The law and practice on Environmental Impact Assessments (EAIS) in Zambia: strengths and weaknesses

Abstract

This article reviews the Zambian EIA laws against a set of criteria to determine their strengths and weaknesses. The criteria employed include, the legal origins and the procedural aspects of the EIA process as well as the legal and institutional arrangements for EIA administration in the country. The paper also laments absence of a constitutional guarantee of the right to environmental protection as a factor that may negatively impinge upon EIA implementation. Furthermore, the paper agitates the entrenchment of a specific provision for environmental protection in the Zambian Constitution as a condition sine qua non for the promotion of sound environmental management in the country. The purpose of a constitutional protection of the right to environmental protection will be to give it higher latitude. What is more, the article sought to unravel the pluses and shortfalls inherent in the Zambian EIA legislation. The article concludes by proffering recommendations on how to improve on the existing legal framework for EIA administration in Zambia.