ENVIRONMENTAL SCOPING ASSESSMENT STUDY TIMBILA ECO-TOURISM LODGE AND RELATED ACTIVITIES Farm Ozandjisse No. 55 & Farm Osera Omewa No. 54 & Farm Heidehof No. 52 (ERONGO REGION) OCTOBER 2020 PROJECT INFORMATION STUDY PHASE Final Scoping Phase PROJECT TITLE Timbila ECO-Tourism Lodge DEVELOPMENT Farm Ozandjisse No. 55 & Farm Osera LOCATION Omewa No. 54 & Farm Heidehof No. 52 (ERONGO REGION) COMPETENT Directorate Tourism & Gaming AUTHORITY (Ministry of Environment and Tourism) APPROVING Department of Environmental Affairs AUTHORITY (Ministry of Environment and Tourism) PROPONENT Otjikoko (PTY) Ltd. ENVIRONMENTAL Urban Green cc ASSESSMENT P O Box 11929 PRACTITIONER Klein Windhoek Telephone: +264-61-300 820 Fax: +264-61-401 294 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.urbangreenafrica.net EXECUTIVE SUMMARY It is the intention of the owner, Otjikoko (PTY) Ltd. of the Farm Ozandjisse No. 55 & Farm Osera Omewa No. 54 & Farm Heidehof No. 52 to utilise the mentioned farms for purpose of eco-tourism, conservation and research, which would include the development of an up-market lodge and up-market tented camp. Otjikoko (PTY) Ltd partnered with the Naankuse Ecotourism Collection, which will be responsible for the management of the tourism activities, as well as research and conservation. The farms as mentioned are located ±35km north-west of the town of Omaruru within the Erongo Region, as indicated by the attached Locality Map. The Timbila Eco- Tourism Lodge will be located on Farm Osera Omewa No. 54, while the tented camp will be located somewhere along the banks of the Omaruru River, the exact localities still to be finalised. The up-market lodge will comprise 8 chalets with other hospitality facilities, including a swimming pool, office and administrative facilities and an activity centre. The up-market tented camp will provide for 16 self-catering tree-top tented units, with a swimming pool and bar. It is expected that 6 management staff and 25 other staff will be accommodated at the existing infrastructure on farm Osera Omewa and farm Ozondjisse. The farms have been used for commercial agricultural purpose, like the surrounding farms. The Erindi Private Game Reserve is located south-east almost adjacent to the proposed Timbila development. The lodge development includes certain activities that are listed as ‘Listed Activities’ according to Government Notice No. 29 of 6 February 2012, which requires that an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) be obtained from the office of the Environmental Commissioner, thus requiring that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) be conducted. The proponent commissioned this EIA and appointed Urban Green cc to undertake the necessary study (i.e. Scoping Assessment), as prescribed by the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations (Government Notice No. 30 of 2012), to enable an application for an Environmental Clearance Certificate with the Environmental Commissioner as required by Section 27(3) of the Environmental Management Act (No. 7 of 2007). Given the nature of the development and associated activities during both the construction and operational phases, evaluated against the sensitivity of the receiving environment, it is inevitable that the development would not have an impact on its i receiving socio-economic and biophysical environment, some of greater potential significance and others of less. During the construction phase, these would include impacts associated with vegetation clearance (e.g. loss of biodiversity, dust generation, surface runoff, and erosion), construction noises, surface and groundwater pollution, and increased traffic movement (e.g. safety and increased load on existing district road network). Mitigation measures have been provided capable of controlling the extent, intensity, and frequency of some of these impacts, while the impact on habitat destruction due to vegetation clearance is not able to be totally mitigated. A direct positive impact of the development is the creation of employment during the construction phase. Impacts expected during the operational phase are a change in sense of place (very site specific), potential pollution (i.e. wastewater leakages, waste, spillage of hazardous liquids), increased traffic movement and increased demand on resources. Mitigation measures have been provided that can control the extent, intensity, and frequency of these impacts not to have any substantial negative results. The development and associated activities would contribute to the tourism sector and provide for the opportunity to contribute to nature conservation. The development is also subject to certain approvals, permits and licences, as reflected under Chapter 4, to which the development must adhere to. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES................................................................................. vi ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ......................................................................... viii APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ ix 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 DEVELOPMENT BACKGROUND ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 DEVELOPMENT NEED AND DESIRABILITY .............................................................................. 1 1.3 TERMS OF REFERENCE ............................................................................................................. 1 1.4 STUDY APPROACH AND METHODS .......................................................................................... 2 1.4.1 REGISTRATION OF APPLICATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE .......................................................................................................................... 4 1.4.2 SCOPING STAGE AIMS .......................................................................................................... 5 1.4.3 SCOPING STAGE METHOD ................................................................................................... 5 1.4.4 SPECIALIST STUDIES ............................................................................................................ 6 1.4.5 ISSUES AND CONCERNS IDENTIFIED ................................................................................. 6 1.5 PURPOSE OF THE DRAFT SCOPING REPORT ........................................................................ 6 1.6 STUDY ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS ............................................................................... 7 2 PROJECT TEAM AND EXPERTISE ........................................................................ 8 2.1 ROLE PLAYERS ........................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 EXPERTISE OF THE EAP ............................................................................................................ 8 3 DEVELOPMENT DESCRIPTION ............................................................................. 9 3.1 LOCATION & ACCESS ................................................................................................................. 9 3.2 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW .................................................................................. 9 3.3 TOURISM COMPONENT .............................................................................................................. 9 3.4 CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH COMPONENT .................................................................. 10 3.5 MANAGEMENT AND STAFF ...................................................................................................... 10 3.6 INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES ........................................................................................ 10 3.6.1 POTABLE WATER ................................................................................................................. 10 3.6.2 ELECTRICAL SUPPLY .......................................................................................................... 12 3.6.3 WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE & TREATMENT ......................................................... 12 3.6.4 WASTE MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................ 13 3.6.5 ROADS INFRASTRUCTURE ................................................................................................. 13 3.7 CONSTRUCTION PHASE ........................................................................................................... 13 3.8 OPERATIONAL PHASE .............................................................................................................. 14 iii 3.9 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION ........................................................................................ 14 4 LEGAL AND REGULATORY REVIEW .................................................................. 15 4.1 CROSS-SECTORAL LEGISLATION ........................................................................................... 15 4.2 PERMITS, LICENCES AND/OR APPROVALS REQUIRED ....................................................... 19 4.3 INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS ................................................................