IV. MEASURES FOR INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS INTO AGRICULTURE
[ IV | IV-A | IV-B | IV-C | IV-D | IV-E ]
A. Resolving conflicts
[ A-1 | A-2 ]
2. Conflicts among ministries or agencies
Conflicts of interest among ministries or agencies still exist even though provisions exist in environmentally-related legislation for dealing with the contravention of regulations. For example, legislation always contains a provision whereby project proponents can get written permission for contravening certain stipulated regulations. However, if a longer period is allowed for the contravention of any regulations, the project proponents are bound to be more interested in contravene the regulations than in immediately meeting the requirements. That is because the cost of obtaining permission to contravene certain regulations is cheaper than setting up pollution control equipment. The point is that while the authority concerned is supposed to carry out pollution prevention, permission is often granted to project proponents to contravene regulations.
The establishment of interagency bodies to coordinate the activities of different agencies is an appropriate alternative to resolving the conflict. Such a coordination mechanism for the management and conservation of environmental resources is very important in the development process, which relies heavily on environmental resources.
One such coordinating institution is the Minister of Environment and State Executive Council members who are responsible for coordinating matters related to the environment by way of discussions and negotiations. Through that institution a number of issues and problems related to the environment and its management have been solved. In fact, under the same ministry another support mechanism exists in the form of the panel of experts on the EIA review committee (chapter III).
|
