The Development of an Institutional Framework for EIA in the Republic of Maldives

Introduction
Case Introduction
The Assignment
Background Material

Introduction to the Case Study

The purpose of this case study is to have you think in some detail about the institutional aspects of EIA. The case study focuses on the review and strengthening of a national-level EIA system in the Republic of Maldives. The case asks the following questions of students:

• what are the fundamental components of an EIA system?

• should the design of an EIA system be culturally-specific?

• how do we measure the success of an EIA administrative system?

• how can a small country implement an effective EIA system.

The case consists of an introduction, with a link to a set of background photographs, background material that helps to illuminate the case, and an assignment question.

You should note that the assignment question is only relevant for some students. You will be told if you need to complete the assignment.

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Case Introduction

The case study focuses on the issue of preparing detailed regulations for EIA in the Republic of Maldives.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of taking our Environmental Policy and Law unit, "regulations" are the more detailed guidelines that enable laws to be implemented. Depending on the country, they are alternatively called "rules", "administrative procedures", "delegated legislation", or "by-laws". Most often they are written by bureaucrats, under a delegation which is provided in the original law.

As you can see from the Maldivian Environmental Protection and Preservation Act 1993, framework laws contain very little detail as to how the law should be implemented. This is the purpose of regulations. Regulations vary in style depending on the country or jurisdiction in question. There is, therefore, no "correct" structure or content for regulations.

To give you some guidance as to how regulations that implement laws are structured, you should look at the Administrative Procedures for EIA in Western Australia. These procedures, which are equivalent to regulations, provide guidance for implementation of Part IV of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Act 1986 (a PDF file). They are included purely as an example. You may also like to look at regulations that have been published under laws that you are familiar with in your own jurisdiction.

At this point, you may wish to view a set of slides   that will introduce you to the environmental and economic background of Maldives.

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The Assignment

Those of you who have been assigned this case study as an assignment should follow these instructions. (If you have not been set this case as an assignment, please move on to look at the Background Materials).

The assignment is quite straightforward. In the "Background Materials" section, you are provided with the "framework" environmental law for the Republic of Maldives (the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act 1993). You are also provided with a range of other source documents containing details of the Maldivian system of government, and environmental conditions.

You should use this material to write a set of "regulations" for environmental impact assessment of tourism development proposals.

Remember that you are writing a set of regulations to implement EIA in the Republic of Maldives for tourism developments. The audience for the regulations will be bureaucrats responsible for implementing the EIA process, tourist resort developers who are interested in knowing what must be done to comply with the law, and members of the public.

Details about word length and submission date will be sent to you separately.

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Background Material

Saeed, S. and Annandale, D. 1999, Tourism and the Management of Envronmental Impacts in the Republic of Maldives, Journal of Policy Studies, 7. pp. 81-89.

Administrative Procedures for EIA in Western Australia

Environmental Protection and Preservation Act of Maldives (1993)

AusAID Country Information (Maldives)

Maldives Internet Travel Guide

Permanent Mission of the Republic of Maldives to the United Nations

Republic of Maldives - Official Website of the Government

Ministry of Housing, Home Affairs and Environment, Republic of Maldives

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