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III. INTEGRATION MEASURES AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS
[ III-A | III-B | III-C | III-D ]
B. Enforcement of legislation and regulations
Although a plethora of legislation and regulations are spread among the numerous government agencies, enforcement has remained weak for several reasons. First, many of the legislative measures were designed with greater consideration for revenue earning than for environmental protection per se. Hence those measures are more restrictive, and are penalty- and punishment-oriented without proper consideration being given to economic laws and market forces. Second, most of the legislative measures were taken in isolation and on an ad hoc basis without any consideration or harmonization of the conflicting interests of various government agencies. Third, there are as yet no legal standards and norms for pollution control, nor are there any legally enforceable EIA guidelines. Fourth, regular monitoring and periodic evaluations of the enforcement of various legal measures are conspicuous by their absence. Fifth, no agency or mechanism exists either for analysing the environmental implications and assessing the environmental impacts of the development process and policy decisions, or for coordinating actions between the various government agencies, and between those agencies and the private sector.
It is only in recent years that environmental implications of government decisions and development efforts have seriously been taken into consideration in a holistic manner, and the concept of sustainable development understood in a wider perspective. That is quite evident from the seriousness of purpose demonstrated by the government through the recent establishment of EPC under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Population and Environment, legislation in the form of the comprehensive umbrella-type EPA, as well as the preparation of national EIA and two sectoral guidelines. What is now required is the formulation of similar sectoral guidelines for other relevant agencies, the finalization of standards and norms for pollution control and, above all, the formulation of equally comprehensive regulations under the EPA, defining clearly the authority and responsibilities of the government agencies concerned in enforcement, monitoring and evaluation. Equally important is the critical review of all existing legislative measures related to the environment for consolidation as well as for consistency with the EPA and its regulations.
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