Structure and Design

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Black Crystal were featured in the latest edition of Structure and Design magazine. The article is entitled: New Tourism Development in an Ecologically Sensitive Area (page 57) all about one of our projects in a wild area where a new, single story, luxury, semi-permanent tented safari camp is being planned by Ledgeback Safari’s in the iconic and unique Mana Pools National Park in north western Zimbabwe. The park is located within an area of conservation importance and is protected through national legislation and several international conventions. Under the Environmental Management Act and the accompanying Environmental Impact Assessment and Ecosystems Protection Regulations the project must have a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) undertaken. Ledgeback commissioned Black Crystal Consulting to carry out the EIA. The article describes how the EIA process was undertaken and how the findings of the study influenced the project design.

Here is an abstract of the article:

New green tourism accommodation in Mana Pools

  • Project description
  • Site designations 
  • Site location
  • Project team
  • Work undertaken
  • Public consultation process
  • Study findings
  • Recommendations made
  • The benefits of Environmental Impact Assessments :

The project clearly demonstrates just how important EIA’s are. The EIA for Ledgeback Safari’s improved the project siting, ensured an informed decision-making process that led to more environmentally sensitive decisions, increased accountability and transparency during the development process, improved the integration of the project into its environmental and social setting and reduced environmental damage. The proposed project made a positive contribution towards achieving green tourism.

The magazine is available on-line, see: