VI. EXISTING MECHANISMS AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS IN MONITORING ENFORCEMENT
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D. Concluding remarks
The discussion in this chapter brings out several points of interest.
First, there are licensing/permit granting mechanisms in place for incorporating environmental considerations into economic decision-making.
Second, the mechanisms for the enforcement of monitoring appear to be functioning to some degree.
Third, effective implementation of monitoring is being constrained by the lack of finance and trained human resources.
Finally, there is obvious disregard of the licensing/permitting granting mechanisms mainly because of a lack of awareness and ineffective penalties. Therefore what conclusion can be drawn from those facts?
Although there are many possible responses to the above question, two approaches are recommended:
- Streamline the above licensing/permit granting mechanisms into a "one-stop" process where the leading and line agencies make simultaneous decisions on a particular proposal. That will have the effect of ensuring better use of scarce human resources and funds and will go a long way in fostering cooperative partnerships among the government agencies concerned. The proposed EIA process for Tonga now being considered by the government is similar in nature to this approach;
- Public participation must be made an intrinsic part of licensing/permit granting mechanism in order to allow widespread awareness of the process as well as ensure adherence to its stipulations. It is now a recognized fact that people respect imposed conditions if they have taken part in the formulation of such measures.
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