Public participation and community involvement in environmental and social impact assessment in developing countries

Involving community in decision making process is an integral part of environmental and social impact assessment(EIA and SIA) in developed countries. While EIA and SIA have now been firmly established in planning process in developing countries, community participation in project inception, implementation and monitoring remains a contentious issue. Recently, we have seen the adoption of Vroom-Yetton normative decision model in developing guidelines for managers that allow them to determine the level of public involvement in natural resource decision making. This paper examines the adaptability of Vroom-Yetton model in EIA and SIA processes in Bangladesh. Based on thorough examinations of major EIA guidelines and a number of recent EIAs and SIAs, and discussions with EIA practitioners in Bangladesh, this paper, firstly, explores the status of community participation in EIA and SIA in Bangladesh, and, secondly, it examines if Vroom-Yetton model can make any meaningful contribution to deciding the extent to which local communities may be incorporated in environmental assessment process. This article argues that there is no substitute for wide community consultation and participation in a densely populated country like Bangladesh where any development interventions are likely to have significant impacts on people and the natural environment.