Government of Namibia Proposal to the Millennium Challenge Corporation
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USFS Trip Report: MCC Namibia Tourism Due Diligence, Social and Environmental Assessment USDA Forest Service Office of International Programs Due Diligence Trip Report Government of Namibia Proposal to the Millennium Challenge Corporation MCA Namibia Investment Three: Promote Private and Community-based Investment in Tourism Section III: Social and Environmental Assessment FINAL REPORT – May 20, 2007 Mission Dates: February 24 – March 10, 2007 and April 7 – 17, 2007 Oliver Pierson Peter Gaulke Susan Charnley USDA Forest Service USDA Forest Service USDA Forest Service International Programs Ecosystem Management PNW Research Station 1099 14th St. NW Coordination 620 SW Main St. Suite 5500W 201 14th Street, SW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20005 Washington, DC 20024 Portland, OR 97205 (202) 501-2632 (202) 205-1521 (503) 808-2051 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 1 USFS Trip Report: MCC Namibia Tourism Due Diligence, Social and Environmental Assessment TABLE OF CONTENTS I. List of Acronyms 3 II. Forward 3 III. Environmental and Social Assessment Due Diligence Questions 4 A. Environmental Legal and Regulatory Structure 4 B. Environmental Screening 8 C. Environmental and Social Impact Assessment 18 D. Health and safety 20 E. Resettlement (project by project) 22 F. Gender and Underrepresented Groups 23 IV. Additional Terms of Reference Reponses 28 IV.1. Consideration on whether MCC should recommend that GON conduct a 28 Strategic (or Sectoral) Environmental Assessment. IV.2. Criteria for Selection of Conservancies to Receive MCC Investment 29 IV.3. Consideration of National Park Management Plans 30 IV.4. Kunene Contractual Park 30 IV.5. Inadequacy of Current Training Programs in MCA Compact Proposal 32 IV.6. Donor and Partner Coordination IV.7. Potential for Conservancies to Contribute to Poverty Alleviation through 33 Tourism Investments IV.8. Environmental and Social Safeguards – Ecotourism Certification 38 Appendix I: Documents Reviewed (Partial List) and Cited 40 Appendix II: Additional Documentation Needed 42 Appendix III: Specific Issues at Future Bwabwata National Park: 43 Appendix IV: MCC Namibia Due Diligence Mission Itineraries 45 Appendix V: Persons Consulted 52 Appendix VI: Partial list of Environmental, Social, Health And Safety Issues & Effects 53 Reviewed During Field Visits Figure 1: Namibian Environmental Assessment Procedure 54 2 USFS Trip Report: MCC Namibia Tourism Due Diligence, Social and Environmental Assessment I. LIST OF ACRONYMS BBM Bwabwata, Mudumu and Mamili National Parks CBNRM Community Based Natural Resource Management DEA Directorate of Environmental Affairs (MET) DOI United States Department of Interior ESA Environmental and Social Assessment EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMB Environmental Management Bill EMP Environmental Management Plan FENATA Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations GON Government of Namibia MCA Millennium Challenge Account MCC Millennium Challenge Corporation MET Ministry of Environment and Tourism NGO Non-governmental organization SDAB Sustainable Development Advisory Board SIA Social Impact Assessment USFS USDA Forest Service II. FORWARD At the request of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the USDA Forest Service (USFS) provided Environmental and Social Assessment (ESA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) expertise in evaluating certain elements, known as a “due diligence” process, of the Government of Namibia’s Compact Proposal on tourism. This included an assessment of the legal, regulatory and institutional environment within the Government of Namibia related to ESA issues, including an initial screening for compliance with MCC Environmental Guidelines. Due diligence was be performed as part of an integrated team using MCC staff, USFS and Department of Interior (DOI) personnel, and consultants concentrating on infrastructure, engineering, tourism, community based natural resource management (CBNRM), wildlife, environment and social assessment issues, and land and property rights. Specifically for ESA and EIA issues and all proposed tourism programs, projects and activities, MCC provided environment and social assessment due diligence questions which were reviewed to the fullest extent possible during the mission. Where sufficient information was provided, detailed responses to those questions are provided in this report. Responses to the questions highlight where there is insufficient information to answer a given question and/or when it is too early in the design process to provide a response. Where deemed appropriate, suggested conditions to disbursements under the MCC grant are provided. For all MCC-funded tourism projects reviewed on this mission, ESA issues were reviewed using the MCC Environmental Guidelines and the MCC Gender Policy. This EIA focused report should be considered in context with the report submitted by the USFS CBRNM Consultant who covered additional social and gender due diligence questions. 3 USFS Trip Report: MCC Namibia Tourism Due Diligence, Social and Environmental Assessment III. Environmental and Social Assessment Due Diligence Questions Note: This report primarily focuses on ESA issues (Section III of the January 9 MCC Namibia Tourism Due Diligence Scope of Work) and should be considered as complementary to the March 22 report submitted by the USFS/DOI team that responded to Section I of the Scope of Work. This report focuses on ESA Due Diligence Question sets A through set F in Appendix A of the Scope of Work. A. Environmental Legal and Regulatory Structure A.1. How well do the country’s environmental laws and regulations, as well as capacity for implementation and oversight, satisfy MCC Environmental Guidelines? General Discussion: EIA Policy: Pre-trip Namibian EIA documentation consisted of the January 1995 “Environmental Assessment Policy for Sustainable Development and Environmental Conservation” available publicly on the internet. This 1995 document is draft and the version currently in use in the Directorate of Environmental Affairs (DEA) within Namibia’s Ministry of Environmental and Tourism (MET). An updated draft 2002 Environmental Management Bill was provided for review by ESA consultants during meetings in Windhoek. In-country discussions highlighted the development of a legal EIA policy framework that has been under consideration for over 10 years. Current status of this “Environmental Management Bill” is that it has been endorsed by the Minister, is now with the Attorney General, and is expected to be on the agenda for the Namibian Parliament’s next legislative session. However, it is difficult to predict how long it will take before it is signed into law, although there is a desire to have it completed in 2007. This current 2007 draft Environmental Management Bill (2007 EMB) before the Namibian Parliament will be used in this report to determine whether Namibia’s environmental laws and regulations, as well as proposed staffing will satisfy the MCC Environmental Guidelines (January 20, 2006). It should be noted that the 2007 EMB is a significant departure from the 1995 draft policy and provides significantly greater detail in process, staffing and enforcement than either the 1995, or the draft 2002 EMB. In addition to the proposed Environmental Management Bill, a 14-page “Screening Questionnaire for Projects” produced by the DEA, was provided by MET Staff and reviewed for inclusion in this report. The status of this document and its use under the proposed 2007 Environmental Management Bill is unclear. EIA Staffing: Current staffing in the Environmental Assessment section of the DEA consists of three staff - one section head and two support staff. This staff is responsible for all ESA review and documentation that passes through MET, not for production of ESA documents. Effectively, not unlike many African countries, most EIA documentation in Namibia is completed under contract by a host of non-governmental organizations (NGO) and contractors. It is the responsibility of the DEA to review each document for compliance and sufficiency with the Environmental Management Policy. The proposed 2007 EMB includes a staffing structure and review framework which, if implemented, would provide greater surety of project adherence to Namibian environmental policies. Proposed staffing includes an Environmental Commissioner, Deputy Environmental Commissioner, and Environmental officers. Of particular note is the establishment of the Sustainable Development Advisory Board (SDAB) consisting of parties both inside and outside the Government of Namibia (GON). The SDAB’s function 4 USFS Trip Report: MCC Namibia Tourism Due Diligence, Social and Environmental Assessment is to advise the Minister on, among other things, the “development of a policy and strategy for the management, protection and use of the environment”, but does not affect individual projects or activities. Staffing of the Directorate of Environmental Affairs is on hold until the bill is signed into law. Findings: The 2007 EMB endorsed by the MET Minister and pending Namibian Parliament approval meets the overall requirements of the MCC Environmental Guidelines and good international practices. This proposed bill provides for appropriate screening and appropriate environmental and social analysis. There is a close parallel in principles and process between the proposed Namibian Environmental Management Bill and those principles and processes outlined in the MCC Environmental Guidelines. Minor gaps identified between MCC guidelines and the