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

under consideration. The consultants will need to agree prior with the clients (GoS, and theEC) on the stakeholder engagement strategy to be employed to avoid unnecessary conflictsor raising unrealistic expectations. The consultative processes should provide thestakeholders an opportunity to influence decisions. An education component in thestakeholder engagement processes (for those stakeholders not familiar with engagementprocesses) should be employed to ensure that the participating stakeholders fully understandand contribute to the process, even at the strategic level.This assignment should focus on the key stakeholders particularly targeting directly affectedand vulnerable groups as well as the key stakeholders that may not have been adequatelyrepresented in the preparation of the NAS. Records must be kept of all consultations andcomments received.2.4.4. Description of Key environmental aspects major project-environmentinteractionsWithin this study, key environmental aspects and project-environment interactions thatshould be addressed in the SEA study need to be outlined. Particular attention should bepaid to the (direct or indirect) impacts that are likely to be the most significant, consideringthe sensitivity of the environment, the pressures resulting from the actions (in the preparationas well as the implementation of the NAS) and the expectations of the stakeholders. Forinstance, the expansion of the irrigation development will hinge on the availability of suitablesoils & additional land (land tenure issues, flora & fauna, social issues) and water resources(water hydrology, water rights). On the basis of the key environmental issues the consultantswill judge whether or not an SEA study should be conducted and in which scope. Dependingon the likely impact on the society, the consultants will need to determine to which extentthese social impacts (these be disaggregated according to sex, age, priority or other relevantsocial criteria) will need to be assessed.2.4.5. Description of the scope of the environmental baseline studyOn the basis of the information obtained above, the consultants must provide indications onthe scope of the environmental baseline needed for the SEA study, taking account of thepotential area of influence of the NAS actions (including its indirect effects). Distinctgeographical units can be proposed according to the type of expected impact (includingindirect impacts). All geographical units identified must be clearly outlined and justified in linewith the key strategy areas indicated in the NAS. For instance, the baseline study will includethe new irrigation development expansion (land-use planning, flora & fauna, water quality &hydrology) mill expansion (increased cane production, socio-economic aspects), improvedproduction efficiency (farm input use, farmer association structures, waterresources/availability) and trade policy & premium markets (socio-economic aspects).2.4.6. Recommendations on specific impact identification and evaluationmethodologies to be used in the SEA studyThe consultants should provide an indication of the impact identification and evaluationmethodologies that should be applied in the SEA study. Special attention should be given toestablishing a distinction between those environmental interactions that may requirequantitative analysis and those for which qualitative analysis is sufficient.2.4.7. Indication of time frame, costs and resources needed to carry out the SEA studyThe consultant must assess the time that need to be allowed for the completion of the SEAstudy, which should include a definition of the environmental baseline, a review of possiblealternatives, impact identification, impact evaluation and preparation of recommendations(including definition of mitigation / optimisation measures and the EnvironmentalManagement Plan – in Swaziland this is usually referred to as the Comprehensive MitigationPlan (CMP)).RDMU (Strategic Environmental Assessment of the National Adaptation Strategy) - Page 193