1.2 Tracing the history of environmental impact assessment

In parallel with, and following, the Stockholm Conference, there was a surge of policy making and institution building in the developed world. In the 1970s, many governments introduced environmental legislation, established agencies with environmental responsibilities, or grafted these into existing departments. Others moved more cautiously, with "pilot'' policies that could be elaborated after experience had been gained. In such a scenario, the environmental impact assessment (EIA), the discipline that could steer decision-making towards allowance for environmental factors, was introduced in some countries.

EIA was conceived as a policy and management tool for both planning and decision-making. It was expected to assist the identification, prediction, and evaluation of the foreseeable environmental consequences of proposed development projects, plans, and policies. Often regarded with suspicion as an unnecessary impediment to legitimate developmental objectives and progress, EIA took a decade to be acknowledged as a tool that could actually produce projects superior both in quality and value.

Two significant pieces of environmental legislation, one at the beginning of the period (1969) and one at the end (1990), both of a trail blazing character, are illustrated here. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of the United States was the first piece of legislation that dealt with cross-sectoral issues and it launched EIA into worldwide use. The second, the Resource Management Act of New Zealand, enacted in 1990, was the first legislative statement of the principle of sustainability.

Between these two pieces of legislation, several countries have either developed specific amendments to legislation on EIA or modified existing legislation by the introduction of rules and guidelines. Some of these are chronologically outlined in Table 1.1.

Two major observations may be made from Table 1.1. Firstly, more countries introduced EIA in the 1980s and 1990s than in the 1970s and 1980s. This indicates a widespread acceptance of EIA. Secondly, EIA has been introduced fairly early in some of the developing countries, such as Malaysia and the Philippines. A trend of moving EIA from project level to plans and policies may also be observed. These trends are discussed in more detail in Section 1.3 (below).

Governments were not the only institutions to take action. In 1971, the World Bank established an environmental section to analyse environmental reconnaissance of hydro projects because of the importance of environmental management. It was recognized that the environmental context of development proposals should be a base within which planning could proceed with proper reference to potential impacts.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) set up an environmental unit in 1987, which in 1990 became the Office of Environment (OENV). This office was set up to provide a focus within the Bank for the review of the environmental aspects of projects and for the promotion of awareness and institution building in regard to environmental issues. This office is involved in the project cycle at the important stages of project preparation, appraisal, approval, implementation, and post-evaluation.

Table 1.1 EIA legislation in various countries worldwide

Note: In all the countries indicated in bold letters a law or notification has been specifically enacted for EIA whereas in the other countries only guidelines have been provided with no regulation specifically enacted for EIA.

Sources:

1. Towards Coherence in Environmental Assessment results of the Project on Coherence of Environmental Assessment for International Bilateral Aid Vol. III. Summary of Country Policies and Procedures submitted by Canada to the OECD/DAC working party on Development Assistance and Environment, 1994.

2. The Canadian Guide to Environmental Assessment by W. J. Couch, Federal Environmental Assessment Review Office, 1993.

Table 1.2 EIA guidelines in bilateral agencies

The ADB recognizes need for EIA or IEE (initial environmental examination), depending upon the type of project. Development projects have been categorized into three categories:

category A - projects with significant environmental impacts;

category B - those with adverse environmental impacts but of lesser degree and/or significance than A;

category C - projects unlikely to have any adverse environmental impact.

This categorization of projects is used as a basis to determine the type of assessment, IEE or EIA, that is required for a project.

A number of bilateral agencies also have prescribed guidelines for environmental assessments of projects for which they provide financial assistance. Table 1.2 lists the guidelines adopted by some of these agencies.