- India-based think tank Center for Science and Environment (CSE), in collaboration with National Environmental Management Council (NEMC), Strengthening environmental auditing in Tanzania
- Dr. Samuel G. Mahwenga, NEMC Director, Mr. Nivit Kumar Yadav, CSE Industrial Pollution Program Director Manual released at event in Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam, October 16, 2023:The Center for Science and Environment (CSE), a global think tank based in New Delhi, India, in collaboration with the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) of Tanzania, presented a technical report on Strengthening Environmental Audit in Tanzania at a report launch. announced. We’re going to do a training program here today.
An environmental audit is a set of activities carried out regarding a facility or organization’s operations to assess its environmental performance. This is in recognition of the fact that the environment is an important parameter to be considered in decision-making in the national interest.
Speaking at the event, Nivit Yadav said: “An effective way to address environmental issues in any facility is through a systematic environmental management program, such as conducting environmental self-audits. These audits assess compliance with environmental and legal requirements. It is considered a methodological examination that involves the analysis, testing, and confirmation of a facility’s procedures and practices for the purpose of verifying.”
Dr Samuel Mahwenga officially launched the manual and said: “The Council observed that the self-audit reports received were in different formats, missing important information, and in some cases did not reflect the actual situation of the operating facilities. The report does not adequately cover the information contained in the environmental management plan developed during an environmental impact assessment (EIA). This technical manual is designed to streamline the processes associated with conducting and reviewing environmental audits. The self-audit report submitted should be clear and should be able to identify and correct non-compliance and support improvement programs.
Dr Mahwenga added: “This manual is the result of a joint effort between CSE and NEMC. We would like to express our gratitude to CSE for the technical assistance it provided to NEMC in the development of this manual. It was necessary to support the standardization of
While preparing this manual, CSE and NEMC officials reviewed several annual audit reports from various departments and came to the conclusion that the reporting was inadequate or inadequate. Yadav said: “The audit reports were inadequate in providing the information needed for enforcement. They only had one year’s worth of data, so it was not possible to compare industry performance with previous years. The report contained irrelevant information that had already been covered in the EIA report.Although there was sufficient qualitative information, the report lacked quantitative data. ”
Yadav added that NEMC needs to help the industry, consultants and auditors with manuals and guidelines to improve the quality of audit reports.
Key highlights of the roadmap: What NEMC can do for you
- Create a technical manual that details the format and information required for an environmental audit report.
- Make water audits mandatory for industries that consume large amounts of water.
- Develop and implement self-audit guidelines for industry to ensure that industry collects relevant data to assist regulators during audits.
- Establish a committee of sector-specific experts who can technically review audit reports and provide recommendations to improve the industry’s environmental performance.
- Implement a strategy to upload audit reports to the NEMC website. This transparency not only helps assess industry performance from a public health perspective, but also initiates public participation and feedback.
NEMC Director Dr. Menan Jung, who spoke at the event, said, “This technical manual will not only be of great help to project proponents and professionals in conducting self-audits, but also to help councils and other regulatory bodies submit submissions. It will also be useful in examining the documents that have been submitted.” ”
For more information about the manual and collaboration between NEMC and CSE, please contact Nivit Kumar Yadav. nivit@cseindia.org+91 11 99680 23535.
