NAME: Kristin Baney

STUDENT ID: 810001681

COURSE: BIOL 6204 - Environmental Impact Assessment

Essay topic:
Given the issues raised in academia about the definition and meaning of the concept of
sustainable development, discuss the challenges that may be faced in attaining the goals
and objectives of EIA.
The most common and widely cited definition of sustainable development arose out of the

Brundtland Report of 1987 otherwise known as “Our Common Future.” Tthe report defined

sustainable development as that which is able to meet the needs of the present generations

without compromising the needs of future generations [Not quite. It is

‘without compromising the ability of future generations to

meet their own needs’. While it is advisable to express ideas

in your own words, it is not acceptable to change the meaning

in translation]. Two key concepts were contained within this definition:

1. The concept of needs, particularly, the basic needs of the poor peoples of the world.

Priority should be given to these people.

 2. The idea that technology and social organization might pose some limitations on the

ability of the environment to cater for the present and future needs. [What

about resource exploitation, independent of technology?]

However, Barbier (1987) had stated that the concept of sustainable development is one that

is difficult to grasp. This is due to the fact that an attempt is being made to describe the

environmental, economic, and social attributes of a continuous process. Hence, the

challenge lies in coming up with a definition that is accepted worldwide while remaining

true to the concept.

This is reflected in a Hopwood et al. (2002) article in Sustainable Development. He They

stated that the concept is one that is often challenged and given a meaning depending on

an institution’s needs. The definition is often twisted in order to cover up what an institution

really intends to do. He They goes on to state that if the term “sustainable development” is

changed to “sustainability” or to “sustainable livelihoods” then some of the ambiguity might

be cleared up. The focus is now shifted to human needs and the environment. It is also

stated that the concept of sustainable development is one that is rejected by “true”

ecologists as it puts human needs above the environment, and thus the environment is

viewed wholly from a human needs point. Despite these issues, the term “sustainable

development” has been used to describe the relationship between the socio-economic and

environmental aspects and as such gained widespread recognition.

Of more recent times, eEnvironmental iImpact aAssessment (EIA) is becoming more

entrenched in the concept of sustainability and sustainable development. EIA can be

defined as an analysis of the effects that are most likely to occur as a result of a major

project that may have significant influences on the environment (Jay et al., 2006). Before

the final decision is made on whether or not a proposed activity should continue, an EIA
considers all the possible impacts of the activity. A detailed report on the significant impacts

is required. An essential part of this process is public consultation and participation. Thus,

the EIA is considered to be an anticipatory, participatory, environmental management tool.

The purpose of an EIA is to provide decision-makers with an idea of the possible

environmental consequences of the proposed actions. The aim is to ensure that

development proceeds in a method manner that is sustainable. Hence, an EIA should

provide a procedure for the amendment of development proposals and the mitigation of

any adverse impacts.

The Environmental Management Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (EMA) is extremely

specific as to what the objectives of an EIA are. In addition to incorporating all

environmental considerations in the decision-making process, protection of ecosystems and

ecological processes is highlighted. Public participation and promoting sustainable

environmental development are also noted. [This is a description, not the

goal or objectives of the EIA]

Increasing public participation in decision-making has been thought to have many benefits.

For instance, policies formed may be more realistic in terms of what the public requires. In

turn, public participants can become more aware of the roles of decision-makers (Irvin and

Stansbury, 2004). Some decision-making processes also require public participants to be

well-informed on the matters and issues at hand (Abelson et al, 2003), hence it is assumed

that the more participants who have a sound understanding will lead to a better final

decision [Sentence structure needs fixing] (Irvin and Stansbury, 2004).

However, there are challenges with respect to public consultations [You have strayed

from addressing the essay topic]. Traditionally, it requires the public, or those

persons who may have a vested interest in the proposed activity, to attend a public planning
meeting (Kingston et al, 2000). Quite often, this takes place in a confrontational setting.

Public meetings may often be dominated by the more vocal members of the community

who may have extreme views which may not necessarily represent the views of the entire

community. The less vocal members may not express their views which can be as equally

important as those of the more vocal members. Another issue with public participation is

that meetings often take place at a set time, which may not always be convenient for

everyone who is interested. The location should also be convenient and adequate to

accommodate all interested parties including the disabled members of the community.

Another challenge in achieving the objectives of an EIA is the depth of knowledge of the

ecology and ecological processes within the ecosystem involved. The relationships between

organisms and their environment is what ecology is all about, and hence, such knowledge is

essential to an EIA (Thompson et al., 1996). It was stated that limited or poor quality

ecological information made it difficult to assess the ecological implications of the proposed

activities. Ideally, up-to-date and recent information about the ecosystem and the ecological

processes should be available. Some of this information may come from community

members who over the years have acquired knowledge about the area in which they

depend on.

One objective of EIA is to predict as precisely and accurately as possible any adverse effects

the proposed activity might have on the environment [This is how EIA

functions. Why does it do this? What is the big picture?]. Also

required are all possible mitigation measures, or to avoid any adverse effects if possible. It

may not always be possible to identify all the adverse effects that an activity may have or

there may be long-term impacts that were not identified in the assessment.
While an EIA should encourage sustainable environmental development [This is what

the essay is supposed to address], and it has been established that there is a

clear linkage between the two, the uncertainty lies in the extent as to how an EIA

contributes to the latter [Good] (Jay et al., 2006). It is clear what the goals and objectives

of an EIA are, however, sustainable development has a myriad of definitions and meanings

attached to it, which makes it difficult to establish the effectiveness of an EIA in attaining

sustainable development. [And this brief statement, at the end of

your essay, encapsulates the issues that you should have been

discussing]

References:

Abelson, Julia et al. 2003. “Deliberations about deliberative methods: issues in the design of

public participation processes.” Social Science and Medicine, 57, 239 - 251.

Barbier, Edward B. 1987. “The Concept of Sustainable Development.” Environmental

Conservation, 10, 99 – 110.

Brundtland, Gro Harlem. 1987. "Our Common Future.” Report of the World Commission on

Environment and Development.

Hopwood, Bill et al. 2002. “Environment, Economy and Society: Fitting them together into

Sustainable Development.” Sustainable Development, 10, 187 – 196.

Irvin, Renee A and Stansbury, John. 2004. “Citizen Participation in Decision Making: is it

worth the effort?” Public Administration Review, 64, 55 – 65.

Jay, Stephen et al. 2006. “Environmental Impact Assessment: Retrospect and prospect.”

Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 10, 1 – 15.

Kingston, R et al. 2000. “Web-based public participation geographical information systems:

an aid to local environmental decision-making.” Computers, Environment and Urban

Systems, 24, 109 - 125.

Thompson, S. 1997. “The Ecological Component of Environmental Impact Assessment: A

Critical Review of British Environmental Statements.” Journal of Environmental

Planning and Management, 40 (2), 157 – 171.