| Background |
| EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) is a planning tool, which helps to integrate environmental considerations in developmental projects from the planning stage. EIA is a legal requirement for major developmental projects in all the South Asian countries. Nonetheless, many of these countries face difficulties in an effective use of EIA due to a variety of reasons. The key reasons include half-hearted political support, institutional weaknesses, procedural flaws and ill-trained practitioners. A variant of EIA is the Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA). This approach is used to integrate environmental aspects in the formulation of policies, plans and programs. As an up-stream measure, SEA is a rather new concept, which has yet to find a legal support for becoming a standard planning tool in the South Asian countries. Keeping in view the above situation, the IUCN Head Quarters provided support for holding 3 regional meetings of EIA professionals in Kathmandu to develop a strategy for improving the situation. The following is a summary of these meetings and associated efforts: September 1996 A 4-day regional workshop was organised on participatory strategic planning for strengthening EIA capacity in South Asia. Twenty-nine representatives of government and non-governmental organisations participated from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. During the workshop, participants exchanged ideas and experiences on progress, constraints and opportunities related to development of EIA system in South Asia. They also identified the status of EIA in the region and the weakness of current EIA systems. Priority action plans and strategies were also formulated during the workshop for strengthening EIA capacity in the region. They identified government as responsible for enforcement of existing rules and guidelines regarding EIA, whereas, the NGO, academicians, civil society and other sectors were regarded as being responsible for participating in other EIA related activities. In order to facilitate the government and non-government sectors in EIA implementation, participants agreed on forming national EA associations, which would combine to form a regional body called SAREAA. An ad-hoc committee of eight unanimously elected members was formed to implement the proposed activities. The committee members were:
The Committee asked Mr. Lalanath De Silva to draft the SAREAA Constitution. June 1997 The SAREAA ad hoc Executive Committee endorsed the SAREAA Constitution and Rules with some modifications. It was decided to hold SAREAA Executive Board elections by the end of 1998. September 1997 The SAREAA ad hoc Executive Committee passed a resolution asking the Netherlands Government to support SAREAA through IUCN’s Asia Regional EA Program. Subsequently, a project proposal was submitted to the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1998. The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs approved the 4-year Capacity Development Project for EA in South Asia and allocated funds for the first 2 years (1999-2000) from January 1999. The Netherlands EIA Commission entered into an agreement to provide technical support to IUCN’s Asia Regional EA Program for 2 years. August 2000 Syed Shah Tariquzzaman of Bangladesh thus became the first President of the SAREAA Executive Board. Other members of the Board included from Bangladesh Dr. Aminur Rahman, from Nepal Mr. Surya Man Shakya, from Pakistan Dr. Mirza Arshad Ali Beg and from Sri Lanka Mr. Cecil Amerasinghe. All these members carry the title "Vice President" of SAREAA.
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