Tortoise Environmental Consultants (TEC) offers a comprehensive suite of environmental and social management consulting services, helping project developers across Namibia’s extractive industries achieve successful, sustainable and environmentally conscious outcomes. Energy Capital & Power spoke with Director Jonas Heita about the role of sustainability in upcoming oil and gas activities, as well as Namibia’s existing mining sector.
How are environmental consulting services important to the success and sustainability of a project?
The environmental sector and services are evolving. We started with environmental impact assessments. Now, we are trying to find space in environmental and social governance, which covers environmental and social management planning and strategic environmental assessments, among others, depending on the level of development. People tend to focus on infrastructure development and overlook important environmental and social aspects. For example, Namibia has one of the best road networks in Africa, but when these networks were finished, a lot of borrow pits emerged because there were no proper environmental impact assessments done.
TEC conducted the environmental impact assessment for the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable. How has the project improved Namibia’s connectivity?
Until today, Namibia only has one data cable, owned by our telecommunication company, Telecom Namibia. This means that anytime we have a disturbance on that data cable, our internet connectivity and all other telecommunications are affected. We cannot afford to not have reliable and backup data or transmissive communication infrastructure. According to the business proposal, that data cable will also be extended to landlocked countries.
What is the extent of your involvement in the mining sector?
Namibia has always been strong in mining, dating back to more than a hundred years. We are the third-largest producer of uranium in the world. Dundee Precious Metals is a Canadian company that specializes in mining and that puts emphasis on environmental and social issues. Our first assignment was to design a wastewater articulation system, in which we identified where the water was getting polluted. We recommended setting up three new pollution control dams and to channel polluted water to these dams. The second assignment was a social impact assessment, which looks at how the community in the exposed zone is affected by environmental and pollution issues and what mitigation measures can be implemented. We also look at how the community can benefit from the mine operation. If locals are not employed directly at the mine, then they need some sort of specialized vehicle by which they can benefit and become productive. As a result of our recommendations, Dundee set up a fund that committed to invest a substantial amount of money annually for those communities.
Why should companies choose to partner with TEC?
In terms of investment, Namibia has very high potential. Namibia is relatively big with a small population, which means that the rest of the environment is available for industrialization projects. Whether it’s solar, wind, oil or natural gas, we have the space. This makes it more attractive because communities don’t need to be moved. Also, our financial systems are quite robust and credible. TEC has an understanding that the world has become a global unit, and given our capacity and drive, we can undertake major assignments in the environmental and social governance space.
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