National social infrastructure guideline

The Department of Environmental Affairs invites comments on the National social infrastructure guideline: a guideline relating to the implementation of the National Environmental Management Act.

"South Africa has increased the proportion of the national budget allocated to infrastructure to support a massive push to addressing infrastructure shortfalls in the next two to eight years. This will place added pressure on the EIA process and all role-players involved. While the ongoing development of Environmental Management Frameworks (EMF) and the development of other Integrated Environmental Management tools through the EIAMS process will reduce the burden on EIA, the benefits will only take effect in the longer term. This scenario heightens the need for guidelines to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the EIA process in ensuring that SI development is sustainable. It is within this context, that the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) commissioned the development of a guideline to improve the environmental sustainability of SI projects:"

"The key objectives of the guideline include:  To increase the understanding and capacity of role-players to implement and/or manage the EIA process.  To provide a common understanding of the impacts of SI on the natural environment.  To improve the general understanding of the legal framework governing environmental sustainability and the specific obligations of role-players in terms of the EIA process.  To improve co-operative governance through better alignment of the EIA and other relevant regulatory processes."