Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management

The Federal Environment Agency of Germany (Umweltbundesamt: UBA) is expected to provide information regarding the environmental performance of products and technologies — even in cases with limited time and data availability. Therefore, the streamlined environmental assessment (StreamEA) methodology has been developed which combines the competences available throughout the agency. Based on scientific assessment models, a ranking of alternatives can be determined for 15 impact categories, like greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, nuisance, pathogenic emissions or physical killing of animals. Since the overall environmental burden depends on the specific impact per product and the total number of products, a macroeconomic assessment at the level of the product entirety is included. The applicability of the method, which can be adapted to other regions, and the robustness of results have been tested by means of case studies. The method is currently applied in the daily work of the agency to provide guidance to the general public and policy makers.

The quality of biodiversity inputs to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in areas with high biodiversity value was investigated by reviewing the quality of a sample of Biodiversity Impact Assessments (BIAs) in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR), South Africa. The results suggest that while the overall performance was satisfactory, several inadequacies were evident, confirming international trends. Inadequacies relate to consideration of alternatives, public consultation, monitoring programmes, and gathering of biodiversity baseline data during inappropriate seasons and over insufficient time periods. Positive outcomes include the incorporation of ecosystems processes in baseline studies and assessment as well as the wide adoption of a precautionary approach to impact prediction. It is recommended that best practice and biodiversity guidance as developed and implemented in the Western Cape Province, be adopted as widely as possible in other provinces, and that the BIA practitioner community be alerted to revealed weakness of BIA report quality.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Indonesia regarding the protection of the marine environment from industrial pollution and identify the important factors for improving the effectiveness of marine EIA. This has been achieved by reviewing secondary literature and providing a synthesis of the ideas used in existing studies of EIA. The paper demonstrates that there are significant issues in the field of EIA in Indonesia particularly in reviewing the failure in protecting the marine environment. A list of important factors for effective marine EIA is presented, allowing practitioners — government officers and stakeholders — to check whether their initiative will contribute to effective marine EIA.

Stakeholder participation in collaborative watershed planning in Washington State was examined in three watershed planning unit cases in order to understand how stakeholders participate in collaborative watershed planning, the nature of plans developed, and stakeholder perceptions of plan implementation. Through document analysis and interviews, we found broad and inclusive representation of stakeholders in the planning processes, and that a majority of stakeholder comments were reflected in the final plans. Plans were of good quality and provide a strong foundation for implementation. Factors that facilitate plan implementation include the collaborative planning process itself, funding and community support, and leadership along with early and sustained involvement. Factors that hinder plan implementation include lack of adequate funding, various legal issues, and challenges in involving landowners in plan projects.

For environmental assessments (strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and environmental impact assessment (EIA)) a wide range of data and documents is gathered, processed, and produced. In planning theory, this information is viewed to have a transformative function: It can affect perceptions in advance of a decision, thereby impacting the planning process at all levels and stages. The role of this information in supporting transparent public participation is often neglected. This paper analyses the current implementation of legal requirements providing access to information on environmental assessments (EAs) in Germany's electricity grid expansion and federal road planning sectors, using a criteria based case study analysis of agency websites. The 92 analysed websites primarily provide general planning information, technical information, and final decisions. One third of the websites provided EA documents, and show a clear need for improvement in information provision about and in support of public participation.

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) adopted an integrated approach for the management and governance of European rivers, which led Spain and Portugal to carry out coordinated hydrological planning of the international basins, considering them as unique realities from ecological, hydrological and hydrogeological perspectives. In spite of this ecosystemic basis, the Directive allowed river basin management plans (RBMPs) to cover those parts of the international river basin districts located within the territory of each member state if joint planning was not possible. Moreover, under the requirements of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (SEA Directive), both countries are obliged to submit the RBMPs for SEA and to consult the authorities and the public in other states if a plan could affect the environment in a neighbouring state. In the case of the hydrological planning of the Miño river basin and its coastal and estuarine waters, the SEA was conducted through a split SEA at the level of national sub-basins. The present study analyses the findings of the two SEA procedures on the Miño river during the recent hydrological cycle under the requirements of WFD and SEA Directive. Thus, from an integrated approach adopted by WFD that demands interdependence and interrelationship between both assessments, the reality of two separated assessments revealed disconnections concerning the methodologies used, asymmetries in the detection of cross-border effects and an uneven national and transboundary participation. Overcoming these deficiencies and improving efficiency is a challenge for the new hydrological cycle. An elaboration of joint SEA between co-riparian states that could help respond to the European Union (EU) expectations from an integrated approach is recommended.

This paper evaluated the quality of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports submitted to EPA Punjab, Pakistan during 2005–2013 (2005 is the period when the practice became more common) prepared by different consultants and investigated whether the information provided in the report is adequate for ultimate decision making by using a comprehensive checklist. Data was collected through interviews, EPA library and Punjab public library. The results are presented in graphical form after the detailed review of randomly selected 100 EIA reports submitted to EPA Punjab during the study period. The selected EIA reports were prepared for new development projects, expansion/extension projects, rehabilitation projects and also for funding projects by donor agencies i.e. World Bank and ADB. The study revealed that the reports prepared for international funding agencies contained adequate data whereas the assessment report prepared by the consultants for local development project were lacking in substantial primary data and adequate evidences, showing lack of commitment towards sustainable development and environment protection.

Spatial information is being increasingly used worldwide within environmental impact assessment (EIA), although the extent of its use has not been exhaustively investigated. Using Kenya as a case study, EIA study reports submitted to the Environment Authority from 2002 to 2013 were investigated for the presence/absence of spatial presentations, levels of visual realism exhibited and content presented. Findings demonstrated a high popularity of spatial information, and preference for the combined use of spatial presentations with low and high levels of visual realism, with no clear preference for spatial presentations with either low or high levels of visual realism. A combination of project location and activities/details was the most popular content in the spatial presentations. Despite the lack of information, this study establishes that indeed spatial information is popular in Kenya and by doing so it sets the stage for further research on its specific use and value to EIA.