Managing the Expectations between the Regulatory Authority and Consultants in the Environmental Impact Assessment System in Zimbabwe

This study explored the expectations between the regulatory authority (EMA) and consultants in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) system in Zimbabwe. The consultant's expectations from EMA are (in descending order of priority): fair and ethical treatment, periodic EIA updates, and a code of ethics were identified as critical (4.6-5.0 points) expectations that need to be addressed. Important (4.0-4.5 points) expectations of what EMA should do are proponent EIA education, regulatory consultation and access to library. The less important expectations are newsletter production, consultant's association online marketing and EIA training. EMA's expectations of what consultants should do are transparency and honesty which are critical, followed by objectivity and fairness, proponents EIA education and whistle-blowing which are less important and lastly participation in environmental functions and respect of professional judgments which are least important. The first major finding is that there are obviously unfulfilled expectations mainly as a result of inadequate communication between EMA and consultants. The second is that there are no clear documented standards by which EMA and Consultants should abide. In addition an effective association of consultants and establishment of a code of ethics are critical for the EIA system in Zimbabwe.