The conduct of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Project is a regulatory requirement of national laws and regulations such as the Environmental Assessment Regulations, 1999 (LI 1652), the Environmental Protection Act, 1994 (Act 490) and the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. The Constitution mandates that appropriate measures be taken to protect and safeguard the national environment. Similarly, LI 1652 mandates that no undertaking which is likely to adversely impact on the environment or public health commences without the conduct of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and prior approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The ESIA is also needed because the Project is financed by The World Bank, as such, the Project is required to meet or satisfy The World Bank’s Environmental and Social policies and Standards. The Project has been classified as a Category B Project per The World Bank criteria for categorizing projects based on environmental significance, type, location, sensitivity, and scale. Category B Projects refer to projects that involve site specific and immediate project environment interactions and have adverse impacts that are not sensitive, diverse, unprecedented and are mostly reversible. Though they generally do not significantly alter natural systems and resources or consume much natural resources (e.g. ground water), the conduct of an ESIA is a requirement.
University of Cape Coast