Photo: Contributed
By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Hangala
The proposed amendments to the Environmental Management Act includes a proposal to establish an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Appraisal Committee to boost the current structure.
This is according to the draft bill currently being consulted on by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
The members of the appraisal committee will be appointed by the Environmental Commissioner.
The bill also states that environmental assessment practitioners are now going to be registered.
The Minister may prescribe requirements and procedures required for the registration of environmental assessment practitioners.
An environmental assessment practitioner must have requisite resources for carrying out environmental impact assessment studies such as staff, laboratory and field investigation facilities.
Moreover, expertise in different functional areas like air, water, land biodiversity, hydrology, risk and hazards, and socio-economic studies or the capacity to pool the individual environmental experts for different functional areas.
The bill also empowers the Environmental Commissioner to deregister a registered environmental assessment practitioner if the Commissioner finds proof of concealment of information, plagiarism, technically unsound assessment; or conflict of interests.
The bill explained that the objectives of strategic environmental assessment are to ensure that policies, plans and programmes promote sustainable use of natural resources.
It advocates that equitable access to environmental resources must be promoted and the functional integrity of ecological systems must be taken into account to ensure the sustainability of the systems and to prevent harmful effects.
Moreover, the functional integrity of ecological systems must be taken into account to ensure the sustainability of the systems and to prevent harmful impacts.
Thus, assessments must be undertaken for activities which may have a significant impact on the environment or the use of natural resources.
A proponent applying for an environmental clearance certificate in respect of a listed activity must submit various plans to the Environmental Commissioner, as a condition of receiving the environmental clearance certificate.
These include closure, restoration and rehabilitation plans within 12 months of issuance of the environmental clearance certificate.
To ensure proper closure, restoration and rehabilitation of the project site, the bill states that the proponent must submit a financial guarantee as an environmental performance bond to the Environmental Commissioner within 12 months of the issuance of an environmental clearance certificate.
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