App-00887 Environmental Impact Assessment for The
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Application No: APP-00887 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR THE PROPOSED EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES ON EXCLUSIVE PROSPECTING LICENCE NUMBER 5233 BETWEEN OTAVI AND KOMBAT AREA, OTJOZONDJUPA REGION (Photo Credit: Kodo Drilling) 06 January 2019 CONSULTANT: PROPONENT Mr. Ipeinge Mundjulu (BSC, MSc) Huab Energy Pty Ltd Red-Dune Consulting CC P O Box 87100 P O Box 27623 Windhoek Eros Cell: +264 81 147 7889 Windhoek DOCUMENT INFORMATION DOCUMENT STATUS Final APPLICATION NO: APP 00887 PROJECT TITLE Environmental Impact Assessment For The Proposed Exploration Activities On Exclusive Prospecting Licence Number 5233 CLIENT Huab Energy Pty Ltd PROJECT CONSULTANT Mr. Ipeinge Mundjulu LOCATION Between Otavi and Kombat Areas, Otjozondjupa Region Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ ii 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Regulatory Requirements ................................................................................................. 1 1.2. The Need and Desirability of the Project ......................................................................... 2 1.3. Terms of Reference .......................................................................................................... 2 1.4. Scope of the EIA .............................................................................................................. 3 2. Project Description.................................................................................................................. 4 2.1. Location ............................................................................................................................ 4 2.2. Project Activities .............................................................................................................. 6 2.2.1. Phase 1. Non-Invasive Exploration........................................................................... 6 2.2.2. Phase 2. Evasive Exploration .................................................................................... 7 2.3. Equipment ........................................................................................................................ 8 2.3.1. Vehicles..................................................................................................................... 9 2.3.2. Drilling .................................................................................................................... 10 2.3.3. Airborne Geophysical survey ................................................................................. 11 3. Description of the Affected Environment ............................................................................. 11 3.1. Environmental Parameters ............................................................................................. 11 3.1.1. Climate .................................................................................................................... 11 3.1.2. Geomorphology ...................................................................................................... 12 3.1.3. Ecology ................................................................................................................... 13 3.1.4. Ecological Impact Assessment ............................................................................... 16 3.1.5. Socio-Economic Environment ................................................................................ 17 3.1.6. Land Use ................................................................................................................. 17 3.1.7. Archaeology ............................................................................................................ 17 3.1.8. Population Demography ......................................................................................... 17 4. Project Alternatives ............................................................................................................... 19 5. Policy and Legal Framework ................................................................................................ 21 6. Public Consultation ............................................................................................................... 24 6.1. Newspaper Adverts ........................................................................................................ 24 6.2. Public Meeting ............................................................................................................... 24 6.2.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 24 6.2.2. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process ................................................. 26 6.2.3. Commencement of the Exploration Activities ........................................................ 27 6.2.4. Huab Energy (Pty) Ltd ............................................................................................ 27 6.2.5. Comment / Question and Response ........................................................................ 28 7. Impact Identification and Risk Assessment .......................................................................... 29 7.1. Impact Identification ...................................................................................................... 29 7.2. Impact Risk Assessment Procedure ............................................................................... 31 7.3. Identified Impacts ........................................................................................................... 31 7.3.1. Potential Negative Impacts ..................................................................................... 31 7.3.2. Potential Positive Impact of the project .................................................................. 32 8. Risks Assessment .................................................................................................................. 32 8.1. Planning Phase ............................................................................................................... 32 8.2. Operational Phase ........................................................................................................... 33 8.2.1. Socio-Economic Impacts ........................................................................................ 33 8.2.2. Bio-Physical Impacts .............................................................................................. 38 9. Decommissioning and Rehabilitation ................................................................................... 41 10. Conclusions and Recommendations .................................................................................. 41 10.1. Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 41 10.2. Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 41 11. References .......................................................................................................................... 42 List of Figures Figure 1 The EIA Process in Namibia ........................................................................................... 3 Figure 2. EPL 5233, for information, an application ECC for EPL 5234 below is also made ...... 5 Figure 3. Exploration vehicles ....................................................................................................... 9 Figure 4. An illustration of a hand dug trench ............................................................................. 10 Figure 5. A truck mounted RC drill rig and a skid mounted drill rig .......................................... 10 Figure 6. An illustration of a fixed wing Cessna ......................................................................... 11 Figure 7. Locality map showing the Otavi Mountain Land (J.E. Misiewicz 1988)..................... 13 Figure 8. Dominant vegetation at the study area ......................................................................... 16 Figure 9. Public meeting at Otavi Farmers association hall ........................................................ 25 Figure 10. Matrix used for the impact assessment ....................................................................... 31 List of Tables Table 1. Identified listed activities concerning the proposed project. ............................................ 1 Table 2. GPS Coordinates for EPL 5233 ....................................................................................... 6 Table 4. Population Demography of Otjozondjupa Region (Namibia Population and Census Report of 2011). ............................................................................................................................ 18 Table 5. Project alternatives ......................................................................................................... 19 Table 6. Newspaper Adverts ........................................................................................................ 24 Table 7. Criteria for impact assessment ....................................................................................... 29 ACRONYMS DEA Department of Environmental Affairs EA Environmental Assessment EAP Environmental Assessment Practitioner EC Environmental Commissioner