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The Ecological Component of Environmental Impact Assessment: A Critical Review of British Environmental Statements

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  • S. Thompson
  • J. R. Treweek
  • D. J. Thurling

Abstract

Environmental assessment (EA) of the impacts of development is required under the 1985 European Directive 85/337/EEC, which is implemented in Britain primarily through the 1988 Town and Country Planning (Assessmentof Environmental Effects) Regulations. Ecology provides analytical procedures for studying relationships between organisms and their environment and therefore has an obvious role in EA. The status of ecology within the British EA process was investigated by analysing 179 environmental statements (ESs) produced between 1988 and 1993. In many cases, the ecological information provided was so limited in quantity, or of such poor quality, that it was not possible to assess the ecological implications of proposed schemes. Many ESs failed to provide the data necessary to predict ecological impacts. Potential ecological impacts were reported in 93% of statements, but only 9% made any attempt to quantify them. Of those ESs which made references to ecological effects, only 45% based their findings on new ecological survey information. Consultation with statutory consultees for nature conservation was reported in 48% of ESs. Although 78% of ESs mentioned mitigation measures, only 23% described them in detail. A major shortcoming was the universal failure to make any commitment to monitoring of development impacts. In addition to the lack of formal requirements for monitoring, the lack of guidance for ecologists and developers involved in EA is concluded to be a major factor behind some of the shortcomings summarized in this paper.

Suggested Citation

  • S. Thompson & J. R. Treweek & D. J. Thurling, 1997. "The Ecological Component of Environmental Impact Assessment: A Critical Review of British Environmental Statements," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 157-172.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jenpmg:v:40:y:1997:i:2:p:157-172
    DOI: 10.1080/09640569712164
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    Cited by:

    1. Morimoto, Risako, 2013. "Incorporating socio-environmental considerations into project assessment models using multi-criteria analysis: A case study of Sri Lankan hydropower projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 643-653.
    2. Robert Jones & Thomas B. Fischer, 2016. "EIA Follow-Up in the UK — A 2015 Update," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(01), pages 1-22, March.
    3. Chen, Shaoqing & Chen, Bin & Fath, Brian D., 2015. "Assessing the cumulative environmental impact of hydropower construction on river systems based on energy network model," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 78-92.
    4. Charlotte Bigard & Sylvain Pioch & John D Thompson, 2017. "The inclusion of biodiversity in impact assessment for urban development: policy-related progress limited by gaps and semantic confusion," Post-Print hal-02448719, HAL.

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