Opinion | Feasibility study should be a starting point for any substantial project in South Sudan.

By Philip Ayuen Dot

OPINION – Before environmental impact assessment or feasibility studies became an accepted practice, development was still taking place but at the expense of human beings and the environment. We had rivers being so polluted that they caught fire, like River Cuyahoga in Ohio, US, that caught fire thirteen times before 1960. We had unabated air pollution whose effects we are now experiencing in the form of climate change. Climate change has come to affect those who polluted and even those who didn’t pollute the air, like most African nations.

Massive dust bowls, animals going extinct, birds and bees dying in droves, land that could no longer produce food and people made sick by environmental pollution, made the world come together in Stockholm, Sweden, 1972 for the first world environmental conference. Enough was enough, they said. Going forward development had to be done in a way that did not harm humans and the environment irreparably.

In 1997, Finland in The Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Tran’s boundary Context passed internationally accepted guidelines for projects shared among countries, while for local projects, the Rio Convention in 1992 came up with the Agenda 21 principles which seek to ensure that while environment should not hamper development, development should not irreparably damage the environment. It is this balance that has led countries to adopt their own Environmental Social Impact Assessment guidelines to supplement the global recommendations. The main purpose of feasibility studies is to predict and assess the potential environmental and social impacts of a proposed or ongoing project, evaluate alternative and design appropriate mitigation measures and monitoring measure

Furthermore, environmental and social issues would no longer come last, they would be a starting point for any substantial project. That was how the concept of EIA was born along with analysis like hydrology analysis, topographical analysis and the resettlement action plan.

A feasibility study is a process of determining a project or system, whether a potential idea is feasible. It is used to determine the viability of an idea and whether it’s legally and technically feasible as well as economically justifiable as at that point.

A feasibility study is the one that puts projects into context. It answers the questions; can this be done; is this necessary; how much would it cost; what kind of technical expertise would it require; can we afford it; who will pay the cost for it; what are the projects strength and weaknesses and is it worth the investment?

A feasibility study is the first step of any substantial infrastructure or project. This is paid by those interested in the project and is done before the project is announced anywhere. For example, a government would carry out feasibility studies for many projects for a country and then choose the most viable to start working on. Same thing with financial institutions like World Bank and the European Union, UN and AU.

Hence the EISA process starts in the Preliminary study.  EISA is a process as a document.  In the feasibility study, we highlight the environmental conditions within the project area; nature, culture, protected areas, housing, watercourses, water sources, agriculture and forestry, etc.

We also highlight the investigation, the surveys and the measurements that need to be made in the coming stages. Then we see if there are opportunities environmentally to move forward with projects. Where the path should go is investigated in the next stage where you look at different alternative – including Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESIA- and where you make a choice, a choice based on the goals you initially set for the projects. For the selected option, a more detailed ESIA is made. Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is then followed by a control program for design, consultations, consultation with authorities, residents, and traders are mandatory in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment process.

It is done to ascertain that not only if the project needed but also whether it will be helpful to the people around it. A well-designed feasibility study should offer a historical background of the project as well as that of the affected community. Otherwise, one might find themselves locating a pork factory among Muslims.

The main purpose of a feasibility study is to aid in the decision-making process. It is to help the investors or proponents of the project or government decide whether to go ahead with the project or not. It can go either way. In case the feasibility study identifies that the project is not viable, it will give its reasons for that conclusion. It also gives pointers and can identify new opportunities for example, relocating the project to a more suitable place. A feasibility study also evaluates multiple parameters enabling the project, should it be carried out, to be done so smoothly.

Failure to undertake a feasibility study leads to what are commonly referred to as white elephant projects. This are projects that were not viable yet taxpayers or the public’s money was used to either fund them or pay the loans that funded those projects.

It is for this reason that the world adapted Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for any project with significant impact on the environment.

It is for this reason that South Sudan has its own draft bill on environmental protection that caters for ESIA that is The Draft Environmental Protection Bill. The Draft Bill guides that for projects that are likely to have significant environmental and social impacts, an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment shall be conducted by an external Body that has been approved by the ministry of environment. The ESIA shall be made available to the ministries concerned and anyone who requests for it.

The author is a trained environmentalist, an independent opinion writer on environmental issues, social, and economic topics and can be reached via his email: Philipdot57@gmail.com.

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