Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment of Oil and Gas Development in Mauritania

The objectives of this Strategic
Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) are as follows:
To identify the social and environmental impacts which could
be generated by oil and gas development, evaluating the
scope and probability of these impacts due to increased
activities in the onshore and offshore; to put forward
recommendations to avoid, manage and/or attenuate these
impacts; to facilitate the integration of these measures
into a coherent policy and to ensure its application; and to
help in capacity building and training of Government
officials in the management oil and gas sector impacts, in
particular the Ministries of Environment and Petroleum,
Energy and Mines. It is divided into two parts. Part A
contains the project background; hydrocarbon potential trend
scenarios; critical environmental and social risks; and key
SESA findings. Part B contains background and supporting
information used in development of the SESA: Description of
methodology used in the SESA; legal, regulatory and
institutional framework; development trends, onshore and
offshore; environmental setting - onshore and offshore;
social setting; and cultural and archaeological heritage.