The Critical Review of the Efficacy of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Process as A Tool Intended to Protect the Environment from Construction/ Development's Hazards

Abstract

The developed countries have been doing extraordinary marvels in science, technology and construction with a desire to tame nature coherently. This domination desire has negatively/ irreversibly impacted the environment. However, after generating enormous challenges to nature through uncontrolled developments, the developed countries started endeavouring to save the environment from the devastating impacts of construction projects at the end of the 20th century by incorporating the environmental impact assessment (EIA). EIA is the process of identifying, evaluating, and mitigating development projects' damaging environmental and social effects. In the last 25 years, EIA has developed into a mature system and is an effective tool for assessing, minimising and mitigating severe impacts of development projects on the environment. EIA is only an assessment tool to ascertain the damaging effects of projects on the environment and alternative proposals for their mitigation; however, the final decision rests with political authorities who may consider the EIA report or turn it down in the name of better interests of society/country. Unfortunately, EIA has not proved to be a fully effective process as the developed countries are still undertaking unobstructed/ unopposed mega development projects best conforming to their better interests, and developing countries are still far behind in the apprehension of the necessity of EIA. However, with the UN, USA and EU efforts, more than 120 countries have pledged to exercise EIA to assess development projects before their commencement. In this study, an endeavour has been made to review the necessity/ objectives of EIA, its historical evolutionary process, internationally recognised legal obligations, the stages of the EIA process based on the nature of projects, constraints/ pros and cons of the implementation of EIA process and efficacy of EIA as an intended tool to save the environment from the hazards of mega projects duly supported by three case studies of international projects in USA, Sweden and Pakistan.