Implementation Evaluation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System

Introduction and Background to the Evaluation Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is internationally one of the most widely adopted policy implementation instruments, introduced in more than 180 countries world-wide (Morgan, 2012). South Africa has a long and proud history of environmental assessment practice dating back to the 1970s (Mafune et al, 1997; Sowman et al, 1995; Kidd et al, 2018). However, EIA has only been legally mandated since 1997, initially through the Environment Conservation Act (ECA), Act No. 73 of 1989, followed by the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), Act No. 107 of 1998. It is acknowledged that the main purpose of EIA is to serve as a policy implementation instrument to deliver on our so-called ‘environmental right’ contained in Section 24 of the Constitution as well as delivering on the objectives of NEMA. To this end, periodical system evaluation is considered a key component of any well-functioning EIA system, with various system evaluations having been conducted internationally (Sadler, 1996; Arts, 1998; Thissen, 2000; Wood, 2003; Morrison-Saunders and Arts, 2004; Jones et al, 2005; Arts et al, 2012; Lyhne et al, 2017; Loomis and Dziedzic 2018). Following a competitive bidding process, the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) appointed Bembani Water Solutions (Pty) Ltd (Bembani) to undertake an evaluation of the EIA System’s Implementation in South Africa. As highlighted in the ToR (DPME, 2017, p2), EIA is sometimes perceived as a barrier to development due to its requirements for rigorous participatory processes and scientific investigation which may often be viewed as time‐ consuming and expensive. There is also a general and ongoing concern about the efficiency, quality and effectiveness of the EIA system. The first attempt to conduct a system evaluation was after a decade of mandatory EIA practice in 2008 (DEAT, 2008). Following on from the 2008 evaluation study a process was launched to formulate a new strategy for Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) which came to be known as the Environmental Impact Assessment and Management Strategy (EIAMS, 2014). In view of the fact that the last system review was around a decade ago, and in support of the publication of the EIAMS in 2014, now is considered a particularly opportune time to evaluate the EIA system in South Africa.