Background to IAIA South Africa

South Africa is the sixth country in the world (after USA, Australia, Brazil, and Canada) to form a local IAIA affiliate. South Africans attending the annual congress of IAIA in Washington DC in August 1992 formed a steering committee to launch the IAIAsa later that year, which was also the year of the original Rio Summit. The IAIA affiliate was formally recognised by the parent body at its mid-year meeting in Mexico in February 1993.

The primary objective of IAIAsa is to create a “home” for those people who wish to exchange information on, or learn more about, impact assessment. South Africa has received international acclaim for its Integrated Environmental Management procedures and for the high quality Environmental Impact Assessments undertaken in this country.

IAIAsa (International Association for Impact Assessment, South Africa) functions as a voluntary organisation representing the interests of environmental assessment practitioners and allied professions. We have approximately 1000 members in South Africa and neighbouring SADC countries, organised around nine regional branches (Gauteng, Limpopo, North-West, Free Sate, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape & Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga & a SADC-branch).

The Flagship event on our calendar is the annual IAIAsa National Conference, at which up to 35% of our members get together every year. The 2013 Conference was held from 23 - 25 September in 2013 at the Black Mountain Resort near Thaba N’chu, Free State. The 2014 Conference was held at Gallagher Estate, Gauteng from 27 - 29 August 2014. The 2015 Conference was at the Champagne Sports Resort, Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal from 11 - 14 August 2015. The 2016 Conference was held at the Boardwalk Hotel and Casino, Port Elizabeth from 17 - 19 August 2016. This year we move the beautiful Western Cape.