However, it appears that Government capital projects which are the most destructive are not subject to an EIA !!! We agree that for emergency works executed after a major natural or man made disaster executive decisions have to be taken; hence an EIA would be an impediment with respect to reaction time. Reclamation works are not emergency works thus all necessary site investigations and studies, economic analyses plus the EIA should be implemented prior to final approval. It is most important that the EIA documents be presented to the public at large as such studies are carried out precisely for public scrutiny and not for intra-ministerial consumption. A Ministry official commented during the last reclamation works that “we did an internal EIA”, however, this is a total misconception and goes against all logic as an EIA study is designed specifically to inform and gain feedback from all affected parties i.e. THE PUBLIC in whose name the government act.
Capital projects such as reclamation works normally take between 12-24 months to plan and design hence Government has the time available to execute an EIA for public consumption. We want to see our elected Government lead by example and show us the proper way; it is a criterion for Good Governance. Reclamation projects are precisely the sort of projects which require an EIA and public scrutiny due to the scale of cost and destruction associated with such works. On an onshore land development it is much easier to provide effective mitigation measures; trees are renewable and areas can be replanted and reforested quite effectively in a short period, however, on offshore works; corals, seaweed, shells and fish populations take much longer to reestablish and in some cases may never recover.
Le Nouveau
We want to see real leadership not “Follow Me I Am Right Behind You!”