{"id":22378,"date":"2025-02-20T01:27:06","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T01:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nema.go.ug\/new_site2\/?page_id=22378"},"modified":"2026-07-03T16:34:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T13:34:42","slug":"submit-esia-application","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nema.go.ug\/en\/submit-esia-application\/","title":{"rendered":"Submit ESIA Application"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n \n
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Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)<\/span>\n <\/h1>\n

What is Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)As a prerequisite before submission of an ESIA, a developer is supposed to conduct a Project Scoping and develop Terms of Reference in regard to the scoping in accordance with Section 13 and 14 of THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT (ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ASSESSMENT) REGULATIONS, 2020 and submit to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).<\/p>\n

ESIA expands upon ElA by including social dimensions alongside environmental concerns. It assesses how a project will impact local communities, their health, livelihoods, and socio-economic conditions.<\/p>\n

Objective:<\/span>\n <\/p>\n

The objective of ESIA is to ensure that both environmental and social impacts are considered in the project design, leading to sustainable development and better stakeholder engagement.Key Elements of ESIA:Environmental factors:<\/p>\n

This includes air, water, and ecological impacts.Social factors: Health impacts: Assessing changes in public health due to the project. <\/p>\n

Livelihoods: <\/span>\n <\/p>\n

Determining how local jobs, agriculture, or businesses will be affected. Cultural heritage: Identifying impacts on sites or practices of cultural significance. <\/p>\n

Community engagement: <\/span>\n <\/p>\n

Ensuring the participation of affected communities and addressing their concerns. Example of ESIA: A large hydropower dam project would require an ESIA. For list of projects that an ESIA is mandatory, check Schedule 5 of the National Environment Act Cap 181. <\/p>\n

Projects for which environmental and social impact assessment is mandatory. <\/span>\n <\/p>\n

A developer of a project under section 113 of the Act and set out in Schedule 5 of the Act shall undertake scoping and an environmental and social impact study in accordance with these Regulations.A developer of a project proposed to be located in or near an environmentally sensitive area listed in Schedule 10 of the Act may be required to undertake scoping and an environmental and social impact study in accordance with the relevant regulations. For the avoidance of doubt, where a lead agency or the Authority intends to undertake a project under Schedule 5 or Schedule 10 of the Act, the lead agency shall be considered to be a developer under this part.The Authority shall, in determining whether the project referred to under sub regulation (2) requires scoping and an environmental and social impact study, take into consideration\u2014- the requirements of any applicable law, standards, and international agreements; the recommendation of the relevant lead agency consulted, if any; <\/p>\n