ABSTRACT
This paper will examine the story of the defeat of the Upper Kotmale Hydro-Project CUKHP"), an ill-conceived hydroelectric dam project in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. Quite simply, the project was defeated because its sponsors failed to convince the relevant government authorities that they had chosen the least environmentally damaging alternative for development, as required by Sri Lanka's environmental impact assessment ("EIA") law. The real story, however, is about the success of the environmental impact assessment process in a developing country in Asia. In this instance, at least, the law worked as it was intended - that is, it allowed groups of concerned citizens to force a public review of the adverse environmental impacts of a major development. The review subsequently led to the project's disapproval.
