Nema - FAQs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON NEMA’S OPERATIONS
1.0 GENERAL MATTERS

Q1.What is the interlinkage between NEMA and other Government agencies?

After getting approval from local governments, constructions must receive clearance from NEMA. The purpose of this approval is to ensure that the project will not adversely affect the environment. The local govt. is one of our key lead agencies i.e. government agencies charged with specific mandates to conserve the environment. The law says that, where there is a clash between two laws, the Environmental Management Coordination Act (EMCA No. 8 of 1999) takes precedence; hence we are not in conflict but complimenting each other.
We are a coordinating agency working through the lead agencies. In most cases we do not do the actual environmental conservation. We work through Lead agencies

Q2. How can we remedy past mistakes made before the EMCA,1999 came into being?

There is a possibility to do this but NEMA is facing several constraints such as inadequate manpower (290 staff servicing the whole country), a very lean budget, among others.

Q3. What is the background training of people who qualify as EIA experts?

Environmental Impact Assessment is an interdisciplinary issue; hence a person does not necessarily have to be an environmentalist to qualify as an EIA expert.

Q4. Which projects are exempted from conducting a full EIA study?

Projects whose likely environmental impacts are minimal and can be adequately mitigated.

Q5. Are NEMA’s decisions on EIAs politically motivated?

The EIA review process is quite rigorous, considering all aspects of the project, taking in views and advice from both sides of the divide, as well as from experts both in NEMA and taskforces. NEMA acts on advise from lead agencies, District and Provincial environment committees and the technical advisory committee (TAC).

Q6. Is (NET) National Environmental Tribunal really independent or is it just a political gimmick?

The process of contacting/ selecting of experts is flawed since the expert may feel obliged to favor the proponent as the master. Why can’t NEMA hire the experts to ensure the objectivity of the report produced?

In all other professions (engineers, architects, lawyers etc), proponents hire experts directly. As cited above, the EIA review process is quite rigorous, considering all aspects of the project, taking in views and advice from both sides of the divide, as well as from experts both in NEMA and taskforces. NEMA acts on advise from lead agencies, District and Provincial environment committees and the technical advisory committee Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). Poorly done reports are always rejected.

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