Professional Development Fellowship Program in Environmental Assessment South Africa Ms

Environmental Assessment (EA) is a planning and decision support tool used in developmental projects across the globe. Though it has been in practice for several decades now, its effectiveness and benefits towards promoting sustainable development (and reducing negative environmental impacts) remains contested by many developers, decision makers and academia. This is because countries experiencing sustained population growth prioritise industrial and infrastructural development with less concern for environmental consequences. The desire by decision makers to improve economic growth and address poverty often leads to circumvention of the planning processes and the implementation of environmental safeguard tools such as EA. Reasons advanced for inadequate willingness to embrace this important planning and decision support tool are: the process takes time to complete and it is costly (developers), complexity of the requirements and lack of clear terms of reference (practitioners), pressure to accomplish development and provide services to the population (governments), lack of proper skills to conduct the EA process (regulatory authorities). This paper is drawn from a poster prepared by Professional Development Fellowship Program participants under Capacity Development and Linkages for Environmental Assessment in Africa (CLEAA) to share some of the best environmental practices. The goal is to promote the use of EA best practices in subSaharan Africa which will enhance development that does not compromise the sustainability of the environment.