A review of provincial environmental impact assessment administrative capacity in South Africa

Abstract

Regulations governing environmental impact assessments (EIAs) have been in force for about three years in South Africa, with the administration being delegated to the provinces. This paper reviews the current levels of provincial capacity available to administer the regulations. Staff shortages were particularly acute in three provinces, and the high number of applications being processed as exemptions points to ineffective screening. Personnel in most provinces have sound qualifications but are inexperienced, and lack of service contracts and poor salaries result in loss of experienced staff. There is very little follow-up enforcement and compliance monitoring, thus losing a valuable opportunity to see the consequences of decisions and undermining public confidence in EIA. Various mechanisms for sharing experience between provincial agencies are proposed.