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Highlights: • A tool for rapid assessment of EIA performance is presented. • The tool focusses on EIA systems in low and middle income countries. • This tool aims to enhance the capacities of the main EIA organizations. • Mechanisms are identified to maintain and further develop the enhanced capacities.
This research is an attempt to verify the notion postulated by Robert Bartlett and Lynton Caldwell that the full benefits of environmental impact assessment (EIA) would take decades to be realized. While EIA is intended to directly influence decision-making regarding new development proposals, the process is also expected to lead to organisational learning and transformation over time. Our aim was to examine the influence of EIA on a single Western Australian proponent with sustained experience in the process to understand how EIA is used within the organisation and to seek evidence of transformation of the organisation's purpose and mission. The research reviewed literature in order to identify key influences of EIA on organisations, along with semi-structured staff interviews and document analysis for the case study organisation. Ascertaining causality that involvement in EIA processes influences or effects organisational learning and transformation is a challenge in the face of other societal events. Document analysis and interviewee data indicates that the action-forcing nature of EIA did influence proponent behavior through the creation of internal processes seeking to ensure robust design of new projects that would satisfy environmental protection expectations, without the need to trigger formal EIA. Evidence of EIA values and thinking were apparent within internal documentation, including the evolving mission statement. Our research indicates that participation in the EIA process can positively influence organisational learning and transformation by guiding internal change for decision-making. - Highlights: • The long-term influence of EIA on a proponent organisation is investigated. • EIA promotes internal organisational learning and transformation. • Analysis of mission statements can indicate the influence of EIA on organisations. • Organisations aligned with EIA values can reduce the need to engage in formal EIA.
Considerable attention has been given to the effectiveness of environmental impact assessment (EIA) since the 1970s. Relatively few research studies, however, have approached EIA as an instrument of environmental governance, and have explored the mechanisms through which EIA influences the behaviour of actors involved in planning processes. Consequently, theory in this area is underspecified. In this paper we contribute to theory-building by analysing the effectiveness of a unique EIA system: the Danish system. In this system the competent authority, instead of the project proponent, undertakes EIA reporting. Additionally, the public, rather than experts, play a central role in quality control and the Danish EIA community is relatively small which influences community dynamics in particular ways. A nation-wide survey and expert interviews were undertaken in order to examine the views of actors involved in EIA on the effectiveness of this anomalous system. The empirical data are compared with similar studies on governance mechanisms in other countries, especially the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, as well as with earlier evaluations of EIA effectiveness in Denmark. The results indicate that the more extensive role attributed to the competent authority may lead to higher EIA effectiveness when this aligns with their interests; the influence of the public is amplified by a powerful complaints system; and, the size of the EIA community appears to have no substantial influence on EIA effectiveness. We discuss how the research findings might enhance our theoretical understanding of the operation and effectiveness of governance mechanisms in EIA. - Highlights: • The effectiveness of the unique Danish EIA system is explored. • Results are compared with similar studies in the Netherlands and the UK. • Findings lead to hypotheses that contribute to theorising EIA effectiveness.
The effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) systems is contingent on a number of control mechanisms: procedural; judicial; evaluative; public and government agency; professional; and development aid agency. If we assume that procedural and judicial controls are guaranteed in developed EIA systems, then progressing effectiveness towards an acceptable level depends on improving the performance of other control mechanisms over time. These other control mechanisms are either absent, or are typically centrally controlled, requiring public finances; this we argue is an unpopular model in times of greater Government austerity. Here we evaluate a market-based mechanism for improving the performance of evaluative and professional control mechanisms, the UK Institute of Environmental Management and Assessments' EIA Quality Mark. We do this by defining dimensions of effectiveness for the purposes of our evaluation, and by identifying international examples of the approaches taken to delivering the other control measures to validate the approach taken in the EIA Quality Mark. We then evaluate the EIA Quality Mark, when used in combination with legal procedures and an active judiciary, against the effectiveness dimensions and use time-series analysis of registrant data to examine its ability to progress practice. We conclude that the EIA Quality Mark has merit as a model for a market-based mechanism, and may prove a more financially palatable approach for delivering effective EIA in mature systems in countries that lack centralised agency oversight. It may, therefore, be of particular interest to some Member States of the European Union for ensuring forthcoming certification requirements stemming from recent amendments to the EIA Directive. - Highlights: • Quality control mechanisms in EIA are identified. • Effectiveness of EIA is conceptualised for evaluation purposes. • The UK IEMA EIA Quality Mark is introduced as a market-based mechanism. • The EIA Quality Mark is found to progress quality in many, but not all, areas.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been identified in the literature as a promising tool to increase the performance of environmental assessments at different steps in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure. However, few publications have proposed a methodology for an extensive integration, and none have compared the results with existing EIA conclusions without LCA. This paper proposes a comprehensive operational methodology for implementing an LCA within an EIA. Based on a literature review, we identified four EIA steps that could theoretically benefit from LCA implementation, i.e., (a) the environmental comparison of alternatives, (b) the identification of key impacts, (c) the impact assessment, and (d) the impact of mitigation measures. For each of these steps, an LCA was implemented with specific goal and scope definitions that resulted in a specific set of indicators. This approach has been implemented in two contrasting Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) projects and compared to existing EIA studies. The results showed that the two procedures, i.e., EIAs with or without inputs from LCA, led to different conclusions. The environmental assessments of alternatives and mitigation measures were not carried out in the original studies and showed that other less polluting technologies could have been chosen. Regarding the scoping step, the selected environmental concerns were essentially different. Global impacts such as climate change or natural resource depletion were not taken into account in the original EIA studies. Impacts other than those occurring on the project site (off-site impacts) were not assessed, either. All these impacts can be significant compared to those initially considered. On the other hand, unlike current LCA applications, EIAs usually address natural and technological risks and neighbourhood disturbances such as noises or odours, which are very important for the public acceptability of projects. Regarding the impact assessment, even if the conclusions of the EIAs with or without LCA were partially common for local on-site impacts, LCA gives crucial additional information on global and off-site impacts and highlights the processes responsible for them. Finally, for all EIA steps investigated, interest in LCA was demonstrated for both WWTP case studies. The feasibility in terms of skills, time and cost of such implementation has also been assessed. - Highlights: • An innovative methodology for a first-stage implementation of LCA in EIA is proposed. • Its applicability is demonstrated on two Wastewater Treatment Plant case studies. • The conclusions for the four EIA steps investigated differ with or without LCA. • LCA provides valuable additional information on 1) global and 2) off-site impacts. • LCA identifies pollution transfers towards a life cycle perspective.
Highlights: • Greek nationwide multidimensional EIA System effectiveness evaluation study • Innovation of reform: a central Electronic Environmental Registry (e-ER) • e-ER manages and publish results of the EIA, EMS and Inspection processes. • There is a chasm between new legal provisions and implementation in practice. • Results indicate persistent poor-quality EIA, bureaucracy, lack of transparency. - Abstract: The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Greek government and the troika in 2010 contained numerous austerity policies and requirements for administrative reforms, among which is that of the national Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system. Complying with this requirement, Law4014/2011 was passed, aiming at reducing bureaucracy and increasing the country's appeal to investors whilst ensuring environmental protection. The present paper provides the first systematic, multi-scale and multidimensional evaluation of the effectiveness of the new EIA system. The evaluation is based firstly on the results of a Pan-Hellenic survey, involving key EIA consultants and authorities; secondly, on additional, in-depth interviews with EIA specialists, National- Ministry and Regional EIA Authorities; and thirdly, on the content review of 105 Environmental Impact statements. The results highlight the persistence of serious problems despite the reform of the Hellenic EIA System. The data reveal a significant discrepancy between what is set out in law and the actual practice. Although Law 4014/2011 contains progressive and innovative elements (such as adopting a life cycle approach to the EIA process, and mandating the development and use of a central Electronic Environmental Registry (e-ER) to manage and publish results of the EIA process), the recorded failure to implement them in practice results in a non-transparent and ineffective EIA system. Recommendations for improvement are proposed as well as areas for further research.
Environmental sustainability is one of the frameworks for cooperation under the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II, 2015. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been recognized as a crucial tool. This paper proposes the review of EIA in ASEAN countries in three key areas, namely legal enforcement, implementation approach and EIA effectiveness as the basis for a sustainable approach. The results showed that almost all the countries established their EIAs at the legal level with the complete EIA process; however, the implementation was somewhat different depending on the unique characteristics of the EIA processes. Such unique characteristics can be divided into three groups. The first belongs to the countries that initiated the EIA process before 1990, although they have their own outstanding topography, namely, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The second group includes the countries that applied the EIA after 1990. The Asian Development Bank has played an active role and their EIA processes have rapidly developed especially EIA monitoring, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Transboundary Impact Assessment. The countries in this group are Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. The last group contains the countries with stringent environmental regulations and is becoming part of environmental laws. They include Singapore and Brunei. The tools to support the achievement of sustainability, such as ecosystem services, biodiversity offsets and transboundary impacts will be of prime importance to the ASEAN EIA in the future.
Highlights: • EIA in Punjab is subject to influence by elites as a result of which projects are implemented prior to EIA. • Proponents consider EIA as hindrance to project development • Lack of EPA resources lead to delayed decision making • Consultants tend to compromise the EIA quality in order to profitably run their setup. • EIA implementation is weak because Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacks capacity to enforce legislation - Abstract: Consultants play a pivotal role in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process because they are the ones who carry out assessments, deal with multiple stakeholders and thus face the most pressure. Considering the ineffectiveness of the EIA process, the current study attempts to identify the challenges faced by consultants in Punjab whilst dealing with stakeholders. Participant observation, professional practice and unstructured interviews were employed as data collection methods. Key challenges identified include the lack of equal treatment, insufficient capability of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and consultants, and the lack of awareness on the parts of the proponents and the public. Legislations accompanied with procedural controls exist in Punjab regarding EIA but the implementation is weak. A strong political will is necessary for implementation of EIA rules and regulation, awareness of the proponents and the public and capacity building of EPA. Registration and accreditation can help bring competent consultants in the field who can improve the process.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) systems are under pressure in many countries, driven by a call for efficiency and streamlining. Such a phenomenon is particularly clear in Brazil, where, in the past few years, a number of influential associations put forward documents proposing significant changes to environmental licensing and impact assessment regulations. So far, there is no publicly available information about any initiative towards scrutinizing those proposals. The objective of this study was to critically review the merits and drawbacks of the changes proposed in those documents. The analysis triangulated content analysis, focus group and online survey data. The focus group included ten seasoned Brazilian EIA specialists; the survey, based on Likert-scale and open-ended questions, resulted in 322 valid responses from EIA professionals. Results show that the proposals generally agree that the current EIA system, while playing a key role in mitigating impacts and enhancing project design, needs many changes. Nonetheless, the proposals neither offered solutions to overcome political, technical and budget barriers, nor established a sense of priority of the most urgent issues. Findings from the focus group and the survey signaled that a number of proposed actions might face public outcry, and that those changes that do not depend on legislative action are more likely to be implementable. Previous studies about EIA reform focused mostly on the context of developed countries after changes had taken place. This study, while addressing the perspective of a large developing country in a “before-reform” stage, shows that capacity-building is a key requirement in EIA reform. - Highlights: • Brazil's EIA system is under strong pressure for change. • Findings corroborate ineffectiveness in current system. • There are tensions as to the best approaches to overcome problems. • Exact effects of proposals are uncertain. • Low institutional capacity can play strong role in driving EIA reform.
Assuring public participation in different stages of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is essential since the success of a project largely depends on its type, nature, and process. Before starting a development project in Bangladesh, both government organizations (GOs) and non-government organizations (NGOs) need to conduct an EIA. However, in most of the governmental projects, there is still no significant influence of public participation in EIA. Contrarily, under NGO administered projects, the systematic participation in EIA is quite unknown and often goes without being acknowledged. This paper, thus, studies public participation practice in EIA through an investigation of two NGO governed projects (i.e., BRAC's fisheries and sericulture project and CARE's integrated food for work program) and compares with two projects by GOs (i.e., Rampal coal-based thermal power plant project and Jamuna multipurpose bridge project) to critically understand the prevailing differences. As well, pivotal factors responsible for differentiated nature and type of public participation being practiced within a certain institutional context are examined. The study indicates that NGOs tend to ensure participation of the pertinent stakeholders at different stages of an EIA while harnessing their inputs to successfully complete a project. By contrast, public participation in government's run projects is mostly found to be carried out towards the end of an EIA exercise, which severely limits the stakeholders' ability to contribute and questions the legitimacy of such attempt. This process of neglect systematically overlooks stakeholders' concerns, critics, and suggestions while pre-emptive motive of the project gets glorified and implemented. By tapping these voids, this study attempts to offer an insightful understanding of the gap between conventional ‘practice’ and formal ‘pledge’ when comes to ensuring public participation in various stages of EIA. This study expects to benefit other countries where NGOs are considerably involved in development projects.
Highlights: • State of the art covering 59 articles from 1996 to June 2016. • Reviews effectiveness concepts and methodologies used to explore them. • Major gaps and trends identified for four effectiveness dimensions. • Discusses multidimensional EIA studies as future of the research field. - Abstract: Analyzing the effectiveness of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important theme in EIA literature. Over the course of its development, the manifold term “effectiveness” has been delineated into four dimensions: Procedural, substantive, transactive, and normative. The present state of the art review covers not only studies about these concepts, but also the methods used to test them. It analyzes trends in 64 studies over a 20-year period. It is observed that results oriented research is more common than process oriented, but given the links between results and processes, procedural effectiveness remains the lens through which policy solutions are analyzed. Future research is recommended comparing developing and developed countries as well as studies focusing on subnational EIA systems. Serious gaps in the literature remain, such as developing methods to evaluate the direct impact of EIA on decision-making and how to integrate the pluralism found in the EIA process for sustainable ends. Reliance on perceptual survey and interview methods is common for substantive and normative effectiveness studies. The least studied dimension, transactive dimension, requires more study, specifically the cost efficiency of EIA. Promisingly, multidimensional studies are becoming more common that highlight linkages among these dimensions, although the nature of these linkages must be tested with more case studies.
In recent years, China's government authorities have devoted increasing attention to the role of public participation processes in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The capacity of these processes to influence decision-making remains widely debated. This paper aims at appraising the institutional rationale informing the implementation of public participation in China's EIA, benchmarking it against three conceptualisations: (1) Normative, based on objectives of empowerment and democratisation; (2) Substantive, where participation is pursued mainly to improve quality of decisions; (3) Instrumental, seeking participation as an instrument to legitimise decision-making processes. The appraisal is carried out by means of a new integrated index (Public Participation Index, PPI), which is applied to a case study representative of latest advancements in EIA public participation practices in China, namely the “New Beijing Airport Project”. Located 46 km south of downtown Beijing, the project was approved in 2014 and it is currently under construction. Results of the PPI application to this case study indicate that, despite progress made in recent years, the implementation of public participation in Chinese EIA still largely responds to an instrumental rationale, with limited capacity for the public to affect decisions. - Highlights: • In recent years China has strengthened EIA public participation (PP) legislation. • Despite progress, implementation of PP remains informed by an instrumental rationale. • A large gap exists between principles enunciated in regulations and implementation. • The Public Participation Index can be used to monitor China's EIA PP development.
In the Anthropocene, governments are increasingly being forced to take action to minimize or reverse human impacts on the environment. One of the most widespread legal instruments to prevent negative impacts on the environment is Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Almost all countries have an EIA system in place aimed at mitigating the diverse impacts causing by development projects. A common drawback of such systems is that they are often ineffective and time-consuming, and are therefore frequently viewed by politicians as “in the way” of development. This is the case in Brazil, where EIA has had a very limited influence on decision-making and where environment reforms (e.g. the new Forest Code) have often been strongly influenced by powerful lobbies (e.g. agribusiness groups, industry actors, etc.) and conservative legislators. Continuing this trend, the most recent political developments have seen the proposal of a series of amendments aimed at “streamlining” the Brazilian EIA system. In this viewpoint, we provide an in depth analysis of the proposed changes, highlighting the serious consequences that would accompany the weakening of environmental licensing and EIA legislation in Brazil.
NASA is currently developing the next generation crewed spacecraft and launch vehicle for exploration beyond earth orbit including returning to the Moon and making the transit to Mars. Managing the design integration of major hardware elements of a space transportation system is critical for overcoming both the technical and programmatic challenges in taking a complex system from concept to space operations. An established method of accomplishing this is formal interface management. In this paper we set forth an argument that the interface management process implemented by NASA between the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and the Space Launch System (SLS) achieves the Level 3 tier of the EIA 731.1 System Engineering Capability Model (SECM) for Generic Practices. We describe the relevant NASA systems and associated organizations, and define the EIA SECM Level 3 Generic Practices. We then provide evidence for our compliance with those practices. This evidence includes discussions of: NASA Systems Engineering Interface (SE) Management standard process and best practices; the tailoring of that process for implementation on the Orion to SLS interface; changes made over time to improve the tailored process, and; the opportunities to take the resulting lessons learned and propose improvements to our institutional processes and best practices. We compare this evidence against the practices to form the rationale for the declared SECM maturity level.
EIA Form 714 Annual Electric Balancing Authority Area and Planning Area Report Dataset
Highlights: • Direct references to climate change resulted in a very low number of hits. • Several thematic entry points for CC impacts into EIA were identified. • Environmental issues most addressed so far in combination with CC stressors are soil, water and forest habitats. • Mitigation and compensation measures could serve as important methodological entry points. • Primarily statements of environmental authorities and the public introduced climate change related topics so far.
Form EIA-930 data collection provides a centralized and comprehensive source for hourly operating data about the high-voltage bulk electric power grid in the Lower 48 states. We collect the data from the electricity balancing authorities (BAs) that operate the grid.
Form EIA-923 data collection provides a centralized and comprehensive source for monthly operating data about the high-voltage bulk electric power grid in the Lower 48 states.