Introduction
Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa (BecA) is the first
of a network of centres of excellence being initiated across
Africa by the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).
BecA consists of a hub located on the campus of the
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in
Nairobi, Kenya, that will provide a common biosciences
research platform, research-related services and capacity
building and training opportunities; and a network of
regional nodes and other laboratories distributed throughout
eastern and central Africa for the conduct of research on
priority issues affecting Africa’s development. BecA is
being established by a group of cooperating institutions
that agree to make their facilities available for regional
use.
ILRI will require its existing facilities to be upgraded as
well as the construction of new facilities in order for it
to be able to adequately host BecA. It is within this
context that the Environmental Impact Assessment and
Strategic Environmental Assessments have been carried out.
The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Process
In compliance with the requirements of the Environmental
Management and Coordination Act (1999) of Kenya by the
National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), an
independent EIA for the proposed BecA facility at ILRI has
been carried out. As part of the EIA study, issues addressed
included:
- A detailed OHS audit of the current facility
- A detailed assessment of the positive and negative
environmental and social impacts that may arise from the
construction, operation and eventual decommissioning of
a facility for experiments needing biosafety levels 2 or
3.
- A review of the biosafety and biocontainment
measures of international standards for application in
at the facility and recommendations for mitigation.
- An assessment of the significance of all impacts and
proposed mitigation measures
- A detailed environmental management plan
The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Process
In tandem with the EIA study, a Strategic Environmental
Assessment (SEA) of the research programme to be implemented
under BecA was also carried out. The overall objective of
the research programme is to address regional priorities
targeting the poorer agricultural communities, with the aim
of improving agriculture and livestock husbandry practices,
yields, resistance to pests and diseases. Examples of
research activities potentially include:
- Technical services in bioinformatics and biometrics;
biosciences laboratory and equipment management; and
partnerships for technology delivery and private sector
linkages, in areas such as seed production and
diagnostics and vaccine production systems;
- Advisory services in, for example, intellectual
property management, and biosafety policies and
practices;
- Communication and knowledge management, through
improving access to data resources
- Capacity building and training services.
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Issues addressed during the SEA included:
- The environment due to solid and liquid waste;
transportation, storage and handling of hazardous
chemicals and materials, vaccine development, plant
research and biosafety.
- Livelihoods, including issues of intellectual
property rights, indigenous/traditional knowledge
systems, access by local communities to seed and
technology, and biopiracy
- Health, for example, threats to public and staff
safety from use of chemicals, vaccine development and
plant research.
- Gender, specifically on the role of women and gender
equity.
Current status of SEA and EIA
Stakeholder consultation processes for both the EIA and SEA
were carried out during the period January – March 2005 in
parallel with the detailed technical work for both
assessments.
The EIA and SEA reports are currently being finalised, and
are expected to be complete in August 2005.
Once the reports have been accepted by the client, they will
be forwarded to Kenya’s National Environmental Management
Authority (NEMA) and the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA). The EIA report will be subject to further
public environmental review through NEMA’s review
procedures, during which the report will be circulated to
various lead agencies and advertised for public comment in
the Kenya Gazette and the national press.
More information?
Should you wish to have more information, or if you would
like to review any of the currently publicly available
documents related to the EIA and SEA (see list below),
please send an email to
eia-sea@pharmeng.com, alternatively
you can write to:
EIA/SEA Project Manager
C/o BecA at ILRI
PO Box 30709-00100, or call
+ 254 (020) 4223320:
- EIA Environmental Project Report
- EIA and SEA background documents
- EIA open day presentation
- EIA and SEA working papers, which include
- Framework for public engagement
- Framework for intergovernmental, interagency and
institutional coordination
For more information about Biosciences eastern and central
Africa please visit their web site at
www.biosciencesafrica.org. |
