Methods Of Environmental Impact Assessment

Offers a comprehensive coverage of the methods used in environmental impact assessment, which is now firmly established as an obligatory procedure in proposing or launching any development project with possible impacts on the environment.

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is now firmly established as an important and often obligatory part of proposing or launching any development project. Delivering a successful EIA needs not only an understanding of the theory but also a detailed knowledge of the methods for carrying out the processes required. Peter Morris and Riki Therivel bring together the latest advice on best practice from experienced practitioners to ensure an EIA is carried out correctly. This new edition: • explains how an EIA works and how it should be carried out • demonstrates the relationship of the EIA to socio-economic, environmental and ecological systems • includes completely updated legislative and policy contexts • has added explanations of shared and integrative methods including a new chapter on EIA and sustainability. Invaluable to undergraduate and MSc students of EIA in planning, ecology, geography and environment courses, this third edition of Methods of Environmental Impact Assessment is also of great use to planners, EIA practitioners and professionals seeking to update their skills.

Environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) is an important and often obligatory part of proposing or launching any development project. Delivering a successful ESIA needs not only an understanding of the theory but also a detailed knowledge of the methods for carrying out the processes required. Riki Therivel and Graham Wood bring together the latest advice on best practice from experienced practitioners to ensure an ESIA is carried out effectively and efficiently. This new edition: • explains how an ESIA works and how it should be carried out • demonstrates the links between socio-economic, cultural, environmental and ecological systems and assessments • incorporates the World Bank’s IFC performance standards, and best practice examples from developing as well as developed countries • includes new chapters on emerging ESIA topics such as climate change, ecosystem services, cultural impacts, resource efficiency, land acquisition and involuntary resettlement. Invaluable to undergraduate and MSc students of ESIA on planning, ecology, geography and environment courses, this internationally oriented fourth edition of Methods of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is also of great use to planners, ESIA practitioners and professionals seeking to update their skills.

Globally, environmental impact assessment (EIA) is one of the most enduring and influential environmental management tools. This handbook provides readers with a strong foundation for understanding the practice of EIA, by outlining the different types of assessment while also providing a guide to best practice. This collection deploys a research and practice-based approach to the subject, delivering an overview of EIA as an essential and practical tool of environmental protection, planning, and policy. To best understand the most pertinent issues and challenges surrounding EIA today, this volume draws together prominent researchers, practitioners, and young scholars who share their work and knowledge to cover two key parts. The first part introduces EIA processes and best practices through analytical and critical chapters on the stages/elements of the EIA process and different components and forms of assessment. These provide examples that cover a wide range of assessment methods and cross-cutting issues, including cumulative effects assessment, social impact assessment, Indigenous-led assessment, risk assessment, climate change, and gender-based assessment. The second part provides jurisdictional reviews of the European Union, the US National Environmental Policy Act, recent assessment reforms in Canada, EIA in developing economies, and the EIA context in England. By providing a concise outline of the process followed by in-depth illustrations of approaches, methods and tools, and case studies, this book will be essential for students, scholars, and practitioners of environmental impact assessment.

Environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) is an important and often obligatory part of proposing or launching any development project. Delivering a successful ESIA needs not only an understanding of the theory but also a detailed knowledge of the methods for carrying out the processes required. Riki Therivel and Graham Wood bring together the latest advice on best practice from experienced practitioners to ensure an ESIA is carried out effectively and efficiently. This new edition: • explains how an ESIA works and how it should be carried out • demonstrates the links between socio-economic, cultural, environmental and ecological systems and assessments • incorporates the World Bank’s IFC performance standards, and best practice examples from developing as well as developed countries • includes new chapters on emerging ESIA topics such as climate change, ecosystem services, cultural impacts, resource efficiency, land acquisition and involuntary resettlement. Invaluable to undergraduate and MSc students of ESIA on planning, ecology, geography and environment courses, this internationally oriented fourth edition of Methods of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is also of great use to planners, ESIA practitioners and professionals seeking to update their skills.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is one of the most important tools employed in contemporary environmental management. Presenting the component activities of EIA within a coherent methodological framework, Environmental Impact Assessment: A Methodological Approach provides students and practitioners alike with a rigorous grounding in EIA theory, including biophysical, social, strategic and cumulative assessment activities, and examines the crucial role, and limitations, of the science of EIA. Deliberately designed to be relevant world-wide, the author focuses on the common skills and generic aspects of EIA that underpin all impact assessment work, independent of country or jurisdiction, such as screening and scoping, impact identification, public involvement, prediction and monitoring, evaluation, and quality control. The variety of approaches are identified along with their associated strengths and weaknesses, enabling potential, new and experienced practitioners to make informed choices and to improve their working practices through a better understanding of EIA activity. The ultimate aim of this book is to move from the notion of EIA as a technical procedure towards a concept of EIA as a particular form of problem-solving with varied methodological requirements.