Environmental Guidelines for Selected Agricultural and Natural Resources Development Projects

Abstract

The purpose of the guidelines is to facilitate the work of the Bank project staff and to enable them to incorporate the environmental protection parameter into the project preparation process. Thus, the project staff will be in a better position: (i) to prepare Bank covenants for the project on necessary environmental constraints; and (ii) to strengthen the overall project context through improvements in aspects relating to environment, including for example, public health, control of pollution emissions, preservation of valuable natural ecology, and improvement of the quality of life* 4* It is recognized that the socioeconomic benefits of Bank-financed projects should not be negated by externalities, particularly those caused by the environmental consequences of the project both during construction and operation. Experiences throughout the world indicate that, through proper design and planning, such adverse consequences can be eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels, or offset through proper design and planning, thus optimizing overall project benefits. In practice, the Bank can achieve this objective by incorporation of appropriate environmental protection measures in the loan agreement, and through incorporation of these necessary measures into project planning. It is the purpose of the initial environmental examination (IEE) prepared by the Bank staff to determine whether such measures will be needed for a particular project and, if so, to prepare a brief TOR for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) study which will determine these environmental protection measures in detail.