Linkage of Sustainability to Environmental Impact Assessment Using Ecosystem Services Concept; Lessons from Thailand

Abstract

Ecosystem Services (ES) could support Environmental Assessments (EAs) purpose towards sustainable approaches. This study systematically analyzed the ES contents of Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) to ascertain whether they addressed appropriate data that could be used as a tool for sustainable project implementation. Three levels of EISs including Environmental Health Impact Assessments (EHIA), Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), and Initial Environmental Examinations (IEE) were analyzed. The results indicated that the quality of EISs which reflect the ES depended primarily on the project type. Relationships among ecological, social and economic components, based on land use consideration were crucial to consider the supply of resources and the demands made by the project. However, indirect effects, especially residual and cumulative impacts and alternative evaluations were lacking. Mitigation and monitoring specifications were satisfied, but could not guarantee the efficiency of project control due to lacking of mitigation hierarchy. The weakness of ecological impact analysis directly concerned biodiversity compensation, which links to net loss and net gain in ecosystem.The possibility of ES integration in EAs was reflected by the limitations and opportunities detailed in the content which was finally developed.