Environmental impact assessmentDevelopment projectsHydroelectric schemesWater powerLegislation

Kodituwakku, Dekshika Charmini

Wattage, P.

English

Research Papers in Economics

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL SCIENCES 
SRI LANKA -  2008 (ICSSL) 
“Theory and Practice of Social Sciences  for Human Wellbeing in 
South Asia” 
lSfh  -  20fh  July 2008 
ABSTRACTS 
The Research Centre for Social Sciences 
Faculty of Social Sciences 
University of Kelaniya 
Kelaniya 
Sri Lanka Environmental  Studies  ICSSL 2008 
Review of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in hydropower 
projects in Sri Lanka 
Dekshika C. Kodituwakku' and Premachandra Wattage2 
Sri Lankan society has supported the development and improvement of water resources for the human 
well-being through agriculture and energy for a long period. Since the introduction of the National 
Environmental Act, in 1980 EIA has been widely discussed and implemented for multi-disciplinary 
projects. EIA was made mandatory for dl  development projects through a cabinet decision in 1984 
but since then EIA process exhibit numerous shortcomings in its implementation. Despite that it was 
revealed in the comprehensive survey of Sri Lankan National Archives that over 500 EtAs were 
completed in the period of 1981-2007. 
By looking at the Sri  Lankan experience in hydropower, we evaluate how the EIA instruments used by 
the government influence on development. This article addresses both the EIA processes as well as the 
EIA screening in the development process. It will demonstrates that in the EIA screening process has 
changed over time for hydro power generation projects and other selected projects due to the higher 
consumer demand place on water resources based energy and the mooted policy direction of the 
government. Paper will also investigate the circumstances that forced the government to make a 
legislative change of the EL4  process and try to find whether it has been able to sustain the environmental 
the social cost caused in the process. For this we will look at two case studies, i.e, the Upper Kotmale 
hydropower project and the Bomuruella Mini hydropower project. 
Key words: Environmental Impact Assessment, Hydropower projects, Water resource, National 
environmental act, Project screening 
' International Water Management Institute, Battharamulla, Sri Lanka 
University of Portsmouth, UK 
127 

Review of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in hydropower projects in Sri Lanka. Abstract only

http://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H041542.pdf

Review of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in hydropower projects in Sri Lanka. Abstract only

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