Availability and Reliable
Sources of Data
One of the most important constraints for carrying
out reliable EIAs in developing countries is the
unavailability of reliable source of data within
reasonable timeframe. Poor or non-existent data
retrieval and management system, inter-ministerial
and/or intra-institutional rivalry, unnecessary
classification of data as secret or confidential,
and official apathy, often ensures that data are
not easily available. Often people who need the
information may not even know who is collecting
various environmental data, where they are stored,
and how these can be obtained. An equally serious
problem is the reliability of available data.
While much of the data collected are of reasonable
quality, equally there are several instances of
unreliable data which are collected at wrong places,
or with improperly calibrated equipment, incorrectly
analyzed, or simply ‘manufactured’.
There is an urgent need to develop proper environmental data
management system, which are easily available to the analysts
within reasonable time and cost. Since the availability of computers
is not a major problem in most developing countries, it should
be possible to develop appropriate environmental data management
systems.
An Early Integration of EIA into Project
Cycle
Project proponents
have sometimes claimed that the benefits from EIA are outweighed
by the delays in project implementation, which generally tends
to increase the cost. On the basis of the present practice there
is partial validity to this claim. The main reason for such delays
is that either EIA is not properly conceived or not integrated
in the project cycle or bureaucratic red-tapism has taken place
in the approval process. Properly conceived EIAs must be integrated
in the project planning and this would not only improve the overall
quality of the project but would also reduce the cost substantially.
EIA costs are found to be relatively small when compared with
the total project costs. A good EIA practice would be able to
identify 80 percent of the potential environmental impacts within
a reasonable timeframe and in an acceptable cost.
