Projects

Economic and socio-economic impact assessment

Our economic and socio-economic impact assessment projects can be divided into the following categories:

1. As inputs into Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)
2. As inputs into Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs)
3. As inputs into other processes

As inputs to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)

Lead author of the Western Cape Provincial Government guidelines on economic specialist inputs into Environmental Impact Assessments (2005)

Economic and socio-economic impact assessments or specialist studies to form part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process of the following projects:

Infrastructure

• Desalination plants for Umgeni Water, Kwa-Zulu Natal (2015)
• Desalination plant for West Coast District Municipality, Western Cape (2012)
• Regional landfill to service Cape Town (2006 and 2012)
• Green Point World Cup Stadium, Cape Town (2008)
• Petroline petrol pipeline between Maputo and Gauteng (2008)
• Helderberg waste transfer station in Somerset West, Western Cape (2008)
• Muldersvlei water treatment plant and reservoir near Klapmuts, Western Cape (2007)
• Vissershok landfill expansion, Cape Town (2002)
• Iron ore terminal expansion at Saldanha port, Western Cape (2000)
• Wastewater treatment plan for East London, Eastern Cape (1996)

Industrial development

• Oil and gas exploration drilling in PEL 34 off Luderitz coast, Namibia (2017)
• Burgan Oil fuel storage and distribution facility at Cape Town Harbour, Western Cape (2015)
• Saldanha Regional Marine Outfall Project in Danger Bay near Saldanha Bay, Western Cape (2014)
• Expansion of the PPC cement plant at Riebeek West, Western Cape (2009)
• Tata Steel ferrochrome smelter in Richards Bay, KZN (2003)
• Conversion of the Sasol Chemical Industries plant in Sasolburg from a coal based to a natural gas based plant, Free State (2002)

Mining

• Upgrade and expansion of Tsumeb copper smelter, Namibia (2017)
• Kamiesberg mineral sands mine near Garies, Northern Cape (2015)
• Vedanta zinc mine near Aggeneys, Northern Cape (2013)
  AfriSam limestone mine and plant at
  Saldanha Bay, Western Cape (2012)
• Burnstone gold mine expansion (2009)
• Valencia uranium mine in Namibia (2008)

Agriculture

• Assessment of economic benefits from four commercial agriculture projects in Angola (2018)
• Farm dams and development of table grape cultivation near Worcester, Western Cape (2018)
• Farm dams and expansion of cultivation for Habata Agri near Robertson, Western Cape (2017)
• Kleinberg Dam in the Hex River Valley, Western Cape (2014)

Mixed-use and residential developments

• • Granger Bay extension of V&A Waterfront, Cape Town (2014)
  • Ladysmith mixed-use development, Kwa-Zulu Natal (2014)
  • Barinor and Richmond park developments in greater Cape Town (2011)
  • Langezandt leisure development in Struisbaai, Western Cape (2011)
  • De Plaat residential estate near Velddrif, Western Cape (2009)
  • Garden Route Dam mixed use development in George, Western Cape (2008)
  • Anandale mixed use development in Cape Town (2008)
  • Schalkenbosch Golf Estate, Le Grand Golf Estate and Ceres Golf Estates (2006)
  • Carpe Diem Eco Estate near Port Alfred, Eastern Cape (2006)

Renewable energy

   Wind

• SWE near Vleesbaai, Western Cape (2013)
• SAGIT Energy Ventures near Bot River and Wolesley, Western Cape (2012)
• Windcurrent near Jeffrey’s Bay, Eastern Cape (2011)
• InnoWind near Mossel Bay, Western Cape (2011)
• Mainstream near Jeffrey’s Bay, Eastern Cape (2010)

   Solar

• Mainstream Kentani near Dealesville, Free State (2014)
• Mainstream near Douglas and Keimoes, Northern Cape (2012)
• Thupela Energy near Vaalwater, Limpopo (2011)

Roads

• N2 bypasses at Butterworth and iDutywa (2016)
• R44 upgrading between Stellenbosch and Somerset West (2014)
• Musina Ring Road, Limpopo (2011)
• Bloubos local road in Somerset West, Western Cape (2010)
• N1/N9 intersection upgrade at Colesberg, Free State (2009)
• Tolling of the N1, N2 and R300 roads in the vicinity of Cape Town (2005)
• Changing road configurations on Hospital Bend in Cape Town (2001)

As inputs to Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs)

• Lead economic specialists making inputs to the Strategic Environmental Assessment for shale gas development (fracking) in South Africa (2016)
• Economic specialist inputs to form part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment for the roll-out of electricity transmission infrastructure throughout South Africa (2015)
• Environmental resource economic and socio-economic specialist study to form part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment and accompanying management plan for the Port of Saldanha, Western Cape (2013)
• Lead author of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the potential production of biofuels based on Jatropha in the Kavango and Caprivi regions of Namibia (2010)
• Environmental resource economics specialist study to form part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment and accompanying Environmental Management Framework for the Pixley ka Seme municipality in Mpumalanga (2010)
• Environmental resource economics specialist study to form part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment and accompanying Environmental Management Framework for the Albert Luthuli and Msukaligwa municipalities in Mpumalanga (2008)

As inputs to other processes

• Economic impact assessment component to form part of feasibility studies for six Special Economic Zones (SEZs) throughout South Africa commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry (2014)
• Socio-economic assessment of impacts on surrounding farmers associated with mine dewatering at Sishen iron ore mine, Northern Cape (2012)
• Socio-economic impact assessment of the operations of Sea Harvest fishing company in Saldanha Bay (2007)
• Economic impact assessment of the proposed Eden Island residential and tourism development in the Seychelles (2006)
• Part of University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business study for the Airports Company of South Africa to examine the economic impacts associated with Cape Town International Airport (2004)
• Part of a CSIR team that conducted an environmental economic assessment of the impacts of alternative route alignment of the proposed Gautrain rapid rail link (2003)
• Part of UCT Graduate School of Business study of the economic benefits associated with the Joint Marketing Initiative aimed at the consolidation of the marketing of the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape (2003)
• Evaluated the socio-economic impacts of Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme funded infrastructure developments for the Western Cape provincial government in association with the Institute for Development Services (2000)
• Head consultant commissioned by the Cape Metropolitan Council to conduct a study on economic and social impact assessment methods focusing on their basic workings, strengths, weaknesses, areas of optimal application and the resources needed for their application (1998)

Cost-benefit analysis and economic modelling

• Cost-benefit analysis for UNDP India to form part of a GCF funding proposal focused on investment in coastal ecosystem restoration as a means to achieve climate change adaptation and livelihoods enhancement goals (2018)
• Consultants to WWF South Africa on a project to estimate fair share emissions pathways for South Africa, along with the likely net mitigation costs associated with reaching these pathways as an informant of the country’s revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in the run-up to the 2018 COP (2017)
• Development of a decision-making tool for

GreenCape to inform the allocation of industrial water in the Saldanha Bay Local Municipality based on socio-economic and other key factors (2016)

• Strategic review for LTS Kenya of cost-benefit analyses of climate change adaptation measures forming part of a funding application to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) (2016)
• Financial cost-benefit analysis of a cable car or funicular to access Signal Hill in Cape Town to form part of an overall feasibility study for South African National Parks (2014)
• Lead author of socio-economic cost-benefit analysis of baboon management measures in the South Peninsula area of Cape Town (2013)
• Estimation of funding and financial set-asides required to build and sustainably operate a water treatment plant at the proposed Lusthof coal mine in Mpumalanga (2013)
• Cost-benefit analysis of Biodiversity Offset options for Transnet’s inland fuel terminal near Heidelberg, Gauteng (2011)

Valuation of ecosystem services

• Strategic and methodological support to the team of local consultants appointed by UNDP to carry out a cost-benefit analysis, ecosystem services valuation and viability assessments of payments for ecosystem services schemes for the proposed Ille Balkhash Nature Reserve, Kazakhstan (2016)
• Assessment of the economic value associated with the Boulders Penguin Colony section of the Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town (2014)
• Co-author and consultant to the formulation of the ValuES project initiated by GIZ focused on methods for integrating ecosystem services assessment and valuation into decision-making (2014)
• Second author of TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) guideline manual on conducting TEEB Country Studies focus on the value of ecosystem services (2013)
• Part of team that completed a ‘business case’ for investment in the natural capital of the City of Cape Town for the City’s Environmental Management Department. The study focused on quantifying the economic value of the City’s natural capital / ecosystem services and comparison with expenditure on its enhancement and maintenance (2009)

Incentives for conservation and the environment

• Lead international consultants tasked with drawing up a Biodiversity Finance Plan to form part of the Botswana Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) project (2019)
• Lead international consultants tasked with drawing up a Biodiversity Finance Plan to form part of the Georgian Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) project being undertaken by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (2018)
• International consultants on biodiversity conservation finance options for UNDP Cape Verde contributing to a GEF funding proposal for a project focused on managing multiple sector threats on marine ecosystems to achieve sustainable blue growth (2018)
• Lead consultants tasked with drawing up a Biodiversity Finance Plan to form part of the South African Biodiversity Finance (BIOFIN) project being undertaken by the Department of Environmental Affairs in partnership with the UNDP (2017)

• Consultant to IUCN Netherlands drawing lessons from, and providing a training outline for, civil society involvement in ecosystem services assessment and valuation using The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) approach (2015)
• Specialist resource economics inputs to the SANBI project document for Global Environmental Facility (GEF) funding for Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Land Use Regulation and Management at the Municipal Scale (2014)
• Financial sustainability modelling and economic impact assessment of biodiversity off-set options associated with the construction of the N2 Toll Highway in the Pondoland Region of the Eastern Cape Province (2014)
• Second author on Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) project focused on incorporating green infrastructure and ecosystem services into municipal finance and accounting practices (2013)
• Part of study team that formulated guidelines for the Western Cape Provincial Government on the use of biodiversity offsets (2007)
• Part of research team in a National Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism projects sponsored by USAID investigating the Clean Development Mechanism and emissions trading as options for meeting climate change goals in South Africa (2001)

Protected area sustainable financing and business planning

• Lead on sustainable marine finance for WildTrust project focusing on iSimangaliso Wetland Park Marine Protected Area (MPA) and on achieving national 30X30 targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Includes finance needs assessment, evaluation of finance solutions, implementation support (2023 – current).
• Strategic advisory on financial sustainability to the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority including financing baseline, finance needs assessment (FNA), evaluation of potential funding mechanisms and provision of strategic planning inputs as part of GiZ Conservation and Sustainable Management of Biodiversity and Forests III project (2024).
• Part of Sustainable Finance Coalition team providing sustainable finance strategy to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (2023).
• Lead international consultant of project to develop a concept for sustainable financing mechanisms for the National Parks network of Namibia for the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and KfW (2022).
• Lead international consultant working with national consultants on protected areas finance baseline, finance needs assessment (FNA), gap analysis, sustainable finance plan and feasibilities for finance options for the protected areas of Georgia conducted for CNF on behalf of UNDP Georgia (2019 to current).
• Lead consultant for South African Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) / Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) on setting up a framework and improving effectiveness of all fees for permits and licences under the National Biodiversity Act (2022).
• Comprehensive national review of protected area fees (for entrance, vehicles, camping, filming and activities) including national and international benchmarking, stakeholder engagement and site inspections to inform the revision of protected area fees in Botswana. For the Department of Wildlife Management and Parks as part of the Botswana Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) project (2019).
• National Parks and Conservation Sustainable finance plans for two RAMSAR sites in Mauritius forming part of their overall management plans developed by BIOTOPE for the Mauritian Service (2019).
• Lead international consultant working with national consultant on payments for ecosystem services (PES) feasibility study focused on Tsakhkadzor forest area in Armenia conducted for GiZ Armenia (2019).
• Lead international consultant tasked with drawing up a Biodiversity Finance Plan to form part of the Botswana Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) project (2019).
• Lead international consultant tasked with drawing up a Biodiversity Finance Plan to form part of the Georgian Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) project being undertaken by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (2018).
• International consultant on biodiversity conservation finance options for UNDP Cape Verde contributing to a GEF funding proposal for a project focused on managing multiple sector threats on marine ecosystems to achieve sustainable blue growth (2018).
• Lead consultant tasked with drawing up a Biodiversity Finance Plan to form part of the South African Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) project being undertaken by the Department of Environmental Affairs in partnership with the UNDP (2017).
• Assistance to the Namibian Nature Foundation for their inputs to the Biodiversity Resource Mobilisation projected under the MET and funded by GiZ (2017).
• Part of international team of experts appointed by GiZ to conduct a global review of resource mobilization for biodiversity conservation in German Development Cooperation to inform future strategy on sustainable financing of protected areas and biodiversity (2016)
• Assessment of the economic value associated with the Ethiopian protected areas system and the cost-benefit analysis of increased expenditure on protected areas development and management in Ethiopia. Conducted for the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority with UNDP funding (2015)
• Business plan and sustainable financing strategy for the Dorob National Park, Namibia (2011)

Policy, strategy and guidelines

• Lead international consultant for drawing up biodiversity offsets guidelines for Kazakhstan under UNDP project for the Ministryof Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources (2021)
• Part of study team contracted by the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Economic Development Department to conduct a National Employment Vulnerability Assessment (NEVA) and draw up associated Sectoral Job Resilience Plans (SJRPs) for climate change in South Africa. Role focused on analysis of climate change adaptation measures (2017)
• Consultant to UNDP Russia focused on (1) estimating the economic value of the ecosystem services associated with the Karakan Ridge Nature Reserve in Kemerovo and (2) making inputs to a national biodiversity offsets guideline for the energy and mining sector focused on the use of ecosystem services assessment and valuation (2017)
• Co-author and consultant to the formulation of the ValuES project initiated by GIZ focused on methods for integrating ecosystem services assessment and valuation into decision-making (2014)
• Second author of TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) guideline manual on conducting TEEB Country Studies focus on the value of ecosystem services (2013)
• Specialist resource economics inputs to the SANBI project document for Global Environmental Facility (GEF) funding for Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Land Use Regulation and Management at the Municipal Scale (2014)
• Development of detailed business/action plans for the achievement of City of Cape Town environmental agenda targets (2010)
• Project leader and lead author of Financial Provisions for Rehabilitation and Closure in South African Mining: Discussion Document on Challenges and Recommended Improvements (2011)