Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a systematic and critical examination of the effects of a project on the environment and making the information collected from the examination available for decision making by the National Environment Management Authority, which is the designated environmental management and regulatory agency in Kenya. It is conducted to identify impacts of a project on the environment, predict likely changes on the environment as a result of the development, evaluate the impacts of the various alternatives on the project and propose mitigation measures for the significant negative impacts of the project on the environment.
EIA has become widely practiced in Kenya since the year 2000 when the country’s Environmental Management and Coordination Act (1999) came into force. The EIAs are of great significance not only to the environment but also to proponents of projects since no other licensing authority in Kenya may issue a license to a proposed project which is likely to have significant environmental impacts in the absence of an EIA license issued by NEMA.EIAs consider various aspects of a the environment such as impacts on the social environment, impacts on landscapes, effects of the proposed project on land use and impacts on natural resources such as water and biodiversity. The EIA’s are commissioned by proponents of proposed projects or other interested parties and are conducted by multidisciplinary teams of independent environmental service providers known as EIA experts who are by law required to be registered and accredited by NEMA.
The experts, acting on behalf of respective proponents submit the project report to NEMA after the EIA study, which among other details summarizes the proposed project, highlights the likely environmental impacts of the project and outlines an environmental management plan which proposes measures for eliminating, minimizing or mitigating the identified adverse impacts. The report also provides and elaboration of how the EIA study was carried out, including details of persons contacted for public consultation purposes and the dates during which the study was carried out. The Authority on receipt of the EIA report submits the same for comment by relevant lead agencies after which it publishes a notice inviting the public (communities and interested individuals/citizens) to submit oral or written comments on the EIA/project report. The comments received by the Authority may lead to a public hearing to further discuss the report before arriving at a decision to grant or deny a proponent or a developer the EIA license.
Once a project has been granted a license, the proponent is responsible in ensuring that the environmental management plan is adhered to during the life of the project. The law has set out a system of environmental audit to ensure compliance with the license requirements. Failure to adhere to this license requirement constitutes an offence and may lead to enforcement action being taken against the project owner or revocation of the license by NEMA. EIA is therefore a very important process for the country as it strives to implement article 69 of the constitution and also towards the achievement of sustainable national development aspirations outlined under the Kenya Vision 2030 which when broken down consists of numerous projects of varied scales and scope. EIA is a requirement for all projects under taken by any person or institution who include the government of Kenya, the private sector, individuals, and community based organizations or faith based organizations.
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