Safeguard Implementation: How Can We Make It More Meaningful?

The report presents the (i) safeguard systems of Bhutan, India and Nepal; (ii) differences in national safeguard laws and institutional processes with the Asian Development Bank’s safeguards policy; (iii) issues with safeguard design, implementation, and monitoring at the project level; (iv) effectiveness of safeguard training; and (v) capacity needs of project staff, government agencies, consultants, nongovernment organizations, contractors, and local communities involved with infrastructure projects. A review of the comparative analysis of case studies and the institutional capacity assessment, isolates the environmental and social safeguard shortcomings, and proposes long- and short-term remedies to these shortcomings.