Strengthening environmental governance : a decade of the regulatory affairs directorate

Abstract

The last decade has been one characterized by substantial growth, new challenges and the need for a more centralized approach to face the evolving policy and legislation frameworks, regulatory responsibilities and challenges in enforcement and environmental protection. As a result, in 2022, the Regulatory Affairs Directorate of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) emerged to coordinate the linked efforts and objectives of three units to put environmental legislation into action: the Environmental Assessment Unit, the Environmental Permitting Unit, and the Compliance and Enforcement Unit. This paper shall focus on how each unit has evolved and grown over the past decade together with the developments, challenges faced and projected visions in the coming years to strengthen environmental regulation.

The paper is based on a longitudinal analysis of the ERA Annual Reports covering 2016 - 2025. Quantitative indicators examined include consultation volumes, permitting outputs, enforcement actions and staff complements. Trend analysis was conducted to assess regulatory growth. However, the analysis is limited by the evolving reporting structure, and legislative amendments that affected workload categorisation across reporting years.