A quality review of waste management measures in EIA reports for developments in protected areas

Abstract

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is a legislative requirement to authorise certain developments in South Africa. The process is aimed towards environmental protection by identifying and mitigating potential environmental impacts. This is especially important for developments in protected areas, focusing on biodiversity conservation and environmental protection. Waste management is a challenge globally as well as in South African towns and cities; therefore, in all likelihood, waste issues will also be present in other environments such as rural communities, farms, and protected areas. As part of development projects in protected areas, the generation and management of waste may result in pollution, environmental degradation, and negative socio-economic impacts. These waste-related impacts may be mitigated as part of the EIA process. However, limited research has been conducted on the quality of the waste management component. This research aimed to review the quality of waste management measures included in EIA reports for developments in protected areas in South Africa. The Department of Environmental Affairs' EIA database was consulted, and the EIAs were screened against a selection criteria. An adapted version of the Lee and Colley review package (consisting of seventeen key performance indicators) was used to evaluate the quality of six EIA reports for developments in protected areas, focusing specifically on waste management measures. Waste management measures were generally poorly and inadequately addressed in the majority of the cases. Waste management measures related to particular activities conducted as part of the project development-, operation- and decommissioning phases were not addressed at all. Where waste management measures were addressed, it mainly focused on disposal to landfill as the most favourable option. The South African legislative framework has a strong focus on implementing the waste management hierarchy, where the disposal of waste should be the last resort. Limited measures to address waste avoidance, reduction, re-use, recycling or recovery were proposed; and no circular economy initiatives were suggested.