| Sri Lanka Environment Assessment Association (SLEAA) |
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President: Dr. Niranjani Ratnayake (University of Moratuwa) Vice President: Mr. Lalanath de Silva Secretary: Ms. Mihiri Gunawardane Members: Mr. Cecil Amerasinghe SLEAA was established by the initiative of a few individual EIA professionals in Sri Lanka. It has a current membership of about 50. Policy & Law supporting EIA: National Environmental Act (NEA), 1980 (amended 1988) Coast Conservation Act, 1981 Fauna & Flora Protection Ordinance as amended in 1993 National Policy on Industry and Environment, 1996 Regulations under the above. Project Categories requiring EIA: Projects having "significant" impacts on the coastal zone. All projects within 1 mile of National Parks, etc., as described in the Government Gazette under the NEA. Several local consulting companies provide EIA services. The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) is the main legislative authority responsible for controlling EIA. EIA trainings are conducted by the University of Peradeniya, CEA, Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration, SLEAA and some other NGOs. Baseline data are available from the universities and research organizations. SLEAA is currently compiling a database on EIAs and EIA professionals. Legal time limits for EIA includes acknowledgement of preliminary information (6 days); TOR preparation (30 days); EIA study (no time limit); Prima Facie check for inadequacies (14 days); public comments (30 days), public comments forwarded to project proponent (6 days); response to comments (no time limit); approval/rejection of project proposal (30 days); and monitoring plan preparation (30 days). Institutional mechanism to ensure the quality of EIA is the CEA. Areas for regional cooperation: Information exchange on transboundary issues; administrative and implementation issues; strengths & weaknesses of methods; incorporation of Biodiversity concerns in a local and global perspective. Contact Address: Sri Lanka Environment Assessment Association 48 Vajira Road, Colombo-5 Sri Lanka E-mail: sleaa@panlanka.net |