Definitions for fields in the IEE database

Country:   This is the African country in which the proposed activity will be implemented.  This field also lists USAID’s regional activities and programs.  

Region:   USAID’s Africa Bureau has three geographic and administrative divisions in Africa. The three regions, with the countries and principal centers in each region, are:

Southern Africa - Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Regional Center for Southern Africa (RCSA), South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe;

East Africa - Congo, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Regional Economic Development Services Office (REDSO), Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda;

West Africa - Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Principe, Sahel Regional Programs, Sao Tome, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.

Program Title:   Program title is a short description that serves to identify an activity.

Project/SO Activity Number:  USAID assigns a number to each strategic objective (SO) that also applies to the SO’s activities. Previously, each project was assigned a unique number.  

File Code Number:  The File Code Number is a unique code assigned to an IEE document. The numbers making up the code indicate the country in which the proposed activity will be implemented, the year the IEE was prepared and an IEE’s sequential position in the series of IEEs that apply to a particular activity or program.  

Date Approved:  This is the date on which USAID/Africa Bureau’s Chief Environmental Officer (BEO) formally approves and signs an IEE document.  

Program Type:  This is a program-level categorization. Categories would include: Agriculture, Economic Growth, Natural Resources Management, Health, Education, Democracy & Governance. IEEs that don't fit into the above will suggest other categories that might need to be added. Multiple categories would be allowed, though most of the time there would be only one per IEE.  

Activity Type:  This is an activity-level categorization. Categories would follow along the lines of the sectors chosen for development in the guidelines, though some additional categories will be needed. Following is the list that we've come up with in discussions so far: Agriculture, Irrigation*, Biotechnology*, Aquaculture*, Watershed Management*, Energy, Brick and Tile, Community-based Natural Resource Management, Construction (Small-scale), Eco-tourism, Food Processing, Forestry, Forest Management*, Forest Plantation*, Agro-forestry*, Healthcare, Humanitarian Response, Leather Processing (Tanneries), Mining (Small-scale), Pest and Pesticide Management, Rural roads, Textiles (Wet operations), Water supply and sanitation, Micro-finance*, Sub-grants*.

* Those marked with an asterisk were added to the list of sectors covered in the Small Scale Guidelines. In the cases of agriculture and forestry, these broad categories were expanded to include some smaller categories. For example, an agro-forestry activity would presumably be categorized as both forestry and agro-forestry.

The key question to consider in deciding what categories to use seems to be what would be most helpful for someone who is drafting an IEE, has a tricky subject area to examine, and wants to find a relevant IEE model to consult.

Sub-activity Funding Level: Thousands of dollars needed to fund the activity. 

Categorical Exclusions: Under Reg.16, certain activities are eligible for categorical exclusion (CE). CEs apply to 15 classes of actions. CEs must be requested and justified in writing, then approved by the Bureau Environmental Officer (BEO).   22 CFR 216 criteria for determining CEs are: 

Negative Determination:  A negative determination (or negative threshold decision) following an IEE establishes that an action will cause no reasonably foreseeable significant harm to the environment. When a negative determination is recommended, it is often contingent upon monitoring or mitigation measures described in the IEE. These monitoring and mitigation measures are not optional: they are legally required. They may require adjustments both in the activity itself and in the grant or non-project assistance agreement via conditions or covenants. The adjustments must be made before funds can be disbursed. 

Positive Determination:  A positive determination (or positive threshold decision) following an IEE establishes that an action is likely to cause a significant impact or a reasonably foreseeable chance of significant harm to the environment and that preparation of an environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) will be required. 

Deferral:  A threshold decision can be deferred when programs, activities, or sub-activities have not been specifically identified at the time of authorization. In cases of deferral, Reg. 16 calls for the application of covenants or conditions to ensure that environmental review of the specific activities deferred will be completed prior to an irreversible commitment of resources.   

PVO/NGO:  This indicates whether the activity is implemented mainly by a Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) and/or Non-governmental Organization (NGO) under a grant or cooperative agreement by USAID. In such a case, the grantee and any subgrantees are expected to follow environmental screening and mitigation procedures specified by USAID and/or the host country. (By USAID convention, a PVO is international while an NGO is local.)

EMEMP:  This indicates whether an Environmental Monitoring Evaluation and Mitigation Plan (EMEMP) has been developed for an activity. 

COND or Conditions:  This indicates whether meeting specific conditions is required in the case of a deferral or a negative determination. A summary of conditions (if applicable) is provided by the IEE tracker records. 

Comment/Action:  This concisely describes the objectives, key operations, partners and threshold IEE decisions that apply to each USAID activity or program in Africa.