This is an experimental volume. If it is well received, it may be worthwhile to repeat it on a regular basis, perhaps with a rotating focus (e.g., IA methods one year; other environmental analysis tools another year; developments in adjacent domains in a third year). The editors expressly invite suggestions on how to enhance its usefulness, topics to be covered, and nominations of potential future contributors.Here are selected messages delivered by the papers. The papers are clustered into seven sections according to their focus.
Perspective on the FieldThis special paper shares the insights of the man most recognized with crafting the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) on the motivations for the Act, its intents, and its results.Lynton Caldwell provides perspective on over twenty-five years of NEPA. Neither the declared principles nor the substantive sections of NEPA have been meaningfully implemented. NEPA has been treated as procedural legislation, amplified by the Council on Environmental Quality guidelines which were then elevated to regulations having the status of law in 1978. However, in this guise NEPA has probably had the greatest international impact of any American law. Caldwell summarizes six key lessons from the U.S. experience.
OverviewsThis section offers five papers which, by their nature, stretch across our other sections. The first two reflect upon the performance of EA in developed economies, the third presents a contrasting view of recent changes in Chinese EA practice. The fourth paper provides a marvelous overview of the methods-the tools-available to perform EA and IA. "Sustainable development" is a refrain heard often these days, in general and in the papers of this volume. Goodland's paper poses critical environmental sustainability concepts which can guide various EA approaches, especially strategic environmental assessment (SEA), to support sustainable development.The International Study on the Effectiveness of Environmental Assessment is a landmark effort to assess the state of the field involving many participants from a number of countries over the past several years. Directed by Barry Sadler, initiated and supported prominently by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, and facilitated by IAIA, this study reviews EA practice and offers suggestions on improvement. Barry Sadler's paper here presents the organizing concepts behind this assessment.Barry Sadler presents a framework for the evaluation of EA along multiple dimensions. He clarifies the purposes of such evaluation in terms of anticipated improvements in EA practice. The organizing concepts seek to triangulate among policy, practice, and performance. He details principles for evaluation and practical applications.Ralf Buckley focuses on issues in improving the quality of EIA work between the initiation of the process and its consideration in decision-making. He spotlights technical, political, and institutional shortcomings. In particular, needs for EIA improvement include suitable funding for key compon...
