Strategic Impact Assessment: A Potential Tool Contributing to Sustainable Development in the Sudan
- 1 Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
Abstract
This paper aims to appraise the process and performance of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the Sudan and explores the prospects of adopting Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). The occurrence of two political events in the Sudan in the last decade (2011-2021)—the secession of Southern Sudan in 2011 and the cessation in 2019 of the previous political regime which has reined for thirty years—was portrayed from an environmental perspective. The implications of the secession of Southern Sudan on the country’s natural resources are underscored while the second event implies a new governance system with major legislative and institutional alterations. Within this context, the paper argues that the Sudan needs to improve its classical project-restricted EIA system as well as upgrade the environmental assessment to the higher tier of policies and plans i.e. to SEA. Justifications for the application of (SEA) in the Sudan are highlighted considering the overarching impinging impact of climate change on the country’s degraded and over exploited resources. Steps and prerequisites towards the application of SEA are expressed. The institutional and legislative reforms as well as human resources capacity building are underlined. Towards applying SEA, the Sudan is urged to take on board the experience of other countries—especially within Africa—in the realm of SEA.
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