/ Some 25 years of environmental impact assessment (EIA) practicehas seen the development of a wealth of experience. The bulk of our exposureto EIA exists in the form of actual practice, perhaps recorded as publishedcase studies. There also exists a substantial literature reporting theresults of empirical and theoretical research. In this paper a perceiveddeficiency in the theoretical literature is identified. This deficiency liesin the exploration of the relationship between EIA and subsequentenvironmental management.In this paper the existing body of theory is reviewed to highlight the needfor further attention to be paid to the EIA/management relationship. Inparticular it is shown that the majority of the literature to date hasconcentrated on the influence of EIA leading up to and including the decisionto proceed or not with the proposed action. Less attention has been paid tothe extension of the influence of EIA beyond this point to inform the processof ongoing environmental management.This relationship is then explored by reference to the Western Australian EIAsystem. One of the strengths of this system is its focus upon theimplementation and management of proposed developments. The outcome of EIA isgenerally an approval to proceed with the development subject to meeting asuite of environmental design and management objectives.KEY WORDS: Environmental impact assessment; Ongoing management

/ A large body of literature addresses the role of science in environmental impact assessment (EIA) but less attention has been given to the views of practitioners themselves. In this research a survey of 31 EIA practitioners in Western Australia was undertaken to determine their perceptions of the quality and importance of science in EIA.The survey results are compared with previous theoretical, empirical and survey studies of the role of science in EIA. Interview questions addressed the role of science in impact prediction, monitoring activities, mitigation and management, and EIA decision-making. It was clear from the interviews that many practitioners are satisfied with the quality of science currently used in EIA, but do not believe that it is given sufficient importance in the process. The quality and importance of science in the pre-decisions stages of EIA was rated higher than in the post-decision stages. While science was perceived to provide the basis for baseline data collection, impact prediction and mitigation design, it was seen to be less important during decision-making and ongoing project management. Science was seen to be just one input to decision-makers along with other factors such as socio-political and economic considerations.While time and budget constraints were seen to limit the scientific integrity of EIA activities, pressure from the public and regulatory authorities increased it. Improving the scientific component of EIA will require consideration of all these factors, not just the technical issues.KEY WORDS: science, environmental impact assessment, professional practice, monitoring, impact prediction, mitigation, decision-making Science and Environmental Assessment 3A considerable amount of interest and attention has been focussed on the role of science in environmental impact assessment (EIA) and a substantial body of literature has addressed this topic. This paper reviews this literature briefly before presenting the results of a survey of 31 EIA practitioners in Western Australia. The principal aim of the survey was to determine what practitioners perceived that the role of science in EIA should be and to compare this with the positions established in the literature. The results of a survey of EIA practitioners in Western Australia are presented and compared with previous theoretical, empirical and survey studies of the role of science in EIA. The study provides valuable insights concerning the practice of EIA and what can be expected of the process. As the hypotheses underlying the study were derived from the literature on the role of science in EIA, it is useful to start with an overview of this body of work.Much of the literature can be classified into two main types:• studies of the theory and practice of EIA with respect to the role that science can or should play (eg. Beanlands and Duinker 1984, Shrader-Frechette 1985, Lemons 1994 A generic approach to EIA has been described by Sadler (1996, p18) which can be applied to any proposal put forward by a proponent. It...

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Transparency in decision-making, involving the establishment of explicit goals and objectives combined with open, facilitative procedures, has recently been advocated as an important principle for effective environmental impact assessment (EIA). This paper examines recent changes to EIA practice in Western Australia that emphasise clear procedures for decision-making. Current practices focus on objectives established for relevant environmental factors identified during the screening and scoping stages of EIA. These objectives are then used as decision criteria for project decisionmaking following public review. An example from a recent assessment is provided. Some strengths and weaknesses of this approach to transparent EIA decision-making are also examined.