Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in Malawi: A Review

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is a technique that aims to acquire adequate and timely information on the anticipated environmental repercussions of development projects, as well as feasible alternatives and mitigation strategies. It is a very important tool for achieving sustainable development. ESIA procedures require that a developer submit a written document to designated agency describing the probable or possible future environmental and social impacts of the intended action. In Malawi, even though the project developer may choose to submit an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), it is still the director that decides which project requires an EIA. This paper describes the current institutional framework for EIA in Malawi.