09.02.2015 Views

Feasibility Study of Proposed Tourism Dev in Shewula, NE ...

Feasibility Study of Proposed Tourism Dev in Shewula, NE ...

Feasibility Study of Proposed Tourism Dev in Shewula, NE ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Chapter 5 - Environmental Evaluation <strong>of</strong> the proposed <strong>Shewula</strong> <strong>Tourism</strong> <strong>Dev</strong>elopment<br />

tourism development(s) by identify<strong>in</strong>g the areas <strong>of</strong> high conservation status <strong>in</strong> the<br />

<strong>Shewula</strong> area, and by maximis<strong>in</strong>g the tourism product that <strong>Shewula</strong> has to <strong>of</strong>fer.<br />

With the expected scale <strong>of</strong> the development, there is unlikely to be significant<br />

impacts on areas <strong>of</strong> high conservation status.<br />

5.4. RECOMMENDATIONS<br />

5.4.1. General recommendations<br />

The follow<strong>in</strong>g general recommendations can be made:<br />

• The environmental legislation <strong>of</strong> Swaziland, <strong>in</strong> the form <strong>of</strong> the Environmental<br />

Audit, Assessment, & Review Regulations (1996), should be adhered to, so as to<br />

ensure that the relevant environmental issues are <strong>in</strong>tegrated <strong>in</strong>to the plann<strong>in</strong>g<br />

process for the proposed tourism development <strong>in</strong> <strong>Shewula</strong>.<br />

• The generic Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) <strong>in</strong> Appendix 2 should be used<br />

as a template for the f<strong>in</strong>al IEE to be submitted to the Swaziland Environmental<br />

Authority (SEA), as per the process to be followed accord<strong>in</strong>g to the Regulations.<br />

• All environmental impacts and benefits identified and assessed, should be<br />

evaluated once the concept plan has been f<strong>in</strong>alised, so as to verify the direction<br />

(positive or negative), magnitude (size), mitigation and significance <strong>of</strong> the impacts<br />

<strong>of</strong> the proposed tourism development.<br />

• When plann<strong>in</strong>g future tourism development <strong>in</strong> more detail, care should be taken<br />

to determ<strong>in</strong>e the carry<strong>in</strong>g capacity or limits <strong>of</strong> acceptable change at the three<br />

levels <strong>of</strong> site, reserve and conservancy. Further research should also determ<strong>in</strong>e<br />

whether or not the proposed tourism development would be to the detriment <strong>of</strong><br />

another established or planned tourism development <strong>in</strong> one <strong>of</strong> the other reserves<br />

<strong>in</strong> the Lubombo Conservancy.<br />

• A strategic assessment should be undertaken to determ<strong>in</strong>e the conservation<br />

status and natural resource distribution with<strong>in</strong> the proposed <strong>Shewula</strong> Reserve,<br />

and <strong>in</strong> the greater <strong>Shewula</strong> area.<br />

5.4.2. Specific recommendations<br />

5.4.2.1. Recommendations for compliance with the report<strong>in</strong>g<br />

requirements for the IEE and CMP<br />

The Regulations recommend certa<strong>in</strong> report<strong>in</strong>g requirements for the IEE and the CMP<br />

<strong>in</strong> the Second Schedule <strong>of</strong> the Regulations. In addition, various environmental norms<br />

and standards are <strong>in</strong> place regard<strong>in</strong>g report-writ<strong>in</strong>g for environmental assessments.<br />

5.4.2.2. Recommendations for the Initial Environmental Evaluation<br />

The Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) should be undertaken <strong>in</strong> two ma<strong>in</strong> stages:<br />

a) Scop<strong>in</strong>g study<br />

The purpose <strong>of</strong> the Scop<strong>in</strong>g study is to identify any potential environmental impacts,<br />

issues and concerns to be addressed <strong>in</strong> the Initial Environmental Evaluation. The<br />

127

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!