Environmental Impact Assessment: Making it Work in Developing Countries

摘要: Abstract Progress in adopting EIA as an environmental management tool has been extremely slow developing countries, with only nine of the 121 countries having established frameworks for its implementation. Even these few after more than a decade implementation, performance dismally poor spite considerable efforts, especially Asian and Pacific region, devoted to development cost-effective methods techniques. This is attributed serious flaws their legislative, administrative, institutional procedural frameworks. These are discussed illustrated specific examples. Suggestions improvement include use legislative rather administrative option establish authority EIA; establishment independent agency political influence over sectoral agencies through placement office President or Prime Minister high-profile ministry responsibility national economic planning budgetary control; decentralization activities among tiers government agencies; mandatory involvement local people, public concerned scoping, reviewing, monitoring auditing; arrangement characterized by two-stage assessment, scoping preparation terms reference, registered consultants studies, provision hearings time limits review, conduct fully-internalized element process separate exercise divorced from technical aspects project design. guidelines should contain conditions there be adequate judicial reviewing actions proponents.