH BY MARTHINUS
VAN SCHALKWYK, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL
AFFAIRS AND TOURISM
DELIVERED AT THE OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE
"10 YEARS OF EIA’S IN SOUTH AFRICA”,
SOMERSET WEST, 24 NOVEMBER 2008 - It has
been more than a decade since the implementation
of environmental impact assessment (EIA)
as a regulatory tool for managing the environmental
impacts of new developments in South Africa.
It is therefore now an appropriate time
to reflect on and learn from the challenges
we have faced, celebrate our successes and
commit ourselves to improve even further
on our achievements.
The aim of this conference is also to bring
all stakeholders together to develop a strategy
that will help us move from an environmental
impact management (EIM) system solely reliant
on EIA to a dispensation where we use a
variety of instruments in an integrated
manner.
History of EIA in South Africa
In April 2008 we marked 10 years of regulating
EIA in South Africa. However, implementing
these regulations and measuring them against
the stated objectives revealed a number
of shortcomings and deficiencies in the
system.
We responded to this by promulgating new
EIA Regulations in terms of NEMA and tried
to achieve improvements. This was the first
step in a new EIA system for South Africa.
When we introduced the EIA regulations to
Cabinet in 2006, I committed the environmental
authorities to a review of the EIA system
with the aim to refine it into an efficient
and effective EIM system. This entailed
both efficiency in terms of cost and time
and effectiveness in meeting the objectives
of sustainable development.
Law reform process
We have followed up the regulations with
a number of legislative amendments, which
were approved by Parliament last week, as
well as amendments to the regulations themselves.
This was done in order to realise our vision
of a new system which will truly give effect
to the principle of integrated environmental
management.
The amended regulations, aimed at further
streamlining the process and providing clarity
regarding requirements, will be published
for a last round of public comment by mid-January,
after which it will be finalised and promulgated.
The law reform process has also yielded
another very important achievement with
the inclusion of mining activities in the
NEMA environmental impact management regime.
This decision makes mining part of the system,
meaning that an environmental authorisation
will be required as a pre-condition for
a mining permit. Mining will accordingly
be subject to the same processes as other
activities. This includes the appeal, refusal
and enforcement provisions contained in
NEMA. In terms of mining activities and
EIAs, the Minister of Minerals and Energy
will issue the environmental authorisation
and the Minister of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism is the appeal authority.
Capacity development
When we began to implement EIA regulations,
severe constraints in terms of capacity
and skills, both at provincial and national
level, came to the fore.
We therefore embarked on a detailed capacity
audit and needs analysis survey, which revealed
a number of problems. These included that
approximately 44% of all EIA positions overall
on provincial and national level were vacant
for the past three quarters, although on
national level the vacancy rate is only
about 10%.
In addition, staff turnover was very high
and although the vast majority of EIA officials
were highly qualified, very few had more
than two years experience in their current
position.
We took a number of steps to address the
problems identified in the survey, amongst
others:
• The backlog elimination drive – the ECA
backlog has been reduced by 87%;
• Training – more than 350 officials have
undergone training;
• The development of 6 national sector guidelines,
4 national general and procedural guidelines
and various provincial guidelines and standard
operating procedures; and
• The development of environmental management
frameworks.
In addition to this, we have to continue
to find ways to attract and retain skilled
environmental professionals and use our
capacity optimally.
Decision support and administrative tools
Decision support tools and administrative
systems are as important in ensuring timeous
and high quality processing of EIA applications
as adequate human resource capacity.
One of the achievements we are very proud
of in this regard is the finalisation of
the National Environmental Authorisations
System (NEAS). This web-based system tracks
all EIA applications in the country and
it has now been implemented in all provinces
for the capturing of applications. We are
currently still resolving some accessibility
problems in the North West and Free State.
I am confident that by the end of the financial
year, all NEMA EIA applications will be
captured on the system. By 1 July 2009 any
applicant, environmental practitioner or
member of the public will be able to track
the process. This includes obtaining information
such the location, nature of the application,
contact details of the assessment practitioner
and details of the case officer from the
DEAT and where possible the provincial website.
Regulating the Environmental Assessment
Practitioner Industry
Excellent progress has been made in terms
of the regulation of the industry thanks
to the commitment of environmental practitioners
to improving the quality of work undertaken.
I am pleased to say that thanks to dedicated
professionals who gave freely of their time
and expertise, we have now agreed on a general
qualification with the assistance of the
South African Qualification Authority (SAQA).
I am also expecting an application for the
establishment of the first registration
authority for environmental professionals
in this country before the end of the year.
It is accordingly envisaged that a registration
authority will be in place towards the middle
of 2009. This will be followed by steps
to enforce the compulsory use of registered
practitioners.
Development and implementation of environmental
impact management instruments other than
EIA
As mentioned earlier, it is envisaged that
the improved EIM system will continue to
utilise EIA where it is the most appropriate
instrument, but we have realised that one
of the shortcomings of the current system
is the sole reliance on EIAs. Accordingly,
a study was commissioned on the efficiency
and effectiveness of EIA. The detailed findings
of the study will be presented at the conference,
but I would like to highlight some pertinent
matters.
The review has confirmed that a more strategic
approach to EIM is required and that there
is a definite need to move away from an
“EIA only”-system to one based on true integrated
environmental management.
The study and our department’s review of
EIA statistics also revealed that in the
ten years that we have been implementing
these regulations, we have received more
than 57 000 applications, of which approximately
27 000 were EIAs.
This comes down to more than 5 000 applications
a year or 400 a month. These figures emphasise
the fact that the implementation of the
regulations have made a positive contribution
to the economy and created many hundreds
of jobs in both the private and public sector.
The development and utilisation of instruments
other than EIA - with a specific emphasis
on strategic spatial instruments such as
SEA, bio-regional planning, spatial development
frameworks and environmental management
frameworks - will be a key component of
the EIM strategy.
Governance and environmental impact management
When we committed to a new EIM system in
Cabinet, we also pledged to take a serious
look at the governance elements of such
a system. Governance operates on two levels.
Firstly, we have to ensure that cooperation
and coordination between government departments
is improved, especially in terms of integrating
licensing and permitting processes. Secondly,
we also had to explore mechanisms other
than regulation to encourage environmentally
responsible behaviour. This could include
self- or co-regulation or voluntary systems.
The concept of self- or co-regulation will
be tested through an initiative of the off-road
industry. Under the leadership of the National
Off-road Working Group (NOW), a strategy
for co-regulation has been formulated that
can be used as an example for others to
follow.
Today I am proud to say that unilateral
government action might not be necessary,
as representatives of the sector have come
forward with a highly professional and responsible
response. They have succeeded in formulating
a representative strategy that opens the
way for co-regulation. I am pleased to announce
that the above strategy has been approved
and it will be launched during the first
quarter of 2009.
Conclusion
I would like to take this opportunity to
thank all stakeholders who have been involved
in these processes over a number of years
for their hard work. Without the partnerships
we have forged, much of the work we have
done in order to safeguard our environment
would not have been possible.
This conference will provide us with the
opportunity to discuss and seek resolutions
for the future of EIA. The EIM strategy
and recommendations from this conference
will be regarded as the first round of public
consultation and will lay the foundation
for the development of a new national EIM
Strategy and Action Plan.
I wish you a most successful dialogue and
thought-provoking conference.
I thank you.
Enquiries: Ronel Bester
