TERM PAPER ON LEGAL ASPECTS OF EIA IN

BANGLADESH

Course Name: Law, Environment and Sustainable Development

Course Code: LL.B 306

Date of Submission: 15 June, 2022

Submitted to
Preeti Kana Sikder
Assistant Professor
Department of Law & Justice
Jahangirnagar University.

Submitted by
Sayed Moinuddin
3rd year
Roll 1883
Department of Law and Justice
Jahangirnagar University .
Abstract: EIA has been practiced in Bangladesh since the late 1980s but it is through the enactment of
the environment Conservation Act, 1995 and the Environment Conservation Rules, 1997. EIA gained
formal status in the country. Although a rigorous administrative procedure of submission and approval of
necessary environmental documents are in place, evidence suggests that EIA has not yet evolved
satisfactorily in Bangladesh. In this paper, we will know about the legal aspects of the Bangladesh EIA
system and it’s evaluation.
Introduction: There are so many modern environmental policies and statutes, EIA laws give a preventive
approach to environmental protection. It is a new technique to ensure sustainable economic development
and environmental management. It is a formal process, used to predict the environmental consequences of
any proposed development project.
It must take into account the possible alternatives to the proposed action that minimize environmental
impacts and suggestions for appropriate monitoring system. For environmental impact assessment, some
relevant impacts should be taken into consideration from environmental perspective.
 Deforestation
 Wet land conservation
 Land degradation and soil erosion
 Conservation of wildlife
 Industrial pollution
 Urban pollution
 Waste management
 Water and air pollution
 Loss of biological resources
 Utilization of toxic pesticides and ecosystem
 Land acquisition and displacement of owner of land.
National Environment Policy
In 1992 the Bangladesh Government developed the National Environmental Policy (NEP), which defines
the overall environmental framework and assigns responsibility for regulatory development,
administration and enforcement, which are related with Environmental Impact Assessment.
 Making natural resources extraction, use, environmental conservation etc. to be based on science.
 Considering environmental impacts and risks in extracting and using natural resources.
 Taking initiatives to prevent misuse and ensure optimum of water, land, natural gas and other
natural resources in the production process as well as day-to-day purposes.
 Enhancing long term poverty alleviation and food security through conserving biological
diversity.
 Taking development programs considering sustainable production and consumption as integral
part of environmental conservation to meet the need of present and future generation.
Bangladesh Biological Diversity Act, 2017 regulates the Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use
of its resources, biota and the fair and equitable share of the benefits derived from their use of and other
matters. Section 31(5) of this act, “ If there is a possibility of loss of biodiversity in an area due to a
development project, in order to reduce or avoid such loss, the project adoption authority should conduct
Environmental Impact Assessment or advance investigation.”
Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act (BECA) is set of laws enacted by the government of
Bangladesh in 1995 to conserve the nation’s environment. Section 4, Powers of the DG to enforce
various provisions of the Act including setting rules and regulations for environmental conservation and
protection.
Section 13, formulate and publish environmental guidelines relating to the control and mitigation of
environmental pollution, conservation and improvement of the environment.
Section 20, power to make rules for various purposes including the setting of EIA PROCEDURES.
The Environment Conservation Rule 1997, Rule 3 , the government will declare an area as ecological
critical area and specify the activities or processes that cannot be continued or initiated in an ECA. Rule
7(1), classification of industrial units and projects for purpose of issuance of into four categories :-
(a) Green; (b) Orange – A; (c) Orange – B; and (d) Red.
Rule 7(6) is directly related with EIA. “ outlines documents for various categories of industrial units
and projects. Those within Orange-B and Red categories require submission of an Initial
Environmental Evaluation (IEE), while an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report is required
for the latter category. When an industry is categorized red, it has the highest obligation to comply
with environmental guidelines. It requires the industry to prepare an Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) outlining the impact of the industry on soil, water, air and human health. Industries
categorized as orange – which include factories that make sports equipment, agro-equipment, combs,
bread and biscuit – does not require any EIA, as per the Environment Conservation Regulation-1997.
Shipbreaking Industry Status: Orange from red. The Department of Environment (DoE) has
downgraded the status of the harmful shipbreaking industry in Chattogram from red to orange.
Recycling of ships is considered the most environmentally-friendly and economically sound way of
getting rid of end-of-life vessels. But the vessels themselves contain hazardous materials in its structure
such as asbestos, heavy metals, mineral oil, bilge and ballast water, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
polychlorinated biphenyls, sludge oil and organotin, all of which if not disposed of properly are hazardous
to both the humans and the environment.
Noise Pollution (control) Rules, 2006
This rule has been promulgated under the provision of clause 20 of BECA, 1995 which is related with
EIA procedure.
Resources Protection And Conservation Policies And Legislation, Forestry Protection, Fisheries
Protection And Conservation, Wild life Conservation, Water Resources Protection and
Conservation, Coastal Zone Protection, Open Space Protection are directly -indirectly give
legitimacy to the EIA. Because they are about conservation of environment.
The Labour Act 2006, National Occupational Health and Safety Policy, 2013, Public Procurement
Rule (PPR) 2008, these laws are related with the improvement of health and safety management
system. These laws also ensures healthy working environment.

Suggestion: The current EIA system in Bangladesh is inadequate even to ensure environmental
sustainability at the project level let alone promote environmental considerations at the strategic level.
There are some major inadequacies.
  In legislative control of the EIA
 Procedural appropriateness of current EIA system.
 Institutional capacity
 Public participation.
There is no specific guideline for conducting and reviewing the EIA for non-industrial project and the
Department of Environment is still following an ad hoc based procedure for giving environmental
clearance of non-industrial project.
On the other hand, there is strong demand and also the need to enhance the EIA system by improving
the level of public participation, inaugurating a more effective EIA legislation and guidelines and
improving the institutional capacity. The EIA rules or legislation should highlight the EIA
procedures and the responsibilities of stake-holders. The procedure must ensure that cumulative
effects of proposed project are considered and alternative plans are generated. The EIA legislation
must also ensure the effective public participation in the EIA process and the public awareness
must also be improved, and also that the environmental related NGOs and the local government
bodies can get involved in the EIA process.
If we notice Shipbreaking Industry Status: Orange from red. Here the DOE has downgraded the
status of the shipping industry. It contains hazardous materials. The DOE put more emphasis on economic
prosperity than on the impact of the environment. But we should understand that economic
development is not possible without improving the environment. Some steps should be taken
improving EIA process in Bangladesh. Increasing administrative resources for monitoring and
follow-up, developing a good private consulting sector, improving the impact prediction
methodologies and tools. It is important for the country to improve on these limitations with an aim
to building a robust EIA system for sustainable development.
Conclusion: However the basic structure of the Bangladesh EIA system can be considered to be sound. It
is important for Bangladesh to maintain an iterative and ‘continuous improvement’ philosophy, so that
revisions can be made when necessary, in order to strengthen its EIA system.