An assessment of the design and effectiveness of the Environmental Pollution Prevention Project (EP3)

The USAID Environmental Pollution Prevention Project (EP3) established pollution prevention (P2) programs in nine countries in Latin America, Asia, and North Africa. EP3 provided technical assistance, training and policy development to build sustainable pollution prevention programs for the transfer of industrial P2 know-how, equipment and environmental management expertise. Among the most important lessons learned during EP3 were: (1) working with groups of plants, small and large, instead of one plant at a time led to higher rates of P2 adoption and implementation; (2) providing comprehensive solutions that included no-cost/low cost process efficiency measures, P2 and pollution control equipment/new technology, environmental management systems/ISO 14000 certification, and access to finance institutions met industry’s needs better than providing assistance in only one limited area; and (3) integrating technical assistance with policy initiatives and training improved the chances of long-term sustainability. Although, the programme was successful in creating a cadre of pollution prevention professionals and working with a number of plants, it failed to extend its message throughout the industrial sector with its retail approach and failed to develop close ties with governments and NGOs.