Environmental Audit in Nepal

The study was carried out in selected three development projects viz Chilime Hydroelectric Project in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, East Rapti Irrigation Project in Chitwan district and Annapurna Quarry Private Limited in Dhading district situated at central development region of Nepal. The main objective was to carry out the environmental audit of forest resources in three development projects with reference to their respective EIA reports. Both quantitative and qualitative information were collected to address the objectives. The study found that the proponents usually prepare the EIA report to receive the legal clearance from concerned government institutions because it is legally mandatory. But when project is launched, the recommendations of EIA report are seldom implemented. In this matter, it was found that the concerned government institutions are weak in monitoring. One of the reasons was the lack of professionalism in the EIA practices. Hence, the study recommends that the professional code of conduct to carry out EIA should be developed to intact professionalism in EIA process.