Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, volume 18, number 4, December 2000, p
ages 260–270, Beech Tree Publishing, 10 Watford Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 2EP, UK.
EIA decision-making
Transparency in environment impact
Assessment decision-making: recent
developments in Western AustraliaAngus Morrison-Saunders and John Bailey
Transparency in decision-making, involvingthe establishment of explicit goals and objectivescombined with open, facilitative procedures,has recently been advocated as animportant principle for effective environmentalimpact assessment (EIA). This paper examinesrecent changes to EIA practice in WesternAustralia that emphasise clear procedures fordecision-making. Current practices focus onobjectives established for relevant environmentalfactors identified during the screening andscoping stages of EIA. These objectives are thenused as decision criteria for project decisionmakingfollowing public review. An examplefrom a recent assessment is provided. Somestrengths and weaknesses of this approach to
transparent EIA decision-making are alsoexamined.
Keywords: decision-making; effectiveness; transparency;Western Australia
Dr Angus Morrison-Saunders, to whom correspondence shouldbe addressed, is Lecturer in Environmental Assessment, and DrJohn Bailey Associate Professor in Environmental Assessment,Division of Science and
Engineering, Murdoch University, SouthSt, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia; IN THE INTERNATIONAL STUDY of the
Effectiveness of Environmental Assessment,Sadler (1996, page 22) identified transparency indecision-making as an important principle for effectiveenvironmental impact assessment (EIA). Thetreatment of this concept in the EIA literature isbriefly reviewed before describing recent changes toEIA practices in Western Australia that have greatlyenhanced the transparency of decision-making by theEnvironmental Protection Authority (EPA). Followingan example, the paper concludes with some reflectionson the strengths and weaknesses of transparent
EIA decision-making.The way inwhich decisions are reached in EIA andthe manner of their communication are two factorsthat contribute to the effectiveness of a particular process.Ortolano et al (1987) consider EIA to be effectivewhen environmental impacts are accounted for by
project decision-makers in the course of planning, andhence some weightis given to environmental factors
during project decision-making (Ortolano, 1993).
Sadler (1996, page 16)
notes that decision-makingrequires striking a balance between economic, environmental,social and other criteria. Thus it is a politicalprocess involving trade-offs rather than a purelyscientific undertaking. He states that, because thetrade-off process takes place largely behind ‘closeddoors’, in practice, only a generalised understandingof how decisions are actually reached in such cases isevident to the public. There is room for improvementin EIA here, and it can be achieved through havingopen communication processe
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