Life of Project Environmental Compliance and Environmentally Sound Design and Management
- Training workshop for USAID Mission Staff and Partners
Bangkok, Thailand - 6–9 October 2009
USAID/RDMA hosted a four-day regional training workshop October 6–9, 2009 for USAID Mission staff and partners in “Life of Project Environmental Compliance and Environmentally Sound Design and Management.” The training had 37 participants, including 26 USAID mission staff from seven missions and 11 partner staff from eight programs.
The workshop was an intensive training in the life-of-project (LOP) implementation of USAID’s mandatory environmental procedures, as well as the objectives of these procedures. The overall goal of the workshop was to strengthen environmentally sound design and management (ESDM) of USAID-funded activities in Asia by assuring that participating staff and partners have the motivation, knowledge and skills necessary to (1)achieve environmental compliance over life of project, and (2) otherwise integrate environmental considerations in activity design and management to improve overall project acceptance and sustainability. Towards this goal, the workshop agenda had four main components, each corresponding to key training objectives. These are detailed in the table below, which is reproduced from the introductory module of the participant sourcebook.
Agenda component |
Corresponding objectives: By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
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1. Motivating LOP environmental compliance.
USAID’s environmental procedures exist to assure environmentally sound design and management (ESDM) of development activities. The workshop begins by defining ESDM and establishing why ESDM must be a necessary and explicit objective for successful development.
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- Articulate the ESDM concept and common causes of failure to achieve ESDM.
- Explain why ESDM must be a necessary and explicit objective for successful development.
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2. Building Core EIA Concepts & Skills. USAID’s environmental procedures are a specific implementation of the general environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. An understanding of the basic EIA process and mastery of a set of core EIA skills are required for effective compliance over life-of-project. . |
- Explain the relationship between ESDM and the EIA process.
- Describe the key elements of the EIA process.
- Demonstrate basic proficiency in the core EIA skills of identifying significant impacts and design of mitigation and monitoring measures.
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3. Mastering LOP Compliance Requirements. The agenda addresses key life-of-project environmental compliance requirements sequentially. The emphasis and culmination is on implementation of environmental management conditions. The environmental mitigation and monitoring plan (EMMP) is the key instrument for systematic implementation of these conditions—and thus for achieving ESDM. |
- Describe the basic elements of LOP compliance, and attendant roles and responsibilities
- Demonstrate basic proficiency in the pre-implementation environmental review process established by Reg. 216
- Develop and critique environmental mitigation and monitoring plans (EMMPs)
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4. Understanding selected “special topics” in compliance. The agenda addresses the environmental compliance and management aspects of current, complex and emerging issues in the USAID portfolio and operating environment. |
- Explain the key issues involved in each special topic, and articulate recommended best practice.
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The USAID/RDMA workshop built on the experience of USAID Asia and the Near East Bureau workshops for Mission Staff and partners delivered in Pakistan and Afghanistan in April 2009. For this RDMA workshop, it was possible to act on key recommendations of these earlier workshops, expanding the training to a four-day format and including a site visit as an integrated part of the life-of-project case study approach. The expanded format also permitted additional time for group exercises and special compliance/ESDM topics.
Course Agenda PDF (86 KB)
Course Sourcebook Skeleton PDF ( 868 KB)
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