Sierra Leone over the years has been rated as the most vulnerable in terms of disaster and environmental challenges ranging from flooding, mudslide waste management, de-forestation among others but however, the establishment of the environmental social impact assessors will help create a strong and lasting society for environmental and social practitioners in the country.
Different speakers from environmental and social impact assessments during the event gave their experiences on environmental issues.
According to Madam Ranita the model for the institution hails from an international impact assessment where different environmentalists and social practitioners met and exchanged ideas on issues based on environmental principles.
“There are other practitioners like the lawyers, engineers who also have a society; so we want to bring around all environmentalist and social practitioners to get a formable organization that will regulate the method in which the environmental social health impact assessment are conducted” Madam Ranita said; adding that they also help and guild EPA in scrutinizing the type of environmental practitioners they should engage with.
Giving the keynote address, the Assistant Deputy Director Policy Planning and Research EPA Beran Forster said their mandate includes the effective protection and management of the of the Sierra Leonean environment, citing that, they are in charge of granting environmental permits for every company that intends to undergo any activity that has negative or positive impacts on the environment.
He added that the environmental impact assessment is a planning and management tool that aims at identifying and evaluating at the earliest possible planning stage and environmental and socio-economic change cause by a specific project activity or development scheme.
