27 completed EIA training

The participants who are environmental consultants, government employees, private employees and freelancers underwent three days of training at the Koror State Assembly Hall.US Environment Protection Agency staff David Schaller and Jeanne Geselbracht facilitated the training.Two of the participants are from EPA Yap while the rest of the participants are from Palau.Geselbracht in an interview yesterday said that training is for people who conducts review and prepares Environmental Impact Assessment. She said the purpose of the training is to improve Environmental Impact Assessment process in Palau.“This is to have better understanding what is being looked for in a document, how to improve the process, the data collection, the analysis and comparison of the reports,”Geselbracht said.The training started on Tuesday and ended yesterday afternoon.Certificates were handed to the participants after the training.Geselbracht said the program has been going on for 15 years now and is available not only to the Asia Pacific but also to all countries in the worldThe law mandates that environmental concerns are given appropriate consideration in decision making along with economic and technical considerations.The purpose is to provide agencies and persons with procedures, specifications of contents of environmental impact statements and criteria and definitions of nationwide application.