Strategic Environmental Management Plan (SEMP) for the Central Namib Uranium Province 2018-2019 Report
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Strategic Environmental Management Plan (SEMP) for the Central Namib Uranium Province 2018-2019 Report September 2020 Prepared by Geological Survey of Namibia Project Management: Ministry of Mines and Energy, Geological Survey of Namibia, Division of Engineering and Environmental Geology Status of Data Received: September 2020 Compiled by: Norwel Mwananawa (GSN) and Sandra Müller (NUA) Contributions from: Geological Survey of Namibia (Israel Hasheela, Norwel Mwananawa, Michelle Hailonga, Giesberta Shaanika) DWA (Anna David) MEFT (Hiskia Mbura) Namibian Uranium Association (Frances Anderson, Carlene Bin- neman, Werner Ewald, Sandra Müller, Jacklyn Mwenze, Katrin Kaer- ner and Ingrid Scholz) NamWater (Erwin Shiluama, Selma Muundjua) NERMU (Elbé Becker and Theo Wassenaar) NRPA (Joseph Eiman) Walvis Bay Municipality (Nangula Amutenya) Final editing: Norwel Mwananawa, Sandra Müller and Giesberta Shaanika © Geological Survey of Namibia, Ministry of Mines and Energy 2020 Citation Geological Survey of Namibia (2020): Strategic Environmental Management Plan (SEMP) for the Cen- tral Namib Uranium Mining Province, 2018-2019 Report. Ministry of Mines and Energy, Windhoek, Republic of Namibia Additional Information and queries to: Mr. Norwel Mwananawa Coordinator Geological Survey of Namibia Ministry of Mines and Energy Private Bag 13297 Windhoek, Namibia Tel: +264-61-2848157 Email: [email protected] 2018-2019 Strategic Environmental Management Plan Report for the Central Namib Uranium Province EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Strategic Environmental Management Plan (SEMP) for the Namibian uranium province is a public- private collaborative initiative housed within the Geological Survey of Namibia, Ministry of Mines and Energy. The SEMP is an over-arching framework and roadmap to address the cumulative impacts of existing and potential developments, within which individual projects have to be planned and imple- mented. Annual SEMP reports measure the performance around twelve Environmental Quality Ob- jectives (EQOs) that show the extent to which uranium mining is impacting the central Namib. Each EQO articulates specific goals and targets that are monitored by a set of key indicators. The SEMP is a living document that has to be amended to keep up with development. Over the years, some goals, targets and indicators have been added, changed or deleted to better represent the in- tention of the SEA. It has become clear that many indicators were formulated under the assumption that the “uranium rush” that triggered the SEA would lead to the development of quite a few new mines. The current mining scenario, which closely resembles the base case, was not foreseen in the SEA. There are only two operating mines, Rössing and Husab, while Langer Heinrich was mothballed in 2018. All the other projects are still awaiting improved market conditions. Seeing that the uranium rush was revealed as a short-lived phenomenon, the impact on the environ- ment and the demand for social services in the Erongo Region will evidently not continue rising as a result of uranium mining. The SEMP Steering Committee has therefore decided to extend the report- ing period so that the current report covers the two years 2018 and 2019. 140 120 100 80 60 40 Number of Indicators of Number 20 0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018/19 Not Met In Progress Met Exceeded NA Figure 1: EQO Performance Trends over Time Figure 1 shows the EQO performance trend since 2011. The total number of indicators Met was 64 in 2018/2019 compared 65 in the previous year, while only one indicator was Exceeded. The number of indicators that were Not Met increased from 14 to 22, while the indicators In Progress dropped from 19 to 15. In 2018/2019, 19 indicators were Not Applicable because the relevant activities did not take place. The number of indicators Met in 2018/2019 was the same as the initial figure in 2011. The best result of 71 indicators Met was achieved in 2014, while the lowest number was 57 in 2012 and 2016. The lack of improvement was at least partly due to the significant number of indicators that could not be assessed (Not Applicable). i 2018-2019 Strategic Environmental Management Plan Report for the Central Namib Uranium Province On the other hand, there was a definite increase in the number of indicators that were Not Met. The persistently high number of outstanding issues suggests that more resources will be required if the desired outcome of the SEMP is to be achieved. Recommended actions to rectify the deficiencies have been included in the SEMP action plan in the next chapter. There were fewer indicators In Progress in 2018/2019; this came about because 1) projects were com- pleted or 2) it became clear that the indicator should be moved into the Not Met category or 3) it was found to be Met. A more stringent approach was taken to avoid assessing an indicator as In Progress when no real advancement could be shown. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Not Met In Progress Met Exceeded NA Figure 2: Performance per EQO in 2018/2019 in % The latest performance ratings of each EQO are displayed in Figure 2 and can be summarised as fol- lows: • Four EQOs were 100% Met: Socioeconomic Development (EQO 1), Employment (EQO 2), Air Quality (EQO 5) and Heritage (EQO 11), except for some indicators that were not applicable. • The Water (EQO 4) indicators were mostly Met with a small percentage In Progress. • Mixed results ranging from Met to Not Met were obtained for the following EQOs: Infrastruc- ture (EQO 3), Effect on Tourism (EQO 7), Ecological Integrity (EQO 8), Governance (EQO 10) and Mine Closure (EQO 12). • The worst performing EQOs were Health (EQO 6) and Education (EQO 9) with a high number of indicators Not Met. • One indicator was Exceeded in EQO 7 regarding tourists’ expectations of their visual experi- ence in the Central Namib. In view of the cyclical nature of commodity markets it is expected that the demand for uranium will increase in future. The implementation of the EQO targets remains critical to ensure that the region is well positioned for future uranium mining projects. The most important actions to address the shortcomings that have been identified in this report are summarised in Table 1 on the next page. ii 2018-2019 Strategic Environmental Management Plan Report for the Central Namib Uranium Province Table 1: High-level Actions to Achieve SEMP Compliance EQO 3: Traffic volume on the B2 has • Upgrade the road to double lanes or create passing increased so that the road has be- lanes at least up to Arandis come unsafe (Roads Authority) EQO 3: Optimum use of rail infra- • Upgrade the railway line so that bulk freight (e.g. fuel) structure (TransNamib) can be shifted from the road EQO 4: Continuous availability of de- • NamWater to upgrade their wellfields and mines to in- salinated water to meet the mines’ crease their water storage capacity to be able to keep demand (NamWater, NUA) operating during sulphur outbreaks EQO 6: Number of healthcare profes- • Employ the number of healthcare professionals identi- sionals and facilities (MHSS) fied in the SEA, add or enlarge healthcare facilities EQO 8: Implementation of biodiver- • MEFT to create enabling legislation for the lasting pro- sity offsets (MEFT, NUA) tection of offsets • Mines to offset damage to important biodiversity areas EQO 9: Improvement of school per- • Improve teacher to learner ratio and performance in formance in the region (MEAC) Grade 10 and 12 exams EQO 10: Allocation of mineral li- • MPMRAC to consider the red and yellow flag status of cences in protected areas areas before issuing mineral licences EQO 12: Lack of mine closure regula- • Complete MRCF, update Minerals Act and regulations tions (MME) for mine closure Two-yearly reporting will maintain the function of the SEMP as a long-term monitoring and decision- making tool that highlights potential risks so that measures can be introduced in time to avoid unnec- essary consequences or mitigate unavoidable impacts. A continuing aim of the SEMP process is to increase the commitment of key government institutions, the uranium industry and NGOs to under- take whatever actions will take the Erongo Region towards the desired future state where communi- ties and industry are able to co-exist in harmony. iii 2018-2019 Strategic Environmental Management Plan Report for the Central Namib Uranium Province CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. i CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................. iv ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................................................... vi SEMP BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................... 1 URANIUM MINING SCENARIO IN 2018-2019 ................................................................................. 5 EVALUATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OBJECTIVES ....................................................... 9 EQO 1. Socio-Economic Development ................................................................................................ 9 EQO 2. Employment .......................................................................................................................... 14 EQO 3. Infrastructure .......................................................................................................................