Impact assessment procedures for sustainable development: A complexity theory perspective

Nooteboom, Sibout

doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2007.05.006

Cited by 70 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The extent to which normal science will be able to provide conclusive answers amidst the uncertainty is questionable, and this again is an argument against the technical rational view of EA going into the future. There is also an argument that EA practice probably needs to embrace more systems thinking, in contrast with the linear thinking that dominates traditional EA practice (Nooteboom 2007). A systems approach highlights that action A does not just cause impact B, but will have other effects on the system that may not be apparent through a linear thinking lens (what is typically termed 'side effects'), that can themselves have impacts on system behaviour (Sterman 2000).…”

Section: Challenge 1: Dealing With Complexity and Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

Global megatrends and their implications for environmental assessment practice

Retief

Bond

Pope

et al. 2016

Environmental Impact Assessment Review

130

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Section: Challenge 1: Dealing With Complexity and Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

Global megatrends and their implications for environmental assessment practice

Retief

Bond

Pope

et al. 2016

Environmental Impact Assessment Review

130

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“…The authors of the European Union Directive on SEA, for example, argue that one of its key goals is to achieve sustainable development (Feldmann et al, 2001), and many authors make the assumption that this is appropriate (for example, Lawrence, 1997;Nooteboom, 2007;Nykvist and Nilsson, 2009;Partidário, 1999;Sinclair et al, 2009). The Rio Earth Summit pre-dates widespread adoption of SEA practice and use of impact assessment tools to address sustainable development was advocated via Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).…”

Section: "…Development That Meets the Needs Of Current Generations Wimentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-evaluating Sustainability Assessment: Aligning the vision and the practice

Bond

Morrison‐Saunders

2011

Environmental Impact Assessment Review

200

133

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Sustainable Development is the core goal of the expanding field of Sustainability Assessment (SA). However, we find that three key areas of debate in relation to SA practice in England and Western Australia can be classified as policy controversies. Through literature review and analysis of documentary evidence we consider the problem of reductionism (breaking down complex processes to simple terms or component parts) as opposed to holism (considering systems as wholes); the issue of contested understandings of the meaning of sustainability (and of the purpose of SA); and the definition of 'inter-generational' in the context of sustainable development and how this is reflected in the timescales considered in SA. We argue that SA practice is based on particular framings of the policy controversies and that the critical role of SA in facilitating deliberation over these controversies needs to be recognised if there is to be a move towards a new deliberative sustainability discourse which can accommodate these different framings.

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“…Third, sustainability assessment can be a forum for deliberation thereby contributing to a shared understanding of sustainability in a specific context, acknowledging the plurality of values at stake [30]. Fourth, sustainability assessment can also foster attitude shifts in decision-makers, thereby creating opportunities for policy change [29,31].…”

Section: Sustainability Assessment and Its Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptualizing the Effectiveness of Sustainability Assessment in Development Cooperation

et al. 2015

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Sustainability assessment has emerged as a key decision-support process in development cooperation in response to the growing acknowledgement of the impacts of global change. This paper aims at conceptualizing the effectiveness of sustainability assessment as applied in development cooperation, by focusing on the sustainability assessment practice by actors of the official Belgian Development Cooperation. The conceptualization of the effectiveness of sustainability assessment is synthesized in a set of issues and concerns, based on semi-structured interviews. The paper highlights the specificity of sustainability assessment in the development cooperation sector (e.g., through the cultural and discursive compatibility dimensions of assessment in a North-South context). Effectiveness is inherently linked to the expected functions of sustainability assessment in the decision-making process, which include fostering organizational change, shaping contextually adapted framings of OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 5736 sustainability and operationalizing the sustainability transition. These findings highlight the relevance of a discourse-sensitive approach to sustainability assessment if one is to strengthen its credibility and legitimacy.

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Impact assessment procedures for sustainable development: A complexity theory perspective

Cited by 70 publications

References 5 publications

Global megatrends and their implications for environmental assessment practice

Global megatrends and their implications for environmental assessment practice

Re-evaluating Sustainability Assessment: Aligning the vision and the practice

Conceptualizing the Effectiveness of Sustainability Assessment in Development Cooperation

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