Social impact assessment of a sewerage project in Barbados

Abstract

This report investigates why a nationally important and internationally funded infrastructural project within the Caribbean island of Barbados — The South Coast Sewerage Project — spurned a substantial level of negative socioeconomic externalities. Primary and secondary research evaluated the presence or effectiveness of social impact assessment as a mitigation tool. The mitigation measures suggested within the appraisal report appear to have been considered by the Project Execution Unit (PEU) of Government of Barbados. The primary obstacle seems to have been the implementation of the mitigation process by the contractor. This highlights the need to foster an interconnected and symbiotic relationship between appraisal and implementation, if an initiative is to be conducted efficiently and effectively. Additionally, the South Coast Sewerage Project exemplifies the importance of establishing and sustaining a monitoring/control mechanism as an integral part of project construction.

Keywords:

• mitigation
• social impact assessment
• Barbados