Strategic Environmental Assessment

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

The increasing concentration of the World's population in coastal areas has created different conflicts between the human and development activities and the coastal ecosystems along with management difficulties. Typically, management in coastal areas has been characterized by sectoral, fragmented and short-term development strategies that have failed to take into account the multiple uses occurring within the coastal environment. This has led to problems arising from the lack of understanding of the socioeconomic character of coastal environments and poor cooperation between different levels of administration and management. For that matter, a new tool has been introduced, the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), including both socioeconomic and environmental issues.

The relationship between SEA and EIA       For the most part an SEA is conducted before a corresponding Environmental lmpact Assessment (EIA) is undertaken. This will mean that information on the environmental impact of a plan will be able to cascade down through the tiers of decision making and be used in an EIA at a later stage. This should reduce the amount of work that needs to be undertaken. A handover procedure is foreseen.

SEA helps authorities and developers to make decisions taking environment into consideration. It is a term widely used to refer to a systematic process of analyzing the environmental effects of policies, plans and programmes. Often the process is equated with a formal procedure based on Environmental Impact Assessment. It is a means of integrating environmental considerations into development policy-making and planning, more recently referred to as “mainstreaming environment”. SEA is a holistic, cross-sectoral approach to the implementation of sustainable development which could also include social and economic effects.

SEA has become an important instrument to help to achieve sustainable development in public planning and policy making. The importance of SEA is widely recognised. Particular benefits of SEA include:

The structure of SEA is based on the following phases:

SEA should ensure that plans and programmes take into consideration the environmental effects they cause. If those environmental effects are part of the overall decision taking it is called Strategic Impact Assessment.

For more information about SEA, consult the Strategic Environmental Assessment Information Service website: http://www.sea-info.net

The aim of SEA for the Namibian coast is to provide decision makers at national, regional and local level and affected stakeholders with timely and relevant information on the potential environmental impacts of on the ground activities, policies and programmes. Such information is usually used to enable decision makers and affected people to make required modification and adjustment in an effort to avoid negative environmental impacts and environmental disasters.

SEA is therefore a process that is inextricably linked to decision making. It facilitates the early consideration of environmental impacts, the examination of a broad array of potential alternatives, the generation of standard mitigation measures and the opportunity to address a wide range of impacts, including those that are cumulative, synergistic, indirect, long range, delayed and global.2. As basis of this, regional SEAs will be conducted in all coastal areas of the four coastal regions: Kunene, Erongo, Hardap and Karas during the project period.

The information, data and findings resulting from the SEA process will be presented in a Decision Support Tool (DST). This tool will be disseminated to political and technical decision makers at local, regional and national levels in order to assist them in taking decisions on biodiversity conservation, land use planning, and social and economic development planning in the Kunene and Erongo coastal zones.

DST is a map-based documentation of the results of the modelled land use suitability, including the analyses of spatial trends in biodiversity. DST is part of the SEA report and should be used together to interpret the background for the conclusions and recommendations given. An important usage of the DST in relation to spatial planning of future developments is the possibility to compare the suitability of an area for different and potentially competing land uses. The DST does not offer any decisions, but rather a user-friendly map in high resolution of the suitability of each land use evaluated on the basis of multi-criteria evaluations of all economic, social and environmental issues.

On the Namibian coast, with the prospects of continued decentralisation and growth in the standard of living and thus the diversification of the use of natural resources, the task of effective resource allocation will soon become a difficult task for resource managers, not least at the regional level. Add to this the dynamic environment subject to substantial and complex impacts from human intervention, and one has the ingredients for a decision making process that is dominated by uncertainty and consequent risk for the decision maker.

All data and other information collected during the SEA process will feed into the preparation work for regional coastal profiles for particular use by the Kunene, Erongo, Hardap and Karas Regional Councils.

A specific contribution to the preparation of these regional profiles will be identified in the recommendations that will be derived from the SEA. The regional coastal profiles are intended to give regional councils and local authorities as well as local communities general information on biophysics, socioeconomic, biodiversity, etc for their specific areas.

A profile may describe what the coastline has to offer in the way of natural resources, its people, what they do and how the natural environment responds. Like the SEA, the information in the coastal profile can be used as a basis when policies in the coastal zone are formulated. Briefly a profile will complement a SEA and DST.

SEA for the coastal areas of the Hardap and Karas regions

The consultant team of DHI, started in August 2008 with several meetings in Windhoek, Swakopmund, Mariental, Keetmanshoop and Lüderitz. Further workshops took place end of November 2008 - beginning of December 2008 in Windhoek, Keetmanshoop, Luderitz and Oranjemund to collect more data and information. The first draft SEA is now available on this website section Reports & Publication. Please consult this draft study report and sent your comments to Rod Braby: rbraby@nacoma.org.na

The submission of the final SEA for Hardap and Karas regions has been further delayed and the document is expected by end of August 2009. Workshops will take place in September and October for presenting the final SEA and to obtain final comments. A publication version of the SEA will be available beginning of 2010.


Implementation of SEA recommendations on the Kunene and Erongo Coast

The Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment (SAIEA) was contracted to implement key recommendations of the SEA for the coastal areas of the Erongo and Kunene regions, in order to improve conservation management on the Kunene and Erongo Coast.

The SEA found that conservation management of coastal areas needed to be improved, particularly for areas such as the Walvis Bay Nature Reserve, and the area of land between Walvis Bay and the Ugab River.

For this purpose SAIEA considered best-practice management planning methodology in producing Management and Development Plans (MDPs) for the coastal National Parks, considering socio-economic needs and conservation priorities. Management and Development Plans have been produced for the following areas of the proposed greater Namib-Skeleton Coast National Park:
- Central Area
- Skeleton Coast Area
- Namib-Naukluft Area
These are available for viewing on this website section Reports & Publications.

The MDPs were formulated with a great deal of input from stakeholders. Input from interested and affected individuals and organizations from industry, conservation, tourism, government, NGOs and the public at large has been incorporated into the MDPs, and consensus has been reached on zonation of areas along the Erongo and Kunene coast for specific uses (e.g. quad-biking, eco-tourism, industrial development, protected sensitive environments).

Draft regulations for activities within the coastal parks were formulated and tested during the December 2008 season, and an evaluation of the test period led to the refinement of the regulations during January 2009.

These 3 MDPs will be finalised in the coming months. The MPD of the central area will support the proclamation of a new National Park between the Ugab River and the Kuiseb River expected by the end of the year.

The main contact person is Mr. Morgan Hauptfleisch:
Tel: 061-220-579
Fax: 061-279-897
Email: morgan.hauptfleisch@saiea.com

National coastal profile

The consulting firm Raison has been contracted in April 2009 to compile and publish an environmental profile of the Namibian coast and summaries per coastal region. The task will start with a first draft of the Kunene region coastal profile. The National coastal profile is expected to be publish beginning of 2010.

Awareness Campaign for Coastal holiday season 2009/2010

The seriousness and commitment with which various government and private stakeholders approach the conservation, sustainable development and integrated management of the coast’s natural resources is being reflected by the nearly one million Namibian Dollars contributed to ensure that the damage to the environment is limited to the minimum during the December holiday.

During a media conference yesterday at Swakopmund, Mr. Rod Braby, Coordinator of the Namibian Coast Conservation and Management (NACOMA) Project, said not only did civil society donate its time and efforts but various concerns have contributed financially or have been responsible for obtaining financial support from elsewhere. The money is being used in various ways to ensure that the damage caused to the coastal environment is far less than the previous December holiday season.

Since the inception of the NACOMA Project in 2006, the private sector has donated over N$2.5 million to further the cause of conservation and sustainable development.

The following organisations have contributed significantly to assisting the MET this season: Rio Tinto (Rössing Uranium Limited); BirdLife International (Rio Tinto – Partnership Action Fund); Levo Tours; Fantom Film – Reel Media; Namib Film; Living Desert Tours; Tommy’s Tours; Desert Explorers; Key Plan; Areva; MTC; Walfish Electric; Ndongo Toyota; Dare Devil Adventures; Dune 7 adventures; Outback Orange; Rentec; The Municipalities of Walvis Bay, Henties Bay and Swakopmund; the Erongo Regional Council; Roads Authority; Wesbank transport; Baard Transport; and Salz Gossow.

The media have also contributed significantly especially One Africa TV; the Namib Times; the Republikein and NBC. The value in Namibian dollars of their contribution is N$193,000.

During the media conference, Dr. Hu Berry, world-renowned scientist and Eco-Tourism Operator, underlined the significance of conservation, the responsible and sustainable utilisation of the natural resources.

He said the pressures on the coast’s natural resources are mounting. These include an ever-increasing population with corresponding demands for employment, education, health services and housing. More and more tourists are visiting Namibia. In 2008 approximately 900 000 tourists visited the country, with Swakopmund and the surrounding coastline becoming the most-visited location in Namibia, surpassing the Etosha National Park.

The advent of large-scale uranium mining in the Erongo Region and its coastline is bringing additional pressure on the basic elements of water, air, soil and energy, while climate change will have significant effects on the Namib and its coastline, he said.

Mrs. Merrilyn Leippert, Chairperson of the Coastal Tourism Association of Namibia, pointed out that the tourism industry largely derives it livelihood from the coastal environment. Nearly 18 000 people are directly or indirectly employed by the tourism sector at the coast. If each of them would take care of three dependents, a large number of people would be relying on the income from this sector.

Mrs. Leippert called on all Namibians to act responsibly by taking care of the coastal environment, and thereby ensuring that the tourism industry could further develop the coast as a world-renowned destination. She emphasised the importance of visitors showing respect for the environment and adhering to the off-road rules during the December recess.

During the media conference the 2009/2010 edition of the magazine, Conservation and the Environment in Namibia, was launched. It was published by Venture Publications from Windhoek.  A total of in-depth 32 articles, richly illustrated with colour photographs, highlight the significance of the Namibian coast as a national heritage. The 56-page magazine is available free of charge at the offices of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism at Swakopmund, Lüderitz and Walvis Bay as well as the NACOMA Project in the Standard Bank Building at Swakopmund. It will also be available at Namib I, Sam Cohen Library and various accommodation establishments along the coast.

For more information and download reports linked to this activity, please visit Reports & Publications.