Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a systematic examination conducted to determine whether or not an activity or project will have any adverse impact on the environment. It is a tool which seeks to minimize adverse impacts on the environment and reduces risks, hazards and vulnerabilities at all stages of the project: planning, design, construction, operation and decommissioning.

Environmental Audit (EA) is an assessment of the extent to which there is adherence to a given EIA and its execution plan that is more commonly referred to as the Environment Management Plan (EMP).

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) takes EIA and EA seriously and has mainstreamed them within its operations. Many of the projects that KWS has undertaken in collaboration with stakeholders have been subjected to EIA.  Further, these EIAs have been submitted to Kenya's National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and have been granted approval.KWS has also trained EIA/EA professional teams in its field stations across Kenya.  At the same time, it has developed a Waste Management Programme and this is currently being rolled out in Kenya's wildlife protected areas.In addition KWS has an Environmental Policy Statement and this is as outlined below.

 

 

Environmental Policy Statement

KWS is committed to establishing, implementing and maintaining a sound environmental management system to ensure that wildlife conservation activities sustain the ecological integrity of our ecosystems with minimal impacts on the environment.

We shall:

  1. Minimise waste by evaluating operations and ensuring they are as efficient as possible;
  2. Meet all environmental legislation and regulation requirements that relate to the wildlife industry;
  3. Actively promote reducing, reusing and recycling of waste both internally and amongst our customers and stakeholders;
  4. Promote the use of eco-friendly and efficient technologies in our present and future expansion and diversification of tourism and conservation activities;
  5. Minimise GHG emissions through the maintenance and management of fleet and energy/power conservation;
  6. Implement a training program for the staff to raise awareness of environmental issues and enlist their support in improving the organisations’s performance;
  7. Audit and review our environmental performances for continuous improvement;