Enviro law to be enforced soon

THE Environmental Management Act, which was passed by Parliament at the end of last year, has still not been implemented because a string of regulations have been drawn up and must be finalised first.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism informed representatives of the tourism and environmental sectors about the 44-page draft regulations during a workshop on Tuesday. The new law gives the Ministry more clout to approve or reject new developments and investment projects in the mining, fishing, forestry, energy and manufacturing sectors.The defence sector is exempt from this process.According to Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the number of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) submitted for approval has increased considerably.”During 2007, our Ministry had to handle over 200 EIAs, which requires considerable time and manpower to administer,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said at the opening of the workshop.”Many of these assessments are for projects in nature parks, protected and ecologically sensitive areas with little water,” the Minister added.”The various new development projects require good and sustainable environmental management to minimise their impact,” she emphasised.Workshop participants discussed the many draft regulations, which cover in detail the processes to be followed by developers to obtain environmental clearance certificates from the Ministry.More openness and transparency is envisaged and better participation for the public.The clearance certificate will in future only be valid for three years and organisations and companies must reapply for them.Once gazetted in the next few weeks, the new act and its regulations can be implemented.The new legislation provides for the powerful position of an Environmental Commissioner and a deputy, who still have to be appointed.The Commissioner will review all applications for environmental clearance certificates and issue these certificates after approval.The Commissioner must also travel around the country and carry out inspections to see if institutions and companies like mining and tourism operations and future nuclear power plants comply with the act.A ‘Sustainable Development Advisory Council’ must also be appointed by the Ministry.The new law gives the Ministry more clout to approve or reject new developments and investment projects in the mining, fishing, forestry, energy and manufacturing sectors.The defence sector is exempt from this process.According to Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the number of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) submitted for approval has increased considerably.”During 2007, our Ministry had to handle over 200 EIAs, which requires considerable time and manpower to administer,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said at the opening of the workshop.”Many of these assessments are for projects in nature parks, protected and ecologically sensitive areas with little water,” the Minister added.”The various new development projects require good and sustainable environmental management to minimise their impact,” she emphasised.Workshop participants discussed the many draft regulations, which cover in detail the processes to be followed by developers to obtain environmental clearance certificates from the Ministry.More openness and transparency is envisaged and better participation for the public.The clearance certificate will in future only be valid for three years and organisations and companies must reapply for them.Once gazetted in the next few weeks, the new act and its regulations can be implemented.The new legislation provides for the powerful position of an Environmental Commissioner and a deputy, who still have to be appointed.The Commissioner will review all applications for environmental clearance certificates and issue these certificates after approval.The Commissioner must also travel around the country and carry out inspections to see if institutions and companies like mining and tourism operations and future nuclear power plants comply with the act.A ‘Sustainable Development Advisory Council’ must also be appointed by the Ministry.