ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

This manual, intended for use by A.I.D. field officers, development consultants, and host-country planners, presents guidelines for identifying potentially desirable and undesirable environmental effects that may accompany small rural projects (with some attention given to situations in larger villages and periurban areas) and applies these guidelines to specific types of rural projects. Rural communities are generally small and self-sufficient, making it especially important to consider, at the design stage, a project"s impact on all members of the community and the need to remove obstacles so that villagers can advance themselves without becoming unduly dependent on others. Environmental effects may be expected in several areas including human ecology, health, air and water quality, pesticide contamination, and endangered species. Consideration of indirect effects is important, including the effects on groups other than the intended beneficiaries. Projects should be treated in an integrated regional or national context since individual projects may compete for resources or may supplement each other. Interagency coordination may also be needed. Steps in environmental planning include project definition, understanding of area characteristics (baseline conditions), analysis of potential impacts, and planning to mitigate adverse impacts and enhance benefits. Five specific types of rural projects are discussed in detail: roads, electrification, water supply and sanitation, irrigation and on- farm water management, and small-scale industry. Project description, environmental considerations, mitigation and enhancement measures, operational evaluation and monitoring, and planning information required are discussed for each project type. Appendices discuss human ecology, environmental health, and water quality. Ninety-five references (1954-80) are listed in four bibliographies.