Service Contract No 2007 / 147-446 Strategic ... - Swaziland

Annex 4: Main policy documents and legislation relevant tothe NASTable 21:Main policies plans and programmes relevant to the NASPolicy, Plan orProgrammeNational EnvironmentalPolicy (draft)Swaziland EnvironmentAction Plan (SEAP)Swaziland NationalBiodiversity Strategy andAction Plan (draft) (2001)Biodiversity Conservationand Management Policy(draft) (2007)Description / relevance to the NASDraft policy whose main goal is “to promote the enhancement, protectionand conservation of the environment and the attainment of sustainabledevelopment in Swaziland”. The Policy promotes a series of policyinstrument, including education and communication, legislation (includingestablishing environmental standards and rules, creation of rights andincentives, strengthening EIA procedures and promoting environmentalassessment of policies plans and programmes), economic instrumentsand public sector investment. The Environmental Policy is central toanalyse environmental implications of the NAS, and to help shaperesponse and mitigation measures that conform to it. However, its draftstatus since 1998 does not confer it too much weight in policy terms.Policy document that provides the framework to manage Swaziland’senvironment. It was defined prior to the National Environmental Policyand foresees actions (some already implemented or overridden by newpolicy documents) under the following headings: socio-economicdevelopment and the environment; human settlements, pollution andhealth; international treaties, conventions and agreements; legalframework for environmental management; institutional framework forenvironmental management; and environmental education, publicawareness and participation.The 2001 draft National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP) hasas principal objectives (1) to conserve the biodiversity of Swaziland, (2) toencourage the sustainable use of biodiversity, and (3) to ensure that thebenefits accrued from the use of biodiversity are shared equitably. TheBSAP establishes six goals and makes recommendations towards theirachievement: (1) to conserve a viable set of representative samples ofnatural ecosystems; (2) to sustainably use the biological resources ofnatural ecosystems outside protected areas; (3) to conserve the geneticbase of Swaziland’s crop and livestock breeds; (4) to minimise risksassociated with the use of modified organisms; (5) to establish effectiveinstitutional, policy and legal frameworks; and (6) to enhance publicawareness and support for biodiversity conservation.The sustainable utilisation of biological resources is compromised throughexpanding land clearing for sugar cane and the unintendedconsequences of contamination of water sources by agricultural runoff.The continued expansion of smallholder irrigation projects and sugar caneestates, particularly where these displace natural vegetation is a clearthreat to the country’s biological resources.Draft policy developed under the Swaziland Biodiversity Conservation andParticipatory Development (BCPD) Project. The need of this policy isjustified by (1) the need for regulatory measures to address the status ofbiodiversity in Swaziland, and (2) to fulfil the UNCBD obligations.The draft policy addresses four pillars: (1) conservation of biodiversity; (2)sustainable use of biodiversity; (3) access and benefit sharing; and (4)capacity to manage biodiversity.RDMU (Strategic Environmental Assessment of the National Adaptation Strategy) - Page 155