Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Message from Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations
- Foreword by Charles Odidi Okidi and Nicholas Adams Robinson
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Challenges of Environmental Law – Environmental Issues and Their Implications to Jurisprudence
- ONE INTERNATIONAL ISSUES AND LEGAL RESPONSES TO SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT
- TWO NATIONAL APPROACHES TO LAND USE PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- 6 Community Rights to Genetic Resources and Their Knowledge: African and Ethiopian Perspectives
- 7 Easements and Wildlife Conservation in Kenya
- 8 Land Tenure, Land Use, and Sustainability in Kenya: Toward Innovative Use of Property Rights in Wildlife Management
- 9 The Development of Environmental Law and Its Impact on Sustainable Use of Wetlands in Uganda
- 10 EIA and the Four Ps: Some Observations from South Africa
- 11 From Bureaucracy-Controlled to Stakeholder-Driven Urban Planning and Management: Experiences and Challenges of Environmental Planning and Management in Tanzania
- 12 Strategies for Integrated Environmental Governance in South Africa: Toward a More Sustainable Environmental Governance and Land Use Regime
- 13 Environmental Law and Sustainable Land Use in Nigeria
- 14 The Role of Administrative Dispute Resolution Institutions and Processes in Sustainable Land Use Management: The Case of the National Environment Tribunal and the Public Complaints Committee of Kenya
- 15 Managing the Environmental Impact of Refugees in Kenya: The Role of National Accountability and Environmental Law
- 16 Environmental Impact Assessment Law and Land Use: A Comparative Analysis of Recent Trends in the Nigerian and U.S. Oil and Gas Industry
- 17 Managing Land Use and Environmental Conflicts in Cameroon
- 18 Environmental Law Reform to Control Land Degradation in the People's Republic of China: A View of the Legal Framework of the PRC–GEF Partnership Program
- 19 Urbanization and Environmental Challenges in Pakistan
- 20 ASEAN Heritage Parks and Transboundary Biodiversity Conservation
- 21 Land Use Planning, Environmental Management, and the Garden City as an Urban Development Approach in Singapore
- 22 The Law and Preparation of Environmental Management Plans for Sustainable Development in Thailand
- 23 Nepal's Legal Initiatives on Land Use for Sustainable Development
- 24 Environmental Law and Irrigated Land in Australia
- 25 Environmental Impact Assessment: Addressing the Major Weaknesses
- 26 Protection of Natural Spaces in Brazilian Environmental Law
- 27 Land Use Planning in Mexico: As Framed by Social Development and Environmental Policies
- 28 Argentina's Constitution and General Environment Law as the Framework for Comprehensive Land Use Regulation
- 29 Ecological Economics, Sustainable Land Use, and Policy Choices
- 30 The 2004 U.S. Ocean Report and Its Implications for Land Use Reform to Improve Ocean Water Quality
- 31 Historical Overview of the American Land Use System: A Diagnostic Approach to Evaluating Governmental Land Use Control
- Index
25 - Environmental Impact Assessment: Addressing the Major Weaknesses
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Message from Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations
- Foreword by Charles Odidi Okidi and Nicholas Adams Robinson
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Challenges of Environmental Law – Environmental Issues and Their Implications to Jurisprudence
- ONE INTERNATIONAL ISSUES AND LEGAL RESPONSES TO SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT
- TWO NATIONAL APPROACHES TO LAND USE PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- 6 Community Rights to Genetic Resources and Their Knowledge: African and Ethiopian Perspectives
- 7 Easements and Wildlife Conservation in Kenya
- 8 Land Tenure, Land Use, and Sustainability in Kenya: Toward Innovative Use of Property Rights in Wildlife Management
- 9 The Development of Environmental Law and Its Impact on Sustainable Use of Wetlands in Uganda
- 10 EIA and the Four Ps: Some Observations from South Africa
- 11 From Bureaucracy-Controlled to Stakeholder-Driven Urban Planning and Management: Experiences and Challenges of Environmental Planning and Management in Tanzania
- 12 Strategies for Integrated Environmental Governance in South Africa: Toward a More Sustainable Environmental Governance and Land Use Regime
- 13 Environmental Law and Sustainable Land Use in Nigeria
- 14 The Role of Administrative Dispute Resolution Institutions and Processes in Sustainable Land Use Management: The Case of the National Environment Tribunal and the Public Complaints Committee of Kenya
- 15 Managing the Environmental Impact of Refugees in Kenya: The Role of National Accountability and Environmental Law
- 16 Environmental Impact Assessment Law and Land Use: A Comparative Analysis of Recent Trends in the Nigerian and U.S. Oil and Gas Industry
- 17 Managing Land Use and Environmental Conflicts in Cameroon
- 18 Environmental Law Reform to Control Land Degradation in the People's Republic of China: A View of the Legal Framework of the PRC–GEF Partnership Program
- 19 Urbanization and Environmental Challenges in Pakistan
- 20 ASEAN Heritage Parks and Transboundary Biodiversity Conservation
- 21 Land Use Planning, Environmental Management, and the Garden City as an Urban Development Approach in Singapore
- 22 The Law and Preparation of Environmental Management Plans for Sustainable Development in Thailand
- 23 Nepal's Legal Initiatives on Land Use for Sustainable Development
- 24 Environmental Law and Irrigated Land in Australia
- 25 Environmental Impact Assessment: Addressing the Major Weaknesses
- 26 Protection of Natural Spaces in Brazilian Environmental Law
- 27 Land Use Planning in Mexico: As Framed by Social Development and Environmental Policies
- 28 Argentina's Constitution and General Environment Law as the Framework for Comprehensive Land Use Regulation
- 29 Ecological Economics, Sustainable Land Use, and Policy Choices
- 30 The 2004 U.S. Ocean Report and Its Implications for Land Use Reform to Improve Ocean Water Quality
- 31 Historical Overview of the American Land Use System: A Diagnostic Approach to Evaluating Governmental Land Use Control
- Index
Summary
INTRODUCTION
The concept of environmental impact assessment (EIA) has developed over recent decades into what has become accepted today as an essential tool in successful land use planning and regulation, as part of a wider integrated environmental management system. It has developed in response to growing concern over the impact of large-scale development projects on the surrounding ecological and cultural environment. In particular, this concern stemmed from the practical effects of damage caused by pollution that threatened human health, and the perceived intrinsic values of nature.
EIA is defined as “a systematic process for the examination and evaluation of the environmental effects of proposed activities that are considered likely to significantly affect the environment.” It is distinct from other forms of environmental regulation, in that it approaches environmental problems from a preventative or mitigative perspective. This represents a significant change in policy from the retrospective and punitive nature of the traditional “command and control” style of regulation, which advocates the setting of standards and rules enforced by pecuniary and criminal forms of punishment. In particular, it was seen to provide a mechanism wherein projects or undertakings that would likely have a significant adverse environmental impact could be excluded from further consideration and approval denied outright, thus preventing damage to the environment, often entailing significant cleanup costs when found to exceed the current regulatory limits.
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- Land Use Law for Sustainable Development , pp. 451 - 470Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006
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