I was very gratified to see the articles in the latest World Rivers Review by Haven Livingston, Paul Fisher, and others about the failures of environmental (and social impact) analyses (ESIA). I have been beating a similar drum in and around the ESIA consulting community in the United States for some time, with very discouraging results. It’s great to see the issue getting broader attention; I only hope it does some good.
While the issue is a serious one with respect to hydro projects, ESIA on other kinds of projects — including such green activities as wind and solar development — is just as bad, resulting in the construction of ill-considered projects and failures to consider realistic alternatives. I hope your articles get more attention than mine have.
More information
- Thomas F. King, PhD, LLC, TFKing106@aol.com
- Blog: http://crmplus.blogspot.com/
- Research: http://www.naep.org/assets/naepenewslettermarapr2012.pdf
