Achieving Sustainability through Effective Mechanisms of Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment

摘要

Tools of Environmental Assessment namely Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) exist to improve decision-making by ensuring that decisions improve the design and sustainability of proposed actions. These tools are pertinent to look upon as the evaluation of the effects likely to arise from major projects significantly affecting the environment. These tools promote efforts that eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere. An environmental assessment utilizes a systematic, interdisciplinary approach, which ensures the presently unquantified environmental values are given appropriate consideration in decision-making along with economic and technical considerations. It is therefore submitted that EIA and SEA are frontline instruments to promote "sustainability", which in simple terms means reserve the loss of environmental resources. Thus EIA and SEA are undoubtedly the best available mitigation mechanisms.