ID: 1962
Presenting Author: Sharmila Giri
Session: 610 - Reaching the Unheard: Inclusive Public Engagement in Practice
Status: pending
Nepal’s IAs tick legal boxes but miss real inclusion. Embedding inclusive safeguards and participatory practices can shift compliance toward true environmental governance and justice.
Nepal’s environmental legislation mandates public consultation in Impact Assessments (IA) but lacks provision for Women and Marginalized Groups (WMGs). This gap weakens decision-making, limits accountability, and often leads to social conflict and project delays.
This study used a mixed-methods approach by reviewing ten Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports and by conducting consultations with 100 key informants and a 30-participant Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue (MSD).
Findings show a pattern of procedural compliance without real inclusion. None of the EIAs included gender-disaggregated data or mapping of disadvantaged groups. Only one project analyzed differentiated social impacts, and none addressed gender-responsive mitigation or monitoring. Interviews and MSD participants agreed that public hearings remain formalities limited to legal requirements. The study also showed WMG participation fails largely due to low awareness of inclusive engagement
The study concludes that considering legal compliance may not be sufficient to operationalize equity. Inclusive safeguards are needed for environmental justice and effectively de-risking projects. The study proposes a few recommendations i.e., mandatory integration of gender-sensitive provision in the environmental legal framework, adoption of adifferentiated participatory engagement approach, disaggregated monitoring and reporting, capacity building for both duty bearer and right holder. Embedding these measures would reform Nepal’s IA process more inclusive, transparent, and effective in advancing sustainable development.
Sharmila Giri is Safeguards Expert with 15 years of experience in impact assessment, environmental policy, and inclusive safeguards advancing towards environmental governance and justice.