Surroundings in São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé city and Santo António have the strongest documented pressure on drainage, water reliability, waste management and public space. Peri-urban and rural settlements generally have weaker access to utilities, sanitation, roads, lighting and community facilities. There is no single nationwide package of surroundings services, no uniform local service standard and no public nationwide dashboard for air quality, noise or green-space maintenance. Electricity reached 81.3% of the population in 2023, but reliability, connection conditions and cost still vary. Internet use reached 59% in 2024, with weaker access in rural and peripheral areas. EMAE supplies water and electricity, while AGER regulates these sectors. Connection costs, tariffs, repair times and continuity depend on the provider and locality. Water access does not follow simply from the country's abundant rainfall. In 2022, safely managed drinking water covered 36% of the population, sanitation 35% and handwashing facilities 58%; open defecation affected 42%. Eight of sixteen EMAE water systems depend on surface water. Heavy rain and turbidity can interrupt supply and affect about one third of the population. Households may rely on an EMAE connection, a community point or a local source, with different fees, safety risks and continuity. Contamination, runoff, watershed degradation and coastal salinisation remain relevant risks. Drainage in São Tomé and Santo António was not designed for current levels of intense runoff. Waste can reduce the capacity of drains, and district flood studies from 2023–2024 identify pluvial, coastal and combined hazards. Flooding affects about 30,000 people on average, around 13% of the population. Slopes, bridges, coastal erosion and storm surge add risks in particular locations. Safe surroundings therefore depend on watershed management, functioning drains, waste control and reliable warnings. Waste collection and disposal remain fragmented. Open dumping, disposal at sea and open burning can create pests, drain blockages, marine leakage and air pollution. The Serviço Nacional de Resíduos works within the national waste framework, while Câmaras Distritais handle local implementation. Collection schedules, fees and disposal arrangements must be confirmed locally because São Tomé and Príncipe has no uniform nationwide collection entitlement. Air pollution can come from waste burning, diesel generators, biomass cooking, traffic, dust and construction. The available public WHO PM2.5 indicator is 24.17 µg/m³ for 2019, but it is not a real-time local measurement, and no nationwide continuous monitoring network has been publicly evidenced. Traffic, generators, construction, commerce, events and port or airport activity can also create noise. Law 4/2022 addresses noise pollution, and Penal Code Article 335 covers pollution of air, water, soil and noise, but there is no public national noise map or continuous monitoring service. Green areas, shade, recreation and vegetation that buffers drainage contribute to everyday comfort and safety. São Tomé and Príncipe became a UNESCO biosphere reserve covering the whole country in 2025. Protected forests, marine areas and biodiversity belong primarily to the Nature topic; here they matter where access, public space, ecosystem services, land use or spatial change affect daily surroundings. The main public bodies have different roles. MAJTS leads environmental and sustainable natural-resource policy; DAAC handles climate and environmental administration; INOPU covers public works and urbanism; INA concerns water administration; INM provides meteorological information; SNPCB and CONPREC support emergency and risk management; district authorities and the Governo Regional do Príncipe implement measures locally. The current structure and contact channel should be checked before making a complaint or requesting a service. Environmental impact assessment (EIA), also called AIA in Portuguese administrative practice, provides a formal process for reviewing the environmental effects of certain projects. Under Decree 37/99, affected communities may receive information or consultation where the project and its financing rules require it. Public consultations have included DAAC, the Governo Regional, the Guarda Costeira, fisheries representatives, NGOs and community groups, but São Tomé and Príncipe has no universal participation portal or uniform grievance deadline. Everyday safety depends on responding to warnings, avoiding flood channels, unstable slopes and exposed coasts during alerts, and reporting blocked drains, utility hazards, unsafe water or waste fires through the locally responsible authority. Local risk committees, community organisations and project-specific complaint mechanisms may provide practical support, but access differs by island and district. The surroundings are changing through climate intensification, coastal exposure, urban growth, infrastructure projects, tourism and blue-economy investment, watershed pressure and biosphere governance. São Tomé and Príncipe's NDC 3.0 climate commitments include at least 50% renewable electricity by 2035, rehabilitation of 80% of the distribution network, electricity losses below 10%, rainwater systems in 75% of public and community buildings, and integrated watershed, water, sanitation and circular-waste systems. These are targets rather than achieved service levels, so a current project document, environmental assessment or local hazard map remains more reliable for a specific place.