Government Information Service

by Emmanuel H. Joseph
Government Information Service

Officials of the member states of the Organisation of East Caribbean States (OECS) met in Dominica from March 4th – 5th 2009 to discuss ways in which they can increase their efficiency in managing physical development without harming their country’s natural resources and overall environment. The two day regional symposium on the management of Environmental Impact Assessments began at the Fort Young Hotel on Wednesday 4th March, 2009.

Representatives of OECS Government Departments of Environment, Physical Development as well as Environmental Agencies, Regional and International Funding Agencies are participating in the event. Some of the major issues down for deliberation include an update on the status of the management of environmental impact assessments in the islands and a review of the laws, regulations, policies and institutions that manage those assessments.

Dr. James Fletcher, Director of the Social and Sustainable Development Division at the OECS Secretariat, expounded on what really is an Environmental Impact Assessment (E.I.A) and what is its purpose.

“An E.I.A is globally considered to be a national procedure for evaluating the likely impact of a proposed activity on the environment. It serves to identify and assess the potential environmental impacts of a proposed project, evaluate alternatives and design appropriate mitigation, management and monitoring measures.

We must remember, however, that the EIA is a tool; it is not legislation, it is not a land use plan and it is not a law enforcement agency. Its utility, therefore, has to be viewed from that perspective. Like any tool, it is only as good as the persons using it, the purpose or purposes for which it is being used and the environment in which it is being used.”

There is currently legislation in place in Dominica which governs Environmental Impact Assessments. The Physical Planning Act of 2002, number five (5) makes provision for terms of reference for conducting an E.I.A.

However, Hon. John Fabien, Minister for Health and Environment believes the process needs to be strengthened in the areas of legislation and policies, public awareness and capacity building. He stated that in so doing, we will be able to avert the many mistakes made in the past.

“It is my hope that the deliberations emanating from this important workshop will assist participants and governments of the sub-region to review and strengthen the process. This is important because development is constantly taking places in our various island states. We are fully aware that being small island states makes us very vulnerable to unplanned development and for this reason, we have to be vigilant that E.I.As are part of any developmental planes. We are all aware of the many mistakes that we have made in the region in the past and there is no better time to fully integrate I.E.As into our developmental efforts.”

Officials of the OECS Secretariat hope that the symposium will result in the creation of a framework for the development of a common approach for conducting E.I.As. They believe this will lead to improvements in the E.I.A process in the region.