EIA (ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT) AS A MECHANISM FOR ENSURING ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

Abstract

In modern conditions, the interaction of society and nature is often manifested in the emergence, reconstruction, modernization of various types of economic objects, which is necessarily accompanied by a change in parameters, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the environment. The magnitude and mass character of such transformations cause environmental implications in accordance with the presumption of the negative impact of economic objects of various degrees of adversity. The latter, with an impressive rate, have transformed socio-economic growth into a category with significant negative anthropogenic factors, limiting or minimizing which is the key to the effective survival of mankind. A profound understanding of this fact contributed to the emergence of many environmental protection strategies and concepts that proposed various ways of harmonizing the interaction of society and nature. However, a small fraction of them was of a preventive nature. Among the ways, methods, mechanisms that would ensure an environmentally safe environment, preventing negative environmental implications were environmental assessment, environmental expertise, strategic environmental assessment and environmental impact assessment. Being genetically interrelated, they became an effective means of environmental policy at the level of regions or countries.The publication analyzes the latest legislation that regulates the sequence and the procedure of conducting environmental impact assessment as a tool for identifying all possible environmental implications of the planned activities. The organizational and legal aspects of implementation of separate stages in the procedure of environmental impact assessment are specified. The ways of realization of interaction of subjects of environmental impact assessment with the aim of preventing environmental harm, ensuring environmental safety, environmental protection, rational use and reproduction of natural resources, in the process of making decisions on conducting economic activity, which can have a significant impact on the environment, are highlighted. Considerable attention is paid to the means of realization by the public of their right to make comments in the process of public discussion of the planned activities in the procedure of environmental impact assessment as a basis for taking into account the interests of the community.