Environmental impact management and planning: - Norway

of 2009 contain an indication that any reference to anEAP in the regulations will be deemed to be a referenceto a registered EAP from a date to be determined by theMinister by notice in the Government Gazette. This providesfor the future compulsory registration of EAPs and thedevelopment of an EAP qualification (National Certificatefor Environmental Assessment Practice in South Africa). Thequalification for environmental assessment practice wasregistered with the South African Qualifications Authority(SAQA) in November 2009. Industry will present a draftproposal to the Minister in 2010.BenefitsInformal discussions in Oslo by participants from both countries during the 2007 visit.Developing self-regulation mechanisms for the registration ofenvironmental assessment practitionersThe fact that the environmental assessment professionhas no single qualification that serves as a commondenominator makes the regulation of the industry verydifficult. Government officials responsible for environmentalassessment will be required to meet the same criteriaas that of EIA consultants, which means the work doneby reviewers must also be taken into account duringthe process. The professional registration of practitionersand officials will go a long way to establishing a moreprofessional industry and better quality of work.Purpose: To ensure adequate qualifications andexperience, as well as a uniform and high standard for allwork produced by environmental assessment practitioners(EAP’s).OverviewThe previous Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourismexpressed concern about the quality of work presentedby EAPs. At a meeting with representatives from the EIAprofession on 18 March 2005, he appointed the InterimCertification Board for EAPs to “initiate a systematic andinclusive process, which would deliver on the identifiedneeds and legal requirements for the establishment of aregistration authority for EAPs in South Africa”.ProgressSection 24H of NEMA has been drafted to provide for aregistration authority for EAPs. The amended EIA regulations13Possible further workA board will be appointed for the EnvironmentalAssessment Practitioners Association of South Africa(EAPASA). This board will finalise and submit the proposalfor the registration authority to the Minister, who will inturn recognise the EAPASA as a registration authority, andthe relevant legal mechanisms will be put in place in aphased approach. As with the establishment of NOW,interim finance is a limiting factor for this industry.