The economic internal rate of return (EIRR) is considered as a useful tool for advocating investments in the field of land rehabilitation and poverty alleviation and it is also presented as an economic evaluation tool. This communication reviews main literature referring to EIRR and discusses its relevance, in particular for short-term and small size projects. It emphasizes the many constraints for EIRR calculation and insists also on its usefulness and limits from local point of view, local societies and their natural environment.