Lesson 2 – EIA System

Welcome to Lesson 2 of our e-learning course on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system. In this course, you will learn about the history and significance of EIA, its evolution as a regulatory tool, and its importance in the context of global environmental challenges.

The concept of environmental impact assessment emerged as a response to the growing public concern about the environmental consequences of industrial activities and infrastructure development, particularly after the Second World War. In the United States, Australia, Canada, Sweden, and New Zealand, public and private projects began to face increasing levels of public and institutional scrutiny. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), enacted in the United States in 1970, was the first formal incorporation of the impact assessment process in a legislative form. NEPA required all executive federal agencies to prepare environmental assessments and environmental impact statements, addressing the potential environmental effects of their proposed actions, and release them to the public to demonstrate how these considerations had been recognized. The NEPA has become a model for EIA systems introduced in other countries over the world.

In the international arena, the formal establishment of EIA has progressed steadily over the last 20 years, gaining momentum from rising political acceptance of the problems associated with climate change, loss of biodiversity, threats to water sources and water quality, and other forms of global environmental change. EIA is recognized in a large number of international conventions, protocols, and agreements, including the Espoo Convention, the Ramsar Convention, the Aarhus Convention, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.

The latest search for the extent of EIA implementation indicated that 191 of the 193 member nations of the United Nations either have the national legislation or have signed some form of international legal instrument that refers to the use of EIA.

In Europe, the relevant work started under the aegis of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in the 1970s. After years of consultation, the European Commission passed the first EIA Directive (85/337/EEC), which was adopted in 1985, and over the next three decades, amended several times.

Under the umbrella of the EIA, various specific forms have developed since the 1970s, such as social impact assessment (SIA), health impact assessment (HIA), and strategic environmental assessment (SEA). SEA is promoted as a way to extend impact assessment to higher-level decision-making at policy, strategic programs, and plans, a reaction to the project orientation of most EIA applications. A related approach, sustainability assessment (SA), has emerged in recent years, focusing more specifically on sustainability criteria in the assessment of policies, plans, or projects.

In this course, you will learn about the purpose, principles, and process of EIA, including its different forms, methodologies, and techniques. You will also learn about the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders involved in the EIA process, including project proponents, regulatory authorities, experts, and the public. By the end of this course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of the EIA system and its importance in promoting sustainable development and environmental protection.