Mobilising biodiversity data gathered during environmental impact assessments in South Africa

Van Eeden, Dona

Mobilising biodiversity data gathered during environmental impact assessments in South Africa

Thesis / Dissertation

2024

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Environmental and Geographical Science

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers to sharing data on species of conservation concern (SCC) in South Africa that are collected during environmental impacts assessments (EIAs) and to propose potential solutions to overcome these barriers. This was done by i) reviewing literature related to this topic, ii) determining the actors responsible for sharing the data collected during EIAs, iii) identifying the technical and non-technical barriers that these actors face when considering the sharing of these data, and iv) exploring solutions to overcoming these barriers while considering the different actors and regulations that impact the data-sharing process. A mixed methods approach was used to accomplish these objectives, including a review of the available literature, preliminary interviews, surveys, and key-informant interviews. Preliminary interviews identified that the experts hired to conduct biodiversity surveys during EIAs play the most important role in sharing data gathered on SCC. Consequently, surveys were sent to 75 biodiversity specialists, containing questions focused on species of conservation concern (SCC) data sharing practices and barriers to data sharing, which led to a 58,7% response rate (44 responses). A thematic analysis of the qualitative results showed the key themes that should be focused on for targeted interventions to overcome barriers to sharing data. Key themes included challenges related to time constraints and workload, data ownership, data quality and accuracy, fear of data misuse and challenges in adopting new technologies for data sharing. Key-informant interviews were conducted with 20 EIA stakeholders across South Africa— including environmental impact assessment practitioners (EAPs), biodiversity specialists, government authorities, and individuals from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — to elaborate on these themes and to identify possible solutions to encourage more data-sharing from biodiversity professionals in the EIA process. Findings from the key-informant interviews suggest that it is important to build trust among the EIA stakeholders, to establish collaborative networks within the EIA stakeholder ecosystem for data sharing, to improve the communication and dissemination of protocol updates, clarify where to show proof of sharing data, enhance support for specialists and EAPs, strengthen the roles of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), and provide continuous capacity building and training on new tools and technologies for data capture and sharing for specialists and EAPs.

Keywords

wildlife

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