Integrated Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Northern Province

Details

With the liberation of the Northern Province in May 2009, the Central Environmental Authority in collaboration with the Disaster Management Center and with the technical assistance of the UNDP initiated actions to carry out an Integrated Strategic Environmental Assessment (ISEA) for the Northern Province. The SEA was integrated with the Disaster Risk Assessment in order to enhance the integration of environmental and disaster risk concerns in the policy planning process.

The main purpose of this study is the acceleration of development in the Northern Province through the identification of freely available lands for development purposes as well as resource requirements for development, while providing a framework to protect environmentally & culturally sensitive areas in the Northern Province.

Although the ISEA for the Northern Province was completed in 2012, the report was reviewed again and finalized in the latter part of the 2014. The information gathered from stakeholder agencies provided a frame work to identify the sensitive areas and the disaster prone areas where development should be restricted or properly managed. After taking out the most sensitive forests, wildlife, marine, coastal and archaeological areas, areas suitable for development activities were identified and mapped. The opportunity map developed, provides space for industrial, agricultural, housing, ecotourism and other economic development activities and provision of services.

The report also includes the major recommendations of all stakeholder agencies involved in the study to be implemented in the Northern Province.

ISEA Report and the Map Atlas of the study are available for download.