Guidance Document on Biodiversity, Impact Assessment and Decision Making in Southern Africa

The Capacity Building in Biodiversity in Impact Assessment (CBBIA) project is a three-year global project managed by the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) and funded by the Netherlands government. The CBBIA project aims to integrate biodiversity conservation with impact assessment and develop capacity among stakeholders in developing countries in several regions, including southern Africa, Central America and Asia.

Under the coordination of the Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment (SAIEA), the project in the southern African sub-region is focussing on building capacity within decisionmaking authorities on biodiversity issues. It aims to provide training, posters, case studies, and other capacity building tools to assist authorities in the region in making sound decisions about development.
This document provides guidance for decision-makers on a range of biodiversity principles and issues which confront decision-makers every day when they evaluate impact assessments. It is based on the findings of a Situation Assessment conducted as part of this project during 2005.

The Situation Assessment made use of the input received from authorities and conservation agencies from the southern African region in response to questionnaire surveys and structured workshops. It also drew heavily from 24 case studies on impact assessment and decision making from four SADC countries.
The key findings of the Situation Assessment can be broadly divided into two categories: those relating to the biodiversity information provided to the authorities in impact assessment reports; and those relating to how the decision-makers interpret and make use of the biodiversity information provided to them in impact assessment reports.

The purpose of this guidance document is:

• To define what is meant by the terms ‘environment’, ‘biodiversity’ and ‘human wellbeing’ and how they are inter-related.
• To explain how biodiversity impacts on, and is impacted by, human activities.
• To provide guidance on how biodiversity should be considered in an impact assessment.
• To provide guidance on how to make decisions on biodiversity issues, especially in the face of major capacity and data constraints.
• To provide guidance on how to ‘steer’ the SEA and EIA processes to get the answers/information needed to make an informed decision.
• To provide information on the key biodiversity issues in different development sectors.