Environmental impact assessment in Bangladesh: a critical review

Abstract Bangladesh initiated environmental impact assessment (EIA) guidelines in 1992 for the water sector development. The country enacted EIA legislation in 1995 and EIA rules in 1997. Today, all major donor agencies working in Bangladesh have their own EIA guidelines. This paper reveals that (a) the guidelines developed by the government and the donor agencies are stringent, however, there is less emphasis on monitoring, (b) proper implementation of EIAs are largely dependent on the requirements of the donor agencies and (c) there is a lack of coordination among the various organizations involved in environmental decision making and of adequate infrastructure to ensure proper EIA.