EIA legislation and sustainable development of oil sands projects in Madagascar: a critical assessment

Abstract

Madagascar is said to have the second largest oil sands deposits in Africa and the seventh in the world. Unlike other African countries (like Angola, Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo) with confirmed oil sands deposits, Madagascar is said to have reached advanced stages in the development of its own deposits. This article considers Madagascar’s readiness for the sustainable development of its oil sands deposits, focusing specifically on the role of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in achieving sustainable development in Madagascar. Although Madagascar is one of the few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that seems to have mainstreamed the environment into many of its sectoral policies and programmes, given the extreme environmental risks posed by oil sands development, it is essential to ask whether EIA legislation in Madagascar provides for sufficient environmental scrutiny to promote sustainable development of oil sands projects. This article identifies loopholes in Madagascar's EIA legislation capable of undermining the ability of Madagascar to develop its oil sands in a sustainable manner. The loopholes relate to the criteria for determining whether an oil sands extraction activity shall be subject to an EIA, the consideration of cumulative effects and the rights of the Malagasy public to participate in EIA processes in Madagascar.