Reviewing the quality of environmental impact statements (EIS) for selected development projects in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

M.Sc. (Environmental management)An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is one of the most important tools used all over the world to ensure that the impacts of developments are addressed and the principles of sustainable development are applied. Since the promulgation of EIA Regulations in South Africa in 2010, there has been limited empirical research on the quality of authorized environmental impact statements (EISs). To determine the effectiveness of the EIA process, it is important to determine the quality of EISs performed under the new EIA system. This research investigated the quality of selected EISs in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. Most of the coal reserves in South Africa are found in Mpumalanga and it is a province from which electricity is generated and transmitted to different parts of the country. Therefore, the potential for developments to have significant impacts on the environment is high. Eighteen (18) EISs were assessed using the Lee and Colley Review Package (Lee et al., 1999). The results showed that 67% of the EISs achieved a satisfactory grade; however, the analysis revealed that several key areas of the EIS did not receive sufficient attention. This leaves the effectiveness of EISs in question and the study offers several suggestions that could potentially improve the EIA process