Full report LR.pdf - DLIST Benguela

NACOMA Project – Preparation PhaseReview of Policy and Legislation Pertaining to Coastal Zone Managementcomprehensive chapter on fisheries (Part 2) (c), it does not contain any dedicateddiscussion on the coastal area.Namibia’s environmental laws relevant to the coastal area are surveyed under thefollowing sub-headings:5.2.1 Environmental management laws and draft billsDraft framework environmental legislation: A draft Environmental ManagementBill (dated 2002) has been prepared by the MET and includes EnvironmentalImpact Assessment (EIA) principles. It is centred on a cabinet approvedenvironmental impact assessment policy for Namibia. It could be adapted to meetsome specific objectives of coastal area management before it is tabled inparliament. The suggested inputs are: that the Bill includes a principle identifyingthe coastal area as a particularly vulnerable and delicate ecosystem and requiringthat it receive special consideration by applying integrated coastal areamanagement to the area; the trigger for EIA in the draft is based on a set ofactivities. While not detracting from this list of activities (which does not includeharvesting of marine resources) it could be supplemented by an area-basedapproach by a fall-back provision suggesting that “where the coastal area or itsnatural or cultural resources could be impacted” an EIA is required. Moreeffective legislation is required in face of ongoing destructive activities in thecoastal areas, such as mining, even inside protected areas. Ongoing or proposedtourism and aquaculture developments can also have destructive effects in thecoastal areas in the absence of appropriate and enforced legislation. More detailson current and planned developments in the coastal areas and associatedenvironmental threats is presented in the report “Rapid Assessment of theDevelopment Plans, Biodiversity Conservation Projects and Socio-EconomicSituation in the Namib Coastal Regions”.5.2.2 Resource related lawsThese are indirectly relevant to the coastal area and relate to:(i) Water: the Water Act, Act 54 of 1956 is a vestige of the South Africanlegislation which should ideally be replaced by a new water Act dedicatedto Namibia’s peculiar needs and circumstances. It pays no heed to the15