Ian Michler's Diary: Africa Geographic, October 2006

Notes on Legacy Holdings EIA of their tourism concession area in Mosi oa Tunya NP

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Environment Impact Statement Report on the proposed Mosi-Oa-Tunya Hotel and Country Club Estate Project has been prepared to comply with the requirements of the Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ). Baseline data was collected through field appraisal, discussion with relevant agencies and institutions in the concerned areas and consultation with local communities and individuals in
the project area.

COMMENT:
Their requirements are narrow in scope and do not incorporate a strategic environmental impact assessment which requires them to consult with all stakeholders – not just local ones: UNESCO, Zimbabwe, KAZA and so on, clearly not complied with.

EXEC SUMMARY cont.
The Mosi-Oa-Tunya Hotel and Country Club Estate will be an environmentally sensitive tourism development along the banks of the Zambezi River as well as the Maramba River. (Then they state the impacts):
• Clearance of the existing natural vegetation and trees;
• Irreversible environmental destruction from construction activities such as deforestation, borrow pit digging and camping site for construction workers
• Disruption to Elephant/animal corridors

COMMENT:
So, they agree that 220 hectares of a 66 km2 National Park and WHS will be completely altered from a natural state to a totally man made environment, not only cutting off elephant movements, but other animal life as well; and the river/land interface will be completely overrun with infrastructure (450 houses) and the requirements for considerable boating and other use of the river

EXEC SUMMARY cont.
A summary of the public consultation meetings and the discussions with the government agencies indicates that the socio-economic benefits of the project to the communities in the project area of influence outweigh the “no-development” scenario. The project is therefore being recommended for implementation assuming the incorporation of the recommended mitigating measures and implementation of the Impact Mitigation Plan and Environmental Monitoring Plan.

COMMENT:
The results of the stakeholder meeting in Linvingstone do not support this statement; even were they to do so, to conclude that socio-economic considerations are paramount when considering "irreversible" perturbations in a World Heritage Site and National Park - which happens to be one of the seven wonders of this world, will cause amazement and concern for all those who cherish the Victoria Falls and who strive to bring sustainable development to Zambia.

CHAPTER 1 1.1
It is from this background that ZAWA identified a portion of the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park, which is also a northern part of the World Heritage site, and tendered it for development. The proposed site has been earmarked for tourism development as reflected in the Mosi-Oa-Tunya Management Plan.

COMMENT:
Was the full 220 ha - having been expanded from the Tourism Investment Ltd 2 ha. apportionment, ever part of the Management Plan ?

CHAPTER 1 cont.
Legacy Holdings Zambia Limited is a joint venture between a local tourism company called Tourism Investments Zambia Ltd and the Legacy Group of South Africa. The local shareholders are Zambians.

COMMENT:
Legacy Holdings got permission from ZAWA and its Board to expand from the Tourism Investments concession of 2 ha to an area a hundredfold larger. Did they tender for it?involved.

1.2
Over a period of ten years they have successfully completed the development of seventeen world-class properties

COMMENT
Legacy Resorts & Hotels has made many investments, not always successfully. Of Tourism Investments Ltd we are told nothing, so presumably the venture is totally dependent on Legacy Resorts as the financing and management partners. Presumably what Tourism Investments had to 'deliver', was the 220 ha. of the Park, symbolized by the laying of a foundation stone there.

1.2
The overall objective of this EIA is to examine impacts on ecological units and ecological processes of the project area including impacts on physical, biological, socio-economic and cultural environment and to provide mitigation measures for identified impacts for the construction of the proposed Mosi-Oa-Tunya Hotel and Country Club Estate in Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park in Livingstone

COMMENT
Given that Legacy Holdings state that the area will have all its natural vegetation removed and that ‘irreversible environmental destruction will occur’ the EIA is intellectually, morally and scientifically absurd

1.6
The scope of the study is outlined in the Scoping Report and Terms of Reference (August 2006) as reviewed, commented upon and approved by Environmental Council of Zambia in the letter dated September 4th, 2006. The output from the EIA process is this Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) comprising of an Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan (EMP).

COMMENT
ECZ stated that they had been handed a draft EIA, but that a scoping report was supposed to have been done. Legacy only began the scoping exercise (woefully incomplete) after this

1.7
Tourism Investments Zambia Ltd and the Legacy group tendered and got this portion of land in response to the favourable policies in the tourism sector in the country.

COMMENT
They only won the 2 ha area on tender, the 220 ha. being given out at the behest of the ZAWA Board. ZAWA should now provide for scrutiny - as should the National Heritage and Conservation Commission, of the legal instruments used to excise 220 ha from a National Park for 75 years – there being no difference from a leasehold tenure having been awarded. Thus effectively precedent is set for all national parks and forest areas in Zambia to be alienated on long lease should 'socio-economic' interests require it.

1.8
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FOR THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Option A: Doing Nothing
Option B: Develop Mosi-Oa-Tunya Hotel and Country Club Estate

COMMENT
No mention is made of alternative sites and their availability. Why not? This tends to negate all Legacy’s socio-economic justifications put forward for a development in Livingstone. If they were good for Mosi, why not an alternative site outside of the Park. Legacy are being disingenuous, one cannot do an EIA on something which is totally destroyed i.e. 220 ha of a World Heritage Site and a National Park. No amount of ameliorative flannel, even 360 pages of it, will persuade otherwise.

1.8.3
A summary of the public consultation meetings and the discussions with the government agencies indicates that the socio-economic benefits of the project to the communities in the project area of influence outweigh the “no-development” scenario. The project is therefore being recommended for implementation assuming the incorporation of the recommended mitigating measures and implementation of the Impact Mitigation Plan and Environmental Monitoring Plan.

COMMENT
This is an extraordinary assertion of developmental arrogance having no regard for conservation or international standards of environmental care. No amount of mitigation can alter the fact that the 220 ha area will be irrevocably changed, and that the damage to the park as a whole, and to regional conservation development, devastating.

1.10.3
Scoping
The scoping exercise included consultative meetings and discussions with relevant government institutions at national, provincial and district level, local communities, Headmen, representatives from NGOs and community based organisations and residents from communities along the project area. Letters stating the objectives of the project and requesting local participation and consultation in the process were als distributed. Responses from the consultations and discussions provided the relevant background information and helped identify major environmental concerns of the communities along the road for the detailed EIA process.

COMMENT
A bit of hyperbole. ECZ sent Legacy back to do the scoping properly. From a perusal of the list of those interviewed, this aspect is incomplete, barely begun.

1.10.7
EIA Team
R. MUSHINGE Civil Engineer and Team Leader
J. CHISHIBA Ecology/Environmental Management Specialist
N. KIMANI Environmental/Economics Specialist
L. TUMBAMA Socio-economist/Cultural Environment Consultant
A. SIMUNKANZYE Water and Sanitation Engineer

COMMENT
As this team was led by a Director and shareholder of Legacy Holdings, clearly it is biased in favour of a development from which he and his fellow shareholders and directors would benefit. The team leader is also the brother of the ZAWA official who issued the tourism lease. ECZ has admitted that they do not follow the EIA professional certification process as required in SADC countries; guidelines set by the Southern African Institute of Strategic Environmental Assessment. Thus the EIA is totally compromised by not having been conducted by an independent EIA team duly registered and certified within SADC

2.8
APPLICABLE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

COMMENTS
The consultants appear not to realize that this development flouts all the Conventions to which Zambia is signatory. It also flies in the face of agreements made - and the resulting recommendations, by the Commission for Africa, a commission to which Zambia was a full participant and which led directly to its debt write-off. In addition, this development and its obvious strong support under current legislation - the Citizens' Economic Empowerment Act of 2006 (not mentioned in the EIA), is causing considerable discomfort among donor agencies, investors and NGOs already investing in the National Park. Some of these investors applied for the same site but were turned down - for very good reason.

CONCLUSION
As Legacy itself admits that the development will cause "Irreversible environmental destruction", what makes them insist on doing this to Mosi oa Tunya National Park when alternative sites are available?

I.P.A. Manning
Steering Committee Member: Natural Resources Consultative Forum of Zambia (MTENR)

Corporate Member: Business Action for Africa (BAA)
Programme: Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC)

LEGACY HOLDINGS EIA: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ON PLOT 1473/M IN THE MOSI-OA-TUNYA NATIONAL PARK
FOR THE PROPOSED “MOSI-OA-TUNYA HOTEL AND COUNTRY CLUB ESTATE PROJECT” IN LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA

Introduction
This Environment Impact Statement Report on the proposed Mosi-Oa-Tunya Hotel and Country
Club Estate Project has been prepared to comply with the requirements of the Environmental
Council of Zambia (ECZ).
It is the intention of the developers to follow the "eco-tourism" guidelines produced by the
Livingstone Tourism Association. Visitors will be encouraged to enjoy the many activities in the
area which will be offered such as walks, white water rafting, canoe trips, river cruises and game
drives in the vicinity of the site.
The Mosi-Oa-Tunya Hotel and Country Club Estate will be an environmentally sensitive tourism
development along the banks of the Zambezi River as well as the Maramba River. The
construction of all the new building structures on the site will comply with the specified building
line recommended by the existing legislation.
The Mosi-Oa-Tunya Hotel and Country Club Estate Project will employ about 1000 permanent
staff and an estimated 18000 jobs overall to the economy to carter for the increased tourism
traffic that will be generated by the project and most of the members of staff will be drawn from
the Livingstone area. The project intends to target clients from the local regional and
international market for its two 5 star hotels.

Tourism Potential in Zambia
Zambia has vast potential for sustainable economic development through effective exploitation
of its natural resources. One of these areas through which this can be achieved is the tourism
sector. Until recently, Zambia’s tourism industry has been treated as an insignificant component
of the nation’s economy. However, the Government has reclassified it from a social sector into
an economic sector due to its role in national development. The tourism sector has greatly
contributed in employment creation, foreign exchange earning, local economic growth and it
has also acted as a catalyst for rural development among others.
Tourism is the largest income generating activity in the Victoria Falls area with a total of 36
operational accommodation units on both sides of the river. In comparison with regional
neighbours Zimbabwe in particular, the Zambian side is far less developed a fact that is seen to
enhance the visitor experience in Zambia. With the opening of other International and local
lodges in Livingstone, there are now slightly over 1000 beds available on the Zambian side as
compared to 3000 beds on the Zimbabwean side of the river. With the collapse of the
manufacturing industry in Livingstone, tourism has become the main contributor to employment
creation and the local cash economy.

Project Background
Legacy Holdings Zambia Limited holds a Tourism Concession Agreement “TCA” with the
Zambia Wildlife Authority (“ZAWA”) to develop a 220-hectare site (Lot 14734/M) along the
Zambezi River in the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park upstream of the Victoria Falls in
Livingstone, Zambia. The development of the site aims to position Zambia, Livingstone and
Victoria falls as a leading tourist destination and create critical mass for Zambian eco-tourism.
The developers also hope to create a world-class development to act as a catalyst for the
promotion of tourism in Zambia and to maximize on the tourist and entertainment potential of
the site’s prime location on the Zambezi River in an environmentally friendly and responsible
manner. The estate will include the development of luxury lodges and hotels within the
property.

Objectives of the EIA
The main objective of this EIA is to examine impacts on ecological units and ecological
processes of the project area including impacts on physical, biological, socio-economic and
cultural environment and to provide mitigation measures for identified impacts.
Expected Civil Works
The actual construction of the Mosi-Oa-Tunya Hotel and Country Club will take place in the
construction phase. The period for construction is expected to last twenty-four months. This
phase will involve the following activities on the environment:
i) Clearance of the existing natural vegetation and trees;
ii) Removal of the top soil around the foundation area;
iii) Construction of access road and internal roads within the project area;
iv) Installation of surface water drains;
v) Construction of buildings
The activities will be undertaken using front-end loaders, graders, wheelbarrows, shovels and
picks. The soil removed from the foundation area will be stockpiled in designated areas for
future re-vegetation.

Methodology and Baseline Information
Baseline data was collected through field appraisal, discussion with relevant agencies and
institutions in the concerned areas and consultation with local communities and individuals in
the project area. The proposed design of the various components of the project was studied
and discussed with the members of the Project team. The results were compiled and analysed
to enable the preparation of this Environmental Impact Statement.
Potential Impacts and Mitigating Measures
The construction of the Mosi-Oa-Tunya Hotel and Country Club Estate Project is expected to
lead to some direct and indirect enviromental problems and significant social-economic
changes which may have implications for the local environment. The major negative
environmental impacts have been indentified as:
• Disruption to Elephant/animal corridors
• Disfigurement to the landscape from construction wastes and borrow pits
• River siltation from eroded soil and silt from runoffs in disturbed soil areas
• Oil and gasoline spills from construction equipment and activities
• Littering domestic refuse and sewarage waste from construction camps
• Increased particulate matter (diesel) and dust.
• Increased air pollution from vehicle emissions (Hydrocarborns, carborn dioxide, carbon
monoxide) due to increased trafic.
• Increased noise pollution both during construction and operational phases
• Irreversible environmental destruction from construction activities such as deforestation,
borrow pit digging and camping site for construction workers
• Changed human settlement patterns due to increased population by people who may be
attracted to the area
The following positive impacts are anticipated:
• Creation of employement opportunities during the construction phase
• Increased trade opportunities in the community with increased population
• General improvement in local livelihoods due to synergistic impacts of positive effects of
the project
• Increase in revenue to local authorities and institutions from tourism, communications,
land rates, licences and personal levy
The following major social negative impacts are anticipated of this project:
• Increase in sexually trasmitted diseases
• Pressure on limited social facilities such as health care centres
The above socio-economic impacts need to be taken into account and the positive implications
of the project need to be exemplified if the project has to be of practical benefit and appreciated
by the local community. This entails that:
• The technical work should not disrupt elephant/animal corridors;
• Silt the main sources of water for the communities;
• The technical work should not subject the communities to excessive air pollution;
• The technical work should not encroach on areas of cultural and historical importance;
• The project should employ the local people;
• The project should consider technical ways of reducing the anticipated accidents;
• The project should work with the local leaders in identifying sites such as for camping
and getting material; and
• The project should be implemented together with the campaigns against HIV/AIDS.
Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan
The study has proposed an Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan (EMP) to address
the management of the identified environmental issues associated with the project. The plan
consists of implementing the following:
• Implementing the Impact Mitigation Plan
• Monitoring the implementation of the EMP
• Institutional Framework for Monitoring, Reporting and Supervision of EMP
Environmental monitoring and enforcement are stated along with the output from such
monitoring activities. Monitoring responsibilities are specified for the responsible authorities,
EMU and the Contractor.

Conclusion and Recommendations
The site, as the above assessment has shown, is not only a World Heritage Site but it also in a
national park and hence a sensitive area. The site should be developed with strict adherence to
recommendations of this report if the ecology of the area is to be maintained. It should also strive to
follow guidelines provided by ZAWA and NHCC in the development to ensure that the site does not
lose its ecological and archaeological value.
A summary of the public consultation meetings and the discussions with the government
agencies indicates that the socio-economic benefits of the project to the communities in the
project area of influence outweigh the “no-development” scenario. The project is therefore
being recommended for implementation assuming the incorporation of the recommended
mitigating measures and implementation of the Impact Mitigation Plan and Environmental
Monitoring Plan.

Call for a review of Legacy EIA...

REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) REPORT SUBMITTED BY LEGACY HOLDINGS ZAMBIA LIMITED FOR THE PROPOSED MOSI-OA-TUNYA HOTEL AND COUNTRY CLUB HOTEL IN MOSI-OA-TUNYA NATIONAL PARK - LIVINGSTONE

Legacy Holdings Zambia Limited is proposing to set up a Hotel and Country Club Estate on Lot 14734/M along the Zambezi River and across Maramba Stream in Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park, Livingstone. The total area of the proposed site is 220 hectares and the proposed project will comprise the following:

A five (5) Star Hotel with 280 rooms, an International Conference Room sitting 500 delegates, 100–seater restaurant, a car park, two tennis courts, an outside sitting area with about 250 seats and other associated facilities.

Another five (5) Star Hotel with 200 rooms and associated facilities.

An eighteen (18) - hole international signature standard golf course with 450 luxury villas, a country club, floodlit tennis courts, squash courts, water points and other associated facilities.

A conference center sitting about 1000 delegates.

An arts and crafts center.

A marina.

A clinic and a doctor's room.


The operation phase will involve water supply & sewerage systems management, Pesticides & Toxic Substances management and solid & hazardous waste management by the Developer.


This notice therefore, serves to inform members of the general public, interested and affected parties that an Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the proposed Mosi-Oa-Tunya Hotel and Country Club Hotel Project has been received by the ECZ for review, in line with the provisions of the Environmental Protection and Pollution Control Act Number 12 of 1990 as read with the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations; SI. No. 28, of 1997 and is available for scrutiny at the following places:

ECZ Information Documentation Centre in Lusaka
ECZ Offices in Ndola
ECZ Office in Livingstone
Livingstone City Council – At the Civic Centre
Chief Mukuni's Palace – in Livingstone

Download Softcopy here

The report will be available for inspection during office hours from 09:00 hours to 16:00 hours. Interested and affected parties may send their written submissions to the undersigned by 20th November, 2006

The Manager Inspectorate
Environmental Council of Zambia
P. O. Box 35131, Lusaka
E-mail: pzulu@necz.org.zm
Tel: 01 254094/254130
Fax: 01 254164

Africa Geographic Magazine...

Mosi oa Tunya NP new tourism lease tenders

On the 5th October 2006, the Zambia Wildlife Authority advertised an additional six tourist sites for lease, totalling 11.5 hectares:
Two sites West of United Air Charters on Knight Drive
Songwe Gorge
Rapid Seven
Northwestern part of park
Staff compound

A previous application...

ASSAULT ON VICTORIA FALLS WORLD HERITAGE SITE (Down the Wires, August 2006)
"We applied for this very piece of land 3 years ago and were advised by both Council and ZAWA that it was " non development zone.... and a protected game corridor" ..... Steve McCormick, Safari Par Excellence