Institutionalizing social impact assessment in Bangladesh resource management: limitations and opportunities

Consideration of social issues in environmental impact assessment (EIA) of development projects has been an integral part of project cycle since the inception of EIA in Bangladesh in the early 1990s. This paper examines the emergence of social impact assessment (SIA) in Bangladesh environmental management and its institutionalization. It reveals that although SIA does not have a statutory status like EIA, social dimensions are firmly established in donor funded poverty alleviation projects. It is proposed that SIA is given a clear legislative mandate. The Department of Environment (DOE)—the agency that looks after the implementation of EIA on behalf of the government—needs to be strengthened and transparent in order to play a more effective role.