Author(s)

Meserecordias Wilfred Lema^*

Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, School of Environmental Sciences and Technology, College of Earth Sciences, University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania.

In the United Republic of Tanzania (URT), all environmental issues related to the mining industry are regulated according to two principle Acts: The Mining Act and the Environmental Management Act, and their respective regulations. The current acts were enacted in 2010 and 2004 respectively. Mineral exploration (that includes all on-site activities performed before a mining project is declared feasible) projects in URT appears to be “unforgotten phenomena” in the two major legislative documents, when it comes to environmental considerations. This phenomenon is believed to be causing detrimental effects to the environment. This paper, therefore, analyzes the current environmental regulatory framework on mineral exploration projects in URT and discusses few examples in which mineral exploration projects have caused damage to the indigenous environment. Furthermore, this study reviews environmental regulatory frameworks from other few countries in comparison with existing environmental regulatory framework prevailing in URT.

Mineral Exploration Projects, Mining, Environment Regulatory Framework

Lema, M. (2016) Analysis of Challenges Related to Poor Environmental Regulatory Framework on Mineral Exploration Projects: A Case of Tanzania. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 4, 89-96. doi: 10.4236/gep.2016.47010.