The impact of environmental assessment : a   review of World Bank experience

Petkoski, Djordjija

The impact of environmental assessment : a review of World Bank experience

Petkoski, Djordjija

This review covers the World Bank's experience in Environmental Assessment (EA) from July 1992 to the present. The objectives of this review are: 1) to provide an overview of the Bank's response to the evolving challenge of implementing its EA policy; 2) to evaluate the quality of EA work in the key areas of identification and assessment of impacts, analysis of alternatives, public consultation, and mitigation, monitoring and management planning; 3) to assess the effectiveness of the current pre-approval EA process; 4) to examine the implementation experience to date of projects subject to full EA; 5) to explore areas of work that present particular challenges, such as Category B projects, sectoral and regional EAs, and private sector development; and 6) to identify areas requiring further action in EA work. EA is now a firmly rooted part of the Bank's normal business activity, effectively reducing the adverse environmental impacts of Bank-financed projects. However, there are questions about how to ensure adequate supervision of EA-related measures during project-implementation. The review concludes that the Bank's capacity to cope with the growing EA workload needs to be carefully monitored and in some areas expanded. In terms of environmental supervision, the Bank's four Regional Environmental Divisions have not had defined roles and resources have been limited. It is important that the Bank maintain a strong environmental review capacity which is independent of directly operational functions. Management needs to carefully review the strengths and shortcomings of the current EA system.

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