• Sustainable use of resources Most of the projects claimed resources would be used efficiently but failed to explain how. Most of them referred to standard techniques and equipment. None of them considered concepts such as cradle-to-cradle and the circular economy, or renewable energy sources, the efficient use and re-use of resources and the avoidable effects relating to the influx of employees and their families. Next steps? As stated earlier, the list of omissions found in most of the eleven ESIAs for port development is surprising, given that all the ESIAs were prepared under the financial institutions’ safeguarding systems. The implication is that the existence of these systems is not enough. What is needed is a solid quality assurance system that ensures the safeguards are upheld. In as far as the sample of ESIAs studies is representative, our recommendation for ESIAs for port development in emerging and developing countries is that these should pay significantly more attention to the numerous issues indicated above. Paying more attention to these will directly benefit the port development, as it will lead to better projects: for example, port development may be directly influenced by climate change and sediment dynamics (the need for continuous dredging to keep the port open). The same is true for the local resistance that may be created by ignoring proper land governance, lack of participation in the design of the port or the lack of a proper grievance mechanism. Contact: Mr Rob Verheem, Director International rverheem@eia.nl Mr. Johan Lembrechts, Technical Secretary jlembrechts@eia.nl 23
26 Online Touch Home