Recent Trends in Environmental Impact Assessment

Abstract

The objectives of this paper are to characterize an "ideal" environmental impact assessment (e.i.a.); to review the contemporary status of e.i.a. for several major activities and areas of development; and to identify successes, failures, and future needs in e.i.a.The institutional procedures to be followed for e.i.a. have been formalized in a number of countries, but the scientific basis and methods are still developing. We propose that the following elements comprise an ideal e.i.a.: (1) definition of scientific objectives, (2) background preparation, (3) identification of main impacts, (4) prediction of effects, (5) formulation of usable recommendations, (6) monitoring and assessment, (7) sufficient lead time, (8) public participation, (9) adequate funding, and (10) evidence that recommendations were used.The "best available" predictive, preoperational e.i.a.'s involving aquatic resources (power plants, fossil fuels, recreation, reservoirs, wastewater treatment, forestry, and dredging and water diversion in estuaries) were reviewed and scored on a 0–5 scale for each of the elements identified above. Mean scores for the criteria which could be assessed (nos. 1–8) indicated that the quality of the best available e.i.a.'s does not exceed our defined average but improves when legally required documents are excluded from the calculations. The lowest means, for criteria within the scientist's control (nos. 1–5), were obtained for "Prediction of effects" and ' "Formulation of usable recommendations." Overall mean scores for each development area (criteria 1–5) indicated three broad groups which included studies of above average quality (wastewater treatment, recreation); studies of approximately average quality (estuarine impacts, power plants, reservoirs, and fossil fuels); and studies of below average quality (forestry practices).Environmental impact assessment has had the following successes: increased environmental awareness due to public involvement in e.i.a., some environmental protection, and elucidation of intriguing research problems. The list of failures of e.i.a. is, however, longer: "tokenism," unrealistic time constraints, uncertainty of program or development schedules, difficult access to e.i.a. literature, questionable ethics, lack of coordination among studies, and poor research design.Future organizational/administrative needs of e.i.a. include improved access to e.i.a. literature, increased accountability for e.i.a.'s and their authors, improved public input into project decisions and designs, and improved organization and presentation of e.i.a. reports. Future scientific/research needs include development of methods to define and quantify relationships between biological, esthetic, and economic impacts; support for independent biological inventory programs; adequate time frames; improved design of research; inclusion of monitoring and assessment in every e.i.a.; study of cumulative impacts on a regional or national scale; and improved communication between scientists and planners.Key words: environmental impact assessment, aquatic ecology, power plants, fossil fuels, recreation, reservoirs, wastewater treatment, forestry, dredging and water diversion (estuaries)

Hydropower Development in Nepal - Climate Change, Impacts and Implications

“…Not enough considerations have been made in the issue of ambient air pollution, noise, and vibration control specifications as well as protected flora and fauna Contractor's responsibility for arranging to provide awareness for environmental protection is not addressed in the tender document. Some of the mitigation measures recommended in EIA report were seen irrelevant during operation as serious shortcoming in EIA qualitative data (e.g., species lists, distribution, and habitats) identified previously in some studies [56][57][58][59]. To produce cheaper hydro energy, national capabilities need to be strengthened, although there are some legal issues for the development of hydropower such as nonspecificity of water rights and ownership; lack of subordinate enabling legislation; lack of harmony among related legislation; and lack of adequate legal provisions to encourage private sector participation in multipurpose projects [60].…”

The interminable issue of effectiveness: substantive purposes, outcomes and research challenges in the advancement of environmental impact assessment theory

“…According to this view, the purpose of EIA is to provide focused scientific analyses on environmental and social consequences (Rosenberg et al, 1981;Mostert, 1996;Munn, 1979); the way in which the information is interpreted and used by decisionmakers, and other stakeholders, is outside the remit of scientific enquiry (Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, 1998), and hence is not the concern of EIA practitioners (Beanlands and Duinker, 1983). The effectiveness of EIA is determined, therefore, by factors such as: rigorous undertaking of the key stages in the EIA process; an emphasis on quantification of data, and in particular impact predictions; and, presentation of the EIA findings in a logical, coherent and comprehensible manner (Lee et al, 1999).…”

“…There has been, for example, a long running debate in the literature concerning whether quantitative or qualitative impact predictions most efficiently and effectively serve decision-makers' needs (Duinker, 1985;Bailey and Hobbs, 1990;Walters, 1993;Miller, 1993). The dominant view is that impact predictions should be quantified wherever possible, and the vague and imprecise predictions contained in many EIA reports consequently have been interpreted as an important failing of EIA practice (for instance, Rosenberg et al, 1981;Beanlands and Duinker, 1983).…”

“…It is widely acknowledged that EIA legislation and practices rarely conform to idealised (and largely positivist and rationalist) models of the process (Bond and Wathern, 1999;Glasson et al, 1997;Barker and Wood, 1999;Rosenberg et al, 1981). However, this does not E necessarily mean EIA is de facto ineffective.…”

Climate-change mitigation in Canadian environmental impact assessments

“…Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are designed to evaluate various influences of certain projects on the environment so that these projects, ideally, will have negligible effects on the environment (Rosenberg et al 1981). Environmental impacts of projects due to GHG emissions are only realized at the level of global climate, and it is challenging to incorporate such impacts into EIAs (Benidickson 2013).…”