EIA in Sri LankaEIA in Sri Lanka

Ramani EllepolaDirector GeneralCentral Environmental AuthoritySri Lanka

h h h f h h d d l fl h lThe views in this presentation are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policiesof the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the government they represent. ADBdoes not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this presentation and accepts no responsibility forany consequence of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.

Environmental Legislation

C h i l i l i E i l

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• Comprehensive legislation on Environmental Protection and Management was enacted in 1980 in the form of the National Environmental Act 47 of 1980.

• In 1993 Regulations pertaining to Environmental Impact Assessment were gazettedgazetted

EIA in Sri Lanka

• There are 31 “prescribed projects” which require p p j qEnvironmental Impact Assessment

• These include large scale infrastructure and industrial projects

• In addition projects situated in environmentally sensitive areas are required to undergo EIA.sensitive areas are required to undergo EIA.

• Individual Project Scale EIA is now well established in jSri Lanka

Strategic Environmental Assessment

• Several Strategic Environmental Assessments have been completed i S i L k in Sri Lanka

• The most recent SEA was carried out for the Northern Part of Sri Lanka consisting of five districts where there was an ongoing Lanka consisting of five districts where there was an ongoing conflict for 30 years

• The Cabinet of Ministers in 2006 declared that all new Policies, Programmes and Plans should undergo strategic Environmental Assessment prior to implementation.

Although project level EIA is legally mandated in Sri Lanka • Although project level EIA is legally mandated in Sri Lanka, Strategic Environmental Assessment is not yet a legal requirement

Twinning Activities with Peoples Republic of China under AECEN

• Twinning activities within the region provides a way g g p yin which Sri Lanka can strengthen its capacity, particulary with respect to SEA.

• Sector specific guidelines on EIA will also be developed under the activity.

• Twinning activities within the region provide a good opportunity for countries to learn from each other.