Trends & Effectiveness of EIA Practice

Trends & Effectiveness of
EIA Practice
World-wide adoption of EIA
■ Twenty years ago only few countries adopted EIA
techniques but today more than 100 countries have
national EIA systems in place;
■ EIA can be said to be a highly successful policy

instrument as Bartlett (1988) rightly mentioned that
“EIA is one of the major policy innovation of the 20th
century”.
■ The symbol of progress in this regard are the US

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 1969) and
the Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development, 1992. The road from NEPA to Rio and
beyond is the key milestone in this regard.
Key stages in the worldwide
adaptation of EIA
■ In 1973 & ’74 Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

were the first countries to follow the NEPA example.
■ Unlike Australia which legislated EIA, Canada and
New Zealand initially established administratively
based procedures;
■ During the 1970s, other industrial and developing
countries introduced formal EIA requirements (e.g.
France 1976 and Philippines, 1977) began to use the
process informally or experimentally (e.g. The
Netherlands 1978)
adaptation of EIA….
■ Within the European Union, the 1985 directive on

EIA established minimum provision for compliance
by the member states.
■ In 1988, the directive spurred national legislation and

process development, although progress reportedly
still remains not uniform among member states.
adaptation of EIA
■ In 1989, under operational directive (amended 1991),

EIA became a standard requirement for World Bank
finance investment projects.
■ The primary responsibility for compliance with the

Bank’s EIA procedures lies with the borrowing
countries.
■ As a result of these and similar requirements by other

development banks and donors, EIA came into wide
use in developing countries.
adaptation of EIA…..
■ In 1992 Earth Summit emphasized the adoption of

EIA process by the signatory countries to the
conventions on Biological Diversity, and Climate
Change.
■ During post-Rio, various capacity building activities

now underway by multilateral and donor agencies
which represent a further phase of the worldwide
spread of EIA.
Several converging factors led to the
spread of EIA in 1970s:
■ A tradition of rational planning;
■ A new level of public concern about the

environment;
■ The increasing scale and wider impact of major

development schemes;
■ The failure of project appraisal and review

procedures to account for evident ecological and
community impact.
Evaluation of EIA
Time Examples of process innovation
period
Pre 1970 Project review based on the technical/engineering
(pre-EA) and economic analysis;
Limited consideration given on the environmental
consequences.
Early/mid EIA introduced (NEPA, 1969 in USA);
1970s
Basic principals, guidelines, procedures, including
(Methodo-lo
public participation; & other requirement instituted;
gical
Develop-me Standard methodologies for impact analysis
nt) developed (i.e. matrix, checklists, networks);
Several other countries adopted the NEPA based

EIA approach (e.g. Canada, Australia, New
Zealand);
Late 1970s to More formalized guideline;
early 1980s
(Social Use of EIA by developing countries (e.g.
dimension Brazil, Philippines, China, Indonesia);
included) SIA, risk analysis included in the EA process;
Greater emphasis on ecological modeling,

prediction and evaluation methods;
Informational (non-hearing) provisions for

public involvement;
Coordination of EIA with landuse planning

processes (e.g. New South Wales, Victoria).
Mid 1980s to EC Directive on EIA establishes basic principles
end of decade and procedural requirements for all member
(Process and states;
procedural
redirection) Increasing efforts to address cumulative effects;
Development of follow up mechanisms (e.g.

compliances and effects monitoring, auditing,
impact management);
Ecosystem and landscape level approaches

applied (e.g. assess wetland losses);
World Bank and other international lending and

aid agencies established EA requirements;
Increasing number of developing countries carry

out EIAs (e.g. Asia).
1990s Sustainability principles and global issues
(Sustaina-b receive increased attention;
ility
paradigm) Requirement to consider transboundary
effects under Espoo Convention;
EIA identified as implementing mechanism
for UN conventions on climate change and
biological diversity;
SEA systems established by increasing
number of countries;
Increasing use of GIS and other
information technologies;
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a key concept that has
gained increasing international acceptance during the
last two decades. A milestone in this process was the
Brundtland report, which defined sustainable
development as development that meets the needs of
todays generation without compromising those of
future generations.
Agenda 21, the global action plan for sustainable

development, emphasises the importance of
integrated environment and development
decision-making and promotes the use of EIA and
other policy instruments for this purpose.
Challenges of sustainable development
1. Human activity is currently consuming about 30%

more of net primary productivity on land;
2. 60% of the world population live close to or under
the poverty line;
3. The world population is projected to be doubled by
this century.
Without major policy and technological changes, UNEP

and other institutions have concluded that such
trends threaten the stability of the world community
and the global environment.
Immediate objectives of EIA
■ Improve the environmental design of the proposal;
■ Ensure that resources are used appropriately and

efficiently;
■ Identify appropriate measures for mitigating the

potential impacts of the proposal; and
■ Facilitate informed decision making, including

setting the environmental terms and conditions for
implementing the proposal.
Long term objectives of EIA
■ Protect human health and safety;
■ Avoid irreversible changes and serious damage to

the environment;
■ Safeguard valued resources, natural areas and

ecosystem components; and
■ Enhance social aspects of the proposal.

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Trends & Effectiveness of

■ EIA can be said to be a highly successful policy

■ The symbol of progress in this regard are the US

■ In 1973 & ’74 Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

■ Within the European Union, the 1985 directive on

■ In 1988, the directive spurred national legislation and

■ In 1989, under operational directive (amended 1991),

■ The primary responsibility for compliance with the

■ As a result of these and similar requirements by other

■ In 1992 Earth Summit emphasized the adoption of

■ During post-Rio, various capacity building activities

■ A tradition of rational planning;

■ A new level of public concern about the

■ The increasing scale and wider impact of major

■ The failure of project appraisal and review

Several other countries adopted the NEPA based

Greater emphasis on ecological modeling,

Informational (non-hearing) provisions for

Coordination of EIA with landuse planning

Development of follow up mechanisms (e.g.

Ecosystem and landscape level approaches

World Bank and other international lending and

Increasing number of developing countries carry

Agenda 21, the global action plan for sustainable

1. Human activity is currently consuming about 30%

Without major policy and technological changes, UNEP

■ Improve the environmental design of the proposal;

■ Ensure that resources are used appropriately and

■ Identify appropriate measures for mitigating the

■ Facilitate informed decision making, including

■ Protect human health and safety;

■ Avoid irreversible changes and serious damage to

■ Safeguard valued resources, natural areas and

■ Enhance social aspects of the proposal.

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