A Case Study from Eritrea.
DCG Report 34
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Ghezae Kibreab, Teclemariam Berhane, and Eyob Ghezae
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is one of the tools globally recognized to assist in the protection, enhancement and sustainable exploitation of natural resources. It is a powerful tool for decision makers and helps them in the planning and implementation of development projects. To that end, Eritrea has developed its own National EA Procedures and Guidelines manual in 1999 after three years of lengthy participation and consultation with relevant stakeholders. The manual is suitable for the country’s current and future development objectives.
Although very limited in number, EIAs in the country are conducted based on the National EA Procedures and Guidelines that are developed by the DOE. According to the DOE, copies of the National EA Procedures and Guidelines manual have been distributed to pertinent bodies or organizations in Asmara and the regions. However, it has been found that they do not often reach the concerned or responsible people in various offices or places. As a result, public awareness on the existence and necessity of the National EA Procedures and Guidelines is at a very low level - the general public knows very little about the whole concept of EIA and the National EA Procedures and Guidelines. Businessmen and project managers also know very little about it except those whose projects have passed through the EIA process. Although efforts have been exerted to popularise the National EA Procedures and Guidelines all over the country, the level reached so far is far below expectations.
The overall objective of the study was to assess and document the extent and use of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of agricultural development projects and come up with appropriate recommendations for conducting future EIA. The study methodology adopted by the research team is desk work which includes the collection of relevant information from available sources, preparation of various questionnaires to be completed by relevant institutions, individuals and experts and project managers, field visits to the selected study sites and analysis of the compiled information. In this regard, the study team selected three agricultural development projects as case studies in three regions. These sites were selected on the basis of their type of production systems, their size in terms of area coverage, nature of ownership and their representativeness.
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