Strengthening the Legal Framework for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in the Mining Sector in Madagascar: Selected issues

The document evaluates Madagascar's legal framework for Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) in the mining sector. While it finds the framework generally coherent and up-to-date, it identifies four critical gaps: the presence of broad stabilization clauses that can freeze outdated laws, the ability of the environment minister to override the technical opinions of the National Office for the Environment (ONE), the possibility of granting operating permits before environmental permits, and insufficient public involvement during the early stages of ESIA report preparation. The summary recommends deleting or limiting stabilization clauses, restoring the primacy of ONE's technical advice, making environmental permits a prerequisite for operating permits, and engaging local communities from the scoping stage onward.

• Madagascar's legal framework for ESIAs is generally coherent, with most environmental texts recently revised (such as the 2015 environment charter) and a well-defined institutional structure where the National Office for the Environment (ONE) plays a key role.
• Broad stabilization clauses in the Mining Code (Article 154) and the Law Establishing a Special Regime for Large Investments in the Malagasy Mining Sector (Article 93) may prevent the state from applying modern environmental and social protections to mining projects.
• The Minister of the Environment possesses the authority to override the technical opinion of ONE and issue an environmental permit even if ONE maintains an adverse opinion after a second expert review.
• The current legal framework allows for a chronology where an operating permit may be granted before an environmental permit, potentially reducing the ESIA to a mere formality.
• Public participation in the ESIA process is currently marginal because local communities are typically only involved after the ESIA report has been submitted to the government, excluding them from screening and report preparation.

APA

Nikièma, S., Naré, C., & Kinda, A. (2023). Strengthening the Legal Framework for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in the Mining Sector in Madagascar: Selected issues. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/legal-framework-esia-mining-sector-madagascar.pdf

Chicago

Nikièma, Suzy, Clémence Naré, and Abas Kinda. Strengthening the Legal Framework for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in the Mining Sector in Madagascar: Selected issues. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/legal-framework-esia-mining-sector-madagascar.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Nikièma |first1=Suzy |last2=Naré |first2=Clémence |last3=Kinda |first3=Abas |title=Strengthening the Legal Framework for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in the Mining Sector in Madagascar: Selected issues |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/legal-framework-esia-mining-sector-madagascar.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nikima2023strengthening, author = {Nikièma, Suzy and Naré, Clémence and Kinda, Abas}, title = {{Strengthening the Legal Framework for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in the Mining Sector in Madagascar: Selected issues}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/legal-framework-esia-mining-sector-madagascar.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }