Mark Stoughton, Ph'D' The Cadmus Group

1
EIA Review and Follow-up Strategies for
Effective EIA Systems in Africa Outcomes of the
CLEAA-ECA African Experts Workshop
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND LINKAGES FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN AFRICA
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICACOMMISSION
ECONOMIQUE POUR LAFRIQUE

• Mark Stoughton, Ph.D.The Cadmus Group
• Seoul 5 June 2007

2
Review and follow-up a challenge to EIA
effectiveness in Africa

• Over the last decade and more, African
  governments have made significant efforts to
  develop EIA systems.
• In many cases, these systems also fulfill the
  role of media-based regulation in wealthier
  economies
• Effectiveness of EIA depends critically on EIA
  review and Environmental Management Plan (EMP)
  implementation and follow-up.
• require a combination of expertise, sufficient
  and sustained financial capacity, and
  well-performing institutional and regulatory
  mechanisms.
• Meeting these requirements a challenge in many
  countries

3
CLEAA ECA

• UN Economic Commission for AfricaIn 2005,
  publishedA Review of the Application of EIA in
  selected African Countries
• Capacity Development and Linkages for
  Environmental Assessment in Africa
  (CLEAA)African regional network whose mission is
  to promote the use of Environmental Assessment
  and Management (EAM) as a tool for sustainable
  development in Africa. EIA Effectiveness top
  of the CLEAA agendaNetwork 6 sub-regional
  nodes

4
CLEAA-ECA Experts Workshop
African Experts Workshop on Effectiveness of
Environmental Impact Assessment Systems

• Addis Ababa, 12-13 April 2007
• Focus EIA Review, Financing and Follow-up
• OrganizersCLEAA Secretariat (IUCN/EARO,
  technical support by The Cadmus Group), ECA Food
  Security and Sustainable Development Division
• Participants Senior representatives of leader
  EIA agencies agencies committed to improving
  the effectiveness of EIA systems, Donors,
  Partners engaged in EIA effectiveness CLEAA
  Nodes
• Funding USAID (grant to CLEAA) ECA NCEIA

5
Workshop objective
build on and go beyond the UNECA studys
recommendations, identifying and endorsing
specific technical approaches and concrete
actions and priorities to enhance EIA
effectiveness in Africa
6
Premise

• There is no single prescription for a perfect
  EA system.
• However, African policy-makers and institutions
  need feasible, innovative options and models that
  are effective in the reality of the African
  context.
• Such options, models and lessons do exist,
  accumulated in EA systems across the continent.

7
Outcome

• A framework for an agenda for actionTechnical
  recommendation and recommended implementation
  actions for governments, donors and partners in
  six areas for action

Not a textbook list of factors for EIA
effectiveness, but a focused list of priorities
addressing critical gaps with what works and what
is feasible in African contexts.
Why framework for an agenda? Not a multilateral
forum all experts participated as individuals.
Next step put recommendations in front of
multilateral fora that can set agendas.
8
Six (linked) action areas
EIA Review Independence of EIA Decision-Making
Financing of EIA systems
Follow-up on EMP Implementation Adequacy
Information
Public Participation
Certification o host-country systems for donor
projects
9
ACTION AREA 1EIA Review Independence of EIA
Decision-Making
Technical recommendations
Implementation actions

• Composition of review committees, teams should
  vary according to project needs
• Clear procedures, processes for engaging external
  expertise when required.
• Simplified procedures for small-scale activities.
  
• Transparency, clarity of review and
  decision-making procedures, criteria

Necessary statute/regulatory changes Comparative
study/information resource on EIA review
systems Sectoral pilots for general permit
approaches to small-scale projects
10
ACTION AREA 2Financing
Technical recommendations
Implementation actions

• At a minimum, EIA Fees with clear basis in
  statute/ regulation
• 2-part fee system processing permit/licensing
  fees
• Fees scale to project size/ complexity
• Mitigation costs rest with project proponent
• Escrowing, set-asides for decommissioning

Necessary statute/regulatory changes Comparative
study/information resource on EIA funding
systems Financing entities to assure that project
budgets reflect costs of EMP implementation
donor/ partner/ government action to make such
environmental due diligence business as usual.
11
ACTION AREA 3Follow-up on EMP implementation,
adequacy
Technical recommendations
Implementation actions

• EIAs to include conditions in clear, auditable
  language
• Significant promise partial privatization or
  outsourcing EMP implementation monitoring
• Financing should be contingent on existence of a
  conforming EMP, associated provisions in budgets
  workplans

Sectoral pilots on privatized/ outsourced
models for follow-up monitoring w/ dissemination
of lessons learned recommended good
practice. Donor/Partner/ Government action to
make such environmental due diligence business as
usual.
12
ACTION AREA 4Information
Technical recommendations
Implementation actions

• Straightforward, open, searchable access to
• 1. Full lifecyle of individual EIAs
• 2. EIA procedures norms criteria used in
  decision-making
• 3. National environmental quality standards, env
  social data
• 4. Clean technologies and mitigation actions
• 5. EIA practitioner expert databases

Donor-funded, partner-led development of basic
software platforms/packages adaptable to needs of
individual states. (Access to packages
contingent on practicable commitments to
technical, financial dimensions of maintenance.)
Regional EA associations and institutions lead
role in practioner databases.
13
ACTION AREA 5Public Participation
Technical recommendations
Implementation actions

• Public participation critical to EIA quality, the
  quality of EIA review, public confidence in the
  process.
• Participation must be supported be clear
  provisions in statute/regulation
• Critical information in EA documents available in
  plain language
• Informed participation of civil society and media
  is a critical balance to project proponents

Expansion of Calabash-like initiatives outside
the SADC region
14
ACTION AREA 6Certifying host country systems
Technical recommendations
Implementation actions

• None

Such initiatives are a powerful mechanism for
strengthening/ upgrading host country systems,
particularly when matched with commitments to
increased use of host country professionals for
EIAs of donor projects. Expansion of existing
efforts strongly recommended.
15
What next?

• Table the workshop recommendations in key
  multilateral fora

1
AMCEN TRACK AMCEN has endorsed/adopted the
CLEAA program of work for 2007-08. AMCEN itself
functions as a technical committee of the AU. We
will table the workshop recommendations before
AMCEN. An AMCEN resolution would be forwarded to
the AU Commission and, hopefully, to the AU Heads
of State Summit.
ECA TRACK ECA to table the recommendations at a
meeting of ECAs Africa Committee on Sustainable
Development, ACSD to draft a resolution for
presentation at ECAs Conference of Ministers of
Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
16
What next?
2

• Participant decision-makers to implement where
  possible in their organizations
• CLEAA to implement through its own program of
  work
• Utilize the new Partnership for Environmental
  Assessment in Africa (PEAA) donor
  coordination/funding mechanism.
• Via both CLEAA Secretariat and node activities
• CLEAA Plan of Action key topic for CLEAA
  meetings at IAIA

3
17

• To contribute and learn more

?
ATTEND the CLEAA Meeting at IAIA07 (Begins 18h00
today, continues 18h00 tomorrow.)
?
WORKSHOP REPORT NOW AVAILABLE
18
For more information

• Thank-you for your attention!
• mstoughton_at_cadmusgroup.com
• CLEAA ECA Abdulrahman ISSA (Mr.) Isatou
  GAYE (Ms.) IUCN Tanzania Country
  Director Environmental Affairs OfficerCLEAA
  coordinator Food Security issa_at_iucn.or.tz
  Sustainable. Development Division
  Division igaye_at_uneca.org