Environmental Impact Assessment for Developing Countries in Asia: Volume 1 - Overview

Abstract

Our understanding of the connections between human life and other elements of nature is limited. We also have the power to destroy the natural systems that sustain us. Our capacity for destruction is illustrated through the deterioration of the ozone layer, through the extinction of species, and through mass deforestation and desertification. In many parts of the world, economic development projects directed at improving levels of material comfort have had unintended detrimental effects on people and natural resources. Water, land, and air have been degraded to the point where they can no longer sustain existing levels of development and quality of life. With inadequate environmental planning, human activities have resulted in the disruption of social and communal harmony, the loss of human livelihood and life, the introduction of new diseases, and the destruction of renewable resources. These and other consequences can negate the positive benefits of economic development. Economic development in developing countries has been focused on immediate economic gains environmental protection has not been a priority because the economic losses from environmental degradation often occur long after the economic benefits of development have been realized. The past failure of development planning processes to take adequate account of the detrimental impacts of economic development activities led to the advent of environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes. EIA was first employed by industrialized countries in the early 1970s. Since that time, most countries have adopted EIA processes to examine the social and environmental consequences of projects prior to their execution. The purpose of these processes is to provide information to decision makers and the public about the environmental implications of proposed actions before decisions are made.