Status of Environmental Impact Assessment

摘要

The process of assessing the probable consequences that may result from a proposed development is called environmental impact assessment (EIA). It is defined by the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) as "the process of identifying,predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made" (IAIA, 1999). EIA is a planning and management device for sustainable development that is intended to identify the type, magnitude and likelihood of environmental and social changes that could occur as a direct or indirect result of a policy or project, and to design the probable mitigation procedure (Snell and Cowell, 2006).