CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RATING SYSTEMS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN SRI LANKA: APPLICATION TO SMALL HYDROPOWER PROJECTS

Abstract

Environmental rating systems (ERSs) address a wide range of environmental impacts of constructed items. However, ERSs have tended to focus more on buildings, paying less attention to infrastructure. Also there is no agreed upon theoretical basis for ERSs. The study aimed to develop a theoretical basis for ERSs for assessing infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka. Literature review identified a set of factors based on the concepts of sustainable development and Environmental Economics, highlighting the important role of natural environment for everything else to be sustained. However, some socio-economic issues become barriers to environmental sustainability in developing countries. Factors were analyzed for their importance in infrastructure development using a questionnaire survey with experts in the field. Data were analyzed using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Interviews were carried out for in-depth explorations of the survey responses. The proposed framework was validated and applied to the Sri Lankan small hydropower (SHP) sector.