S.M. Zobaidul Kabir

The quality of environmental impact statements and environmental impact assessment practice in Bangladesh

This paper investigates the quality of environmental impact statements (EISs) and gives us an understanding about the performance of environmental impact assessment (EIA) practice in Bangladesh. EIA has been formally practised in Bangladesh since 1995.However, no study has yet been conducted on the quality of EISs. This study fills this gap. This empirical study shows that the quality of EISs in Bangladesh is ‘just satisfactory’ only. A significant proportion of EISs (34%) are still unsatisfactory. Finally, possible factors affecting the quality of EISs are examined and measures to improve the quality of EISs are recommended. The findings will be useful to EIA practitioners and other stakeholders in Bangladesh. This study will also provide a general guideline for other developing countries with similar socio-economic context.

Evaluating Environmental and Social Impact Assessment: Framework for Effective EIA System

This concluding chapter provides a general discussion about the status of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) system in Bangladesh. The findings presented in Chapters 3–7 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 are synthesized, in order to provide an overall understanding and insight into the current position of the EIA system. This chapter provides explanations of why some aspects of institutional arrangements are weak, when the quality of environmental impact statements is poor, and why mitigation measures are inadequately implemented. Attempts are also made to substantiate the findings of this study by that of other similar studies. This chapter proposes a framework for effective EIA system that may be applicable to developing countries. Finally, this chapter provides a summary of key findings and makes recommendations to address the deficiencies of the EIA system.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment System in Developing Countries: The Need for an Integrated Holistic Approach

This chapter establishes the need for a holistic approach by providing a critical review of the current literature on the concept of effective environmental impact assessment (EIA) system. A review of the status of EIA systems in developing countries is presented. Major approaches, namely, institutional; decision making and quality of environmental impact statements; contextual; and social system, to an effective EIA system, are also critically examined. This examination identifies the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches and helps develop an integrated holistic framework necessary to review EIA systems in developing countries. Lastly, the chapter focuses on the key areas of investigation for the EIA system evaluation.

The Quality of Environmental Impact Statements

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the quality of environmental impact statements (EISs) in Bangladesh. This chapter presents findings on the quality of EISs in Bangladesh with a detailed analysis and identification of strong and weak areas in the contents of the EISs. It provides findings in order to understand to what extent the procedural and methodological steps of the environmental impact assessment process (such as screening, scoping, assessment of impacts, and mitigation measures) are addressed in practice by the proponents. In addition, the factors affecting the quality of EISs in the context of Bangladesh are identified, analyzed, and described.

Evaluating Social Impact Assessment

The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate the performance of social impact assessment (SIA) in the context of environmental impact assessment. It examines the legal and organizational setup of SIA. It evaluates the performance of SIA using a set of criteria. The findings reveal that SIA is well established in guidelines of the government and donor agency guidelines, but there is scope for improvement in the legal aspects of SIA. Also, there are inadequacies in the capacity of lead agencies. The international development partners are playing an important role in the implementation of SIA.

Institutional Framework of the Environmental Impact Assessment System

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the adequacy of institutional arrangements for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) system in Bangladesh. This chapter describes the legal and administrative framework of the EIA system and the key stages of the EIA process. The chapter then presents the findings and a discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of the institutional arrangements of the EIA system. Overall, the legal and administrative arrangements for EIA practice are reviewed in detail and a number of weaknesses and strengths are identified and described.

Evaluating Community Participation in Environmental Impact Assessment

The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate the role and implementation of community participation in environmental impacts assessment (EIA) and social impact assessment (SIA). This chapter examines the legal and institutional aspects of community participation and reveals that community participation is firmly established in the guidelines of the government and donor agency guidelines. The donor agencies play an important role in the implementation of community participation in EIA and SIA. It is envisioned that improvement can be made in the legal aspects of community participation and at the post-EIS phase.

Implementation of Mitigation Measures: EIA Practice at Post-EIS Stage

The objective of this chapter is to evaluate the status of mitigation measures implemented in the case of three projects. This chapter presents the findings and discussions on the implementation of mitigation measures in order to understand the performance of the EIA system at the post-EIS stage. Three projects, implemented at three different locations in Bangladesh, are analyzed with a view to understanding to what extent mitigation measures recommended by the EIA reports are implemented by the proponents. This chapter also presents findings on the implementation of the monitoring programs and community participation in the case of three projects.