Manual Presented to Strengthen Reviews of Environmental Impact Assessments for Energy Projects

Director of the USAID Office of Economic Growth, Michelle Jennings, presents the new manual on environmental impact assessments together with authorities from the MARN, CNE, and USEPA.

Authorities from Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), the National Energy Council (CNE), and the U.S. Government, presented a set of technical manual that will allow countries in the region of Central America and the Dominican Republic to carry out better review processes for environmental impact assessments of energy megaprojects.

The “Guide to Technical Reviews of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for Energy Generation and Transmission,” is the product of a joint effort to strengthen the identification, prevention, and/or mitigation of potential adverse impacts, as well as the improvement of potentially beneficial impacts, of proposed energy projects that government officials, non-governmental organizations, and the general public review during the life of a project.

The document forms part of the U.S. government’s CAFTA-DR environmental cooperation through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with technical support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The guide was prepared by regional experts from CAFTA-DR countries and the United States.