Advice on guidance for ESIAs for dredging material

Following the exchange between Colombia and the Netherlands in November on reuse of dredged material, the NCEA was asked by the Colombian Ministries of Transport and of Environment and Sustainable Development to review a new Guidance (generic ToR) for Environmental Impact Studies for maritime dredging projects.

Although we appreciate the work done so far, we advise to complement several topics if it is to serve as a ‘good practice’ guidance for forthcoming projects. For example, more information should be provided on:

• why project alternatives are necessary
• how to identify impacts and carry out assessments
• if reuse of the dredge spoils is possible (circular economy), and
• what the relation is with climate change.

Picture: © Mike P. Scott/CC BY-NC 2.0 – Flickr.