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Public Participation

The public participation process provides members of the public with the opportunity to suggest ways of avoiding and reducing negative impacts of an activity and for enhancing positive impacts. It also enables the applicant to incorporate the needs, preferences and values of affected parties into the activity.

The principles of NEMA govern many aspects of EIAs, including consultation with interested and affected parties (I&APs). These principles include the provision of sufficient and transparent information to I&APs on an on-going basis, to allow them to comment, and ensuring the participation of historically disadvantaged individuals, including women, the disabled and the youth. Public participation forms the most important component of the entire project. Public Participation is the involvement of all parties who are either potentially interested or affected by the proposed development. The principle objective of public participation is to inform and enrich decision-making. This is also its key role in the authorization process.

The public participation process set out in regulation 56 (NEMA):

• Advertise in local newspaper,
• Give notice, in writing, of the proposed application to any organ of state which has jurisdiction in respect of any aspect of the activity;
• Open and maintain a register of all interested and affected parties in respect of the application;
• Consider all objections and representation received from I&APs;
• Give all registered I&APs an opportunity to comment on the draft Scoping Report and draft EIA Report;

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