Search

This study identifies adoption determinants of selected cleaner technologies used in bleached kraft pulp production, with emphasis on incentives for voluntary environmental management. A double-hurdle model consistent with the theory of irreversible investment under uncertainty outperformed a probit specification, indieating the importance of option values as an adoption deterrent. Measures of public pressure for environmental performance, such as Toxics Release Inventory data and environmental group membership, were positively associated with cleaner technology adoption. The results suggest a role for environmetal policy designs that accommodate the industry's private incentives while minimizing the value of waiting to adopt cleaner technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the most comprehensive databases that measure US corporate environmental performance that have become available during the 1990s. These include the US Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and databases maintained by Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini, and Co., the Council on Economic Priorities and the Investor Responsibility Research Center. We describe these databases and identify the significant studies on environmental performance in the field of management that use these databases. We indicate three trends that should improve the quality and quantity of publicly available environmental performance data. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines inflation dynamics in the United States since 2000. The basic aims of this paper are: firstly, to provide a relatively simple chaotic inflation rate growth model that is capable of generating stable equilibria, cycles, or chaos, and secondly, to analyze the inflation rate growth stability in the period 2000-2017 in the U.S. economy. This paper confirms the existence of the convergent fluctuations of the inflation rate in the U.S. economy in the observed period. The net export rate, the government environmental protection expenditure -- government spending ratio, the government environmental protection expenditure rate, and the investment rate are important factors of inflation rate stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a bibliometric, citation network-based method for assessing the social validation of novel research, and applies this method to the development of high-throughput toxicology research at the US Environmental Protection Agency. Social validation refers to the acceptance of novel research methods by a relevant scientific community; it is formally independent of the technical validation of methods, and is frequently studied in history, philosophy, and social studies of science using qualitative methods. The quantitative methods introduced here find that high-throughput toxicology methods are spread throughout a large and well-connected research community, which suggests high social validation. Further assessment of social validation involving mixed qualitative and quantitative methods are discussed in the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited awareness of environmental remote sensing's potential ability to support environmental policy development constrains the technology's utilization. This paper reviews the potential of earth observation from the perspective of environmental policy. A literature review of "remote sensing and policy" revealed that while the number of publications in this field increased almost twice as rapidly as that of remote sensing literature as a whole (15.3 versus 8.8% yr-1), there is apparently little academic interest in the societal contribution of environmental remote sensing. This is because none of the more than 300 peer reviewed papers described actual policy support. This paper describes and discusses the potential, actual support, and limitations of earth observation with respect to supporting the various stages of environmental policy development. Examples are given of the use of remote sensing in problem identification and policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy control and evaluation. While initially, remote sensing contributed primarily to the identification of environmental problems and policy implementation, more recently, interest expanded to applications in policy control and evaluation. The paper concludes that the potential of earth observation to control and evaluate, and thus assess the efficiency and effectiveness of policy, offers the possibility of strengthening governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although substantial attention has focused on efforts by the new Administration to block environmental policies, climate politics have been contentious in the US since well before the election of Donald Trump. In this paper, we extend previous work on empirical examinations of echo chambers in US climate politics using new data collected on the federal climate policy network in summer 2016. We test for the similarity and differences at two points in time in homophily and echo chambers using Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGM) to compare new findings from 2016 to previous work on data from 2010. We show that echo chambers continue to play a significant role in the network of information exchange among policy elites working on the issue of climate change. In contrast to previous findings where echo chambers centered on a binding international commitment to emission reductions, we find that the pre-existing echo chambers have almost completely disappeared and new structures have formed around one of the main components of the Obama Administration’s national climate policy: the Clean Power Plan. These results provide empirical evidence that science communication and policymaking at the elite level shift in relation to the policy instruments under consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Public Art is the property of Shanghai Fine Arts Publisher Ltd. co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Proposals specifically aimed at environmental benefits or enhancements are often exempt from environmental assessment, despite evidence that they can be counter-productive. This is true of agri-environmental schemes where local farm-scale actions are expected to generate large-area cumulative effects on water quality, biodiversity or landscape. Evidence suggests benefits of schemes have often been assumed rather than planned for, necessitating ex-post assessment to justify continuance. This paper argues the need for the Irish Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS) to be assessed using SEA. REPS promoted a range of small-scale improvements in a bottom-up approach intended to reflect several high-level policy objectives primarily concerning environmental protection. The paper is based on analysis of "landscape protection" under the REPS from inception in 1994 until its phasing out period in 2015 when all participants will have completed their plans. The paper investigates how linking SEA to REPS had potential for harmonising with other policy objectives and therefore avoiding administrative duplication. Comparison with the Water Framework Directive suggests opportunities to connect different environmental procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior to construction of a bridge or highway, the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) requires an evaluation of the effect of the project on the human environment. The purpose of NEPA is to require the head of the federal agency that is committing funds to the project to consider its actions before deciding to proceed with the project. This paper will analyze the general provisions of NEPA to remove some of the mystery related to the environmental concerns raised by bridge or highway projects and to emphasize to transportation planners that these concerns must be addressed prior to beginning a major bridge or highway project. The intent of this paper is to provide some guidance to transportation planners in light of these statutes as they begin the planning stages for highway and bridge projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multistakeholder collaboration in the environmental realm has been increasing steadily over the past decade. This trend is responding to several stimuli, including dissatisfaction with current regulatory regimes, a liberal economic climate emphasizing global competitiveness and short-term returns, and the growing roles of the business and nongovernmental organization sectors in the environmental policy arena. This paper grows out of ethnographic research conducted between 1994 and 1998 with four environmental partnerships in Europe and the United States. The research found all of these partnerships to be marked by practices of conflict minimization and diffusion. Drawing upon illustrative data from one of these case studies, a European Union level initiative aimed at enabling sustainable development in Europe, the paper asks why this was the case, especially given the diverse political and economic interests at stake and the history of contentious relations between the sectors in other venues. Employing a theoretical perspective highlighting the sociohistoric factors involved in these processes, the paper suggests that this proclivity toward nonconfrontational behavior stems in part from two sources: a prominent cultural model that conceptualizes the partnership process as fundamentally nonconflictual in nature, and the promotion of the discourse of ecological modernization over other competing discourses. The paper explores some of the implications of this finding and concludes that environmental partnerships characterized by such nonconfrontational practices risk inadvertently encouraging the delegitimization of conflictual approaches to environmental action and engendering a retreat from radical thinking and innovative environmental solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrestrial and ocean ecosystems are increasingly under threat from an array of anthropogenic pressures. And while threats mount, how people view and value nature is changing. In the United States (U.S.) in particular, there is a shift away from viewing nature as something to 'dominate,' as evidenced in the decline in hunting. However, it is unclear if or how opinions around environmental issues and conservation need might differ when comparing ocean versus terrestrial ecosystems, especially given the prevalence and continued importance of wild capture fishing in the U.S. We employed two national parallel surveys, one focused on oceans, the other land, receiving responses from nearly every state in the U.S. (N = 1,973). While we found only slight, but statistically significant more concern for ocean habitats and animals over terrestrial ecosystems, this did not translate to increased willingness to monetarily support more ocean conservation actions. Using Random Forest models, we also found the best predictor of conservation need was feeling most impacted by environmental issues personally (self and/or community), regardless of ecosystem type. In fact, land versus sea (survey) had the lowest rank in the models, underscoring the importance of general nature-based interactions. Instead, the number of outdoor recreational activities was a highly ranked variable explaining the level of reported impact to self/community, with people who participate in 2 or more activities scoring higher levels of impact, on average. Notably, people who hunt and fish, versus only do one or the other, reported higher levels of impact and participated in more activities overall, providing a more nuanced finding regarding the nature 'dominance hypothesis.' Voting, not political affiliation, was also important in explaining responses, and governmental mechanisms to fund conservation were favored over voluntary. Overall, our results add to the strong existing literature that access and connection to nature is key, but uniquely broad connection may "float all boats," especially when diversified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streamflow predictions are critical for managing water resources and for environmental conservation, especially in the water-short Western United States. Land surface models (LSMs), such as the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) model and the Noah LSM with multiparameterization options (Noah-MP), play an essential role in providing comprehensive runoff predictions across the region. Virtually all LSMs require parameter estimation (calibration) to optimize their predictive capabilities. Here, we focus on the calibration of VIC and Noah-MP models at a 1/16 ° latitude–longitude resolution across the Western United States. We first performed global optimal calibration of parameters for both models for 263 river basins in the region. We find that the calibration significantly improves the models' performance, with the median daily streamflow Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE) increasing from 0.37 to 0.70 for VIC, and from 0.22 to 0.54 for Noah-MP. In general, post-calibration model performance is higher for watersheds with relatively high precipitation and runoff ratios, and at lower elevations. At a second stage, we regionalize the river basin calibrations using the donor-basin method, which establishes transfer relationships for hydrologically similar basins, via which we extend our calibration parameters to 4816 hydrologic unit code (HUC)-10 basins across the region. Using the regionalized parameters, we show that the models' capabilities to simulate high and low flow conditions are substantially improved following calibration and regionalization. The refined parameter sets we developed are intended to support regional hydrological studies and hydrological assessments of climate change impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) are designed based on a win-win approach to environmental protection that reconciles environmental protection and economic performance. Despite the claims about VEPs, there has been an ongoing debate over their efficacy with regard to whether environmental goals are balanced by economic interests on both theoretical and empirical grounds. To resolve this controversy, this paper empirically investigates a public VEP by the US Environmental Protection Agency: Green Lights (GL). For this, the paper constructs a treatment effects regression model to account for the effects of non-random assignment for GL participants and non-participants. The proposed model can simultaneously estimate probit models that predict corporate participation in the GL program and linear models that test the extent to which this participation contributes to economic performance. The results indicate significant positive effects of corporate participation in the GL program on economic performance, providing support for the win-win perspective. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reevaluates the effectiveness of the EPA's voluntary 33/50 program in reducing the releases of 17 high-priority toxic chemicals for the 1988-1995 period. Contrary to previous studies that use program participation information at the firm level and find mixed evidence on the effectiveness of the program, our analysis uses participation status at the facility level and shows the importance of undertaking analysis at a disaggregated scale. We find the rate of reduction in releases was significantly higher for program participants than nonparticipants, but the effect is attenuated when estimated using firm-level participation data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve estimates of non-dietary ingestion in probabilistic exposure modeling, a meta-analysis of children's object-to-mouth frequency was conducted using data from seven available studies representing 438 participants and ∼1500 h of behavior observation. The analysis represents the first comprehensive effort to fit object-to-mouth frequency variability and uncertainty distributions by indoor/outdoor location and by age groups recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency for assessing childhood exposures. Weibull distributions best fit the observed data from studies with no statistical differences, and are presented by study, age group, and location. As age increases, both indoor and outdoor object-to-mouth frequencies decrease. Object-to-mouth frequency is significantly greater indoors (2–32 contacts/h) than outdoors (average 1–9 contacts/h). This paper compares results to a similar hand-to-mouth frequency meta-analysis. Children who tend to mouth hands indoors also tend to mouth hands outdoors; children who tend to mouth objects indoors tend to mouth objects outdoors. However, children who tend to mouth objects do not necessarily have a tendency to mouth hands. Unlike for hand-to-mouth frequency, a statistical difference was found among the various studies for object-to-mouth frequency. This could be due to different definitions for object mouthing across the studies considered. The analysis highlights the need for additional object-to-mouth data (indoors and especially outdoors) for various age groups using standardized collection and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communities are faced with challenges in identifying and prioritizing environmental issues, taking actions to reduce their exposures, and determining their effectiveness for reducing human health risks. Additional challenges include determining what scientific tools are available and most relevant, and understanding how to use those tools; given these barriers, community groups tend to rely more on risk perception than science. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) and collaborators are developing and applying tools (models, data, methods) for enhancing cumulative risk assessments. The NERL's “Cumulative Communities Research Program” focuses on key science questions: (1) How to systematically identify and prioritize key chemical stressors within a given community?; (2) How to develop estimates of exposure to multiple stressors for individuals in epidemiologic studies?; and (3) What tools can be used to assess community-level distributions of exposures for the development and evaluation of the effectiveness of risk reduction strategies? This paper provides community partners and scientific researchers with an understanding of the NERL research program and other efforts to address cumulative community risks; and key research needs and opportunities. Some initial findings include the following: (1) Many useful tools exist for components of risk assessment, but need to be developed collaboratively with end users and made more comprehensive and user-friendly for practical application; (2) Tools for quantifying cumulative risks and impact of community risk reduction activities are also needed; (3) More data are needed to assess community- and individual-level exposures, and to link exposure-related information with health effects; and (4) Additional research is needed to incorporate risk-modifying factors (“non-chemical stressors”) into cumulative risk assessments. The products of this research program will advance the science for cumulative risk assessments and empower communities with information so that they can make informed, cost-effective decisions to improve public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanotechnologies have been called the “Next Industrial Revolution.” At the same time, scientists are raising concerns about the potential health and environmental risks related to the nano-sized materials used in nanotechnologies. Analyses suggest that current U.S. federal regulatory structures are not likely to adequately address these risks in a proactive manner. Given these trends, the premise of this paper is that state and local-level agencies will likely deal with many “end-of-pipe” issues as nanomaterials enter environmental media without prior toxicity testing, federal standards, or emissions controls. In this paper we (1) briefly describe potential environmental risks and benefits related to emerging nanotechnologies; (2) outline the capacities of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act to address potential nanotechnology risks, and how risk data gaps challenge these regulations; (3) outline some of the key data gaps that challenge state-level regulatory capacities to address nanotechnologies’ potential risks, using Wisconsin as a case study; and (4) discuss advantages and disadvantages of state versus federal approaches to nanotechnology risk regulation. In summary, we suggest some ways government agencies can be better prepared to address nanotechnology risk knowledge gaps and risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates a recent innovation in regulating risk called management-based regulation. Traditionally, risk regulation has either specified a particular means of achieving a risk-reduction goal or specified the goal and left the means of achieving that goal up to the regulated entity. In contrast, management-based regulation neither explicitly imposes the means, nor the ends. Rather, what is required is that each regulated entity review its production processes and develop a set of goals and procedures that will reduce risk. I evaluate the effectiveness of management-based regulation by taking advantage of policy variation that occurred when 14 states adopted such regulations for toxic chemical control in the 1990s. Using panel data for just over 31,000 manufacturing plants in the United States, I investigate whether facilities subject to management-based regulations had larger changes in total quantities of toxic chemical releases, engaged in more pollution prevention activities, or reported fewer toxic chemicals to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The results indicate that management-based regulation has had a measurable positive effect on the environmental performance of manufacturing plants. In particular, plants subject to management-based regulation experienced larger decreases in total pounds of toxic chemicals released and were more likely to engage in source reduction activities. © 2007 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voluntary environmental programs are codes of progressive environmental conduct that firms pledge to adopt. This paper investigates whether ISO 14001, a voluntary program with a weak sword—a weak monitoring and sanctioning mechanism—can mitigate shirking and improve participants' environmental performance. Sponsored by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ISO 14001 is the most widely adopted voluntary environmental program in the world. Our analysis of over 3,000 facilities regulated as major sources under the U.S. Clean Air Act suggests that ISO 14001-certified facilities reduce their pollution emissions more than non-certified facilities. This result persists even after controlling for facilities' emission and regulatory compliance histories as well as addressing potential endogeneity issues between facilities' environmental performance and their decisions to join ISO 14001. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventing groundwater contamination is vastly cheaper than remediation. Recognizing this, attention in water and land management agencies in North America increasingly turn to groundwater protection. Local agencies, such as municipalities and watershed management districts, are vital to successful groundwater protection, but they face daunting challenges. In the United States, senior governments have recognized these challenges and provide considerable support for local agencies. In Ontario, Canada, local agencies are, to a much greater extent, on their own. The aims in this paper are to analyze factors that shape local capacity for groundwater protection, focusing on Ontario, and to recommend avenues for capacity building. Interrelationships among five dimensions of capacity (technical, financial, institutional, social, and political) are explored through an analysis of three smaller Ontario communities: City of Guelph (population 93,400), Town of Orangeville (population 22,188), and Town of Erin (population 11,000). Size clearly influences capacity for groundwater protection. However, other considerations unrelated to size appear to be as important. These other factors include the ability to form horizontal and vertical linkages with external agencies, political leadership and commitment, and citizen involvement. Thus, smaller communities in Ontario (and other jurisdictions with limited senior government support) would do well to focus on these areas at the same time as they develop their technical, financial, and institutional capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emissions trading takes place from two alternative baselines: 1) emission reduction credits (ERCs) in which the baseline is existing regulations which are often activity based; or 2) capand trade which specifies the toted allowable emissions. This paper examines the effects of these two tradable permit systems on marginal and average costs for the firm, using electricity, generation as an example. The ERC system subsidizes the activity level to which it is tied and fails to incorporate the full cost of external harm into the product price. If the permit limit is chosen efficiently, the capand trade system is more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various methods of spatial analysis are commonly used in land-use plans and site selection studies. A historical overview and discussion of contemporary developments of land-use suitability analysis are presented. The paper begins with an exploration into the early 20th century with the infancy of documented applications of the technique. The article then travels through the 20th century, documenting significant milestones. Concluding with present explorations of advanced technologies such as neural computing and evolutionary programming, this work is meant to serve as a foundation for literature review and a premise for the exploration of new advancements as we enter into the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate annual environmental reports can be judged by the comprehensiveness of their coverage; this paper uses three published comprehensiveness scoring systems to judge 28 such reports (mostly dated 1998) from large US corporations. Earlier (nominally 1996) reports from the same companies were previously scored using one or two of the same systems, and the published results are compared with scores from the current round of reports. The scores of all three scoring systems are significantly correlated for the 1998 environmental reports, indicating that to some degree they are scoring the same features, but with quite a lot of scatter between the scores of one of the systems and those of the other two. There is, however, no correlation between the scores on the 1996 reports and the 1998 reports using the same systems on both. Evidently, most of the 1998 reports were not prepared with the intent of maximizing scores from any of the three scoring systems. Although the three systems achieve similar ranking of the 1998 reports for environmental comprehensiveness, the average normalized scores of one of the systems is significantly higher than those of the other two, reflecting a shorter list of topics and one more in keeping with the practices of the report writers. Because the scoring systems measure the number of topics covered and the depth of discussion rather than the quality of environmental performance, maximum scores could be obtained even with poor performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an initial understanding and insight into solving the dilemma of implementing multiple strategies within the firm. Specifically, we suggest a conceptual framework for compensation systems for different types of firms that face varying levels of conflict between environmental and business performance. The design of a compensation system depends crucially on the availability or not of performance indicators. Our conceptual framework outlines compensation systems for firms with and without the possibility of measuring environmental performance. A ‘multiplier’ model is suggested for firms with good availability of performance indicators for both profits and the environment. Compensation systems for firms without environmental performance indicators (EPIs) become more case specific, depending on the degrees of conflict in the short and long run. Consequently, EPIs give firms much more flexibility in the design of efficient compensation systems. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a quarter century of environmental regulation in this country, significant environmental threats remain. Why has the regulatory system failed to fully address our environmental problems? The goal of this paper is to suggest that the roots of environmental problems, and the failure of environmental regulation, are deeply embedded in the processes that generate economic growth. The logic of the argument to be presented will take the following form: long-run economic growth relies on the creation of new industries and new forms of economic activity; these new forms of economic activity create new kinds of environmental problems; these new forms of economic activity constitute vested political interests that oppose environmental regulation. Each of the three main sections of the paper will provide theoretical and empirical justification for each component part of the basic argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine and coastal environment are under pressure from several pollution sources. Most of the environmental law was developed on a sectoral basis and does not reflect the interdependence of the various issues and their solutions. Since the adoption of Blue Book, EU legislation to protect the marine environment has been progressively implemented in many relevant areas: Fisheries, Shipping, Tourism, energy, etc. The Integrated Maritime Policy covers several cross-cutting policies, more specifically blue growth, marine data and knowledge, maritime spatial planning, integrated maritime surveillance, and sea basin strategies. Oceans and sea are influenced by many activities, interests and policies and are interlinked. A holistic, integrated approach is the best way to handle maritime affairs, with States cooperation not only on an EU States basis but also with third States and International Organizations. International Organizations provide an essential forum for international cooperation in relation to environmental issues. In this context they have two important roles to play: environmental policy-making and the development of international environmental law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1990s, Environmental Voluntary Agreements (VAs) involving regulatory agencies and industry have emerged as the promise of the future in environmental policy circles. The collaborative mechanisms of VAs can be conducive to the development of innovative solutions, which regulators or firms would have been unlikely to develop alone. From a business perspective, participation in VAs can reduce the burden of regulation, facilitate the communication of environmental improvements, and allow firms to be ahead of competition for environmental products. However, the benefits of participating in VAs can be outweighed by high transaction and administration costs if VAs are not properly designed. This article discusses when participation in a VA offers strategic opportunities and when joining a VA might turn into a costly enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper incorporates world-systems perspectives into an analysis of global environmental politics, thus adjoining a political economic analysis of scale with studies of global environmental policy. It is the ability of some social groups and institutions to jump scale that determines how global environmental policies are shaped. The United States' carbon-intensive economy is seen to face larger short-term costs from global environmental agreements than many other countries in the core of the world-system, but what remains unexplored in the environmental politics literature is the question of why the United States sees its long-term economic condition hindered by these agreements. This analysis points to the ways industry actors intervene at multiple scales of global environmental negotiations to affect national policy positions as well as larger discourses about science and risk. The article reviews the methyl bromide controversy in the Montreal Protocol to explain why this agreement has recently failed to live up to expectations in removing ozone-depleting substances. The United States is particularly responsible for this impediment: rather than innovate in response to new information and changing international contexts, industry actors have drawn upon US hegemony to enforce their dominant market positions. As the parties to the Montreal Protocol remain polarized over questions of methyl bromide use, this analysis calls for attention to the ways capital, states, and other social institutions are embedded in international environmental agreements and how they use such arrangements to obstruct successful multilateral agreements. I conclude by suggesting that environmental and other social movements might strategize in two ways: 1) by helping support an emergent 'green hegemony' (most apparent in Chinese policy) as a counterhegemonic alternative, and 2) by developing strategies that account for the ways industry interests overlap with declining US hegemony in a shifting world-system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews progress in environmental impact assessment (EIA) over the last 40 years, with particular emphasis on the last 15–20 years, and poses the question: is EIA ready to meet future challenges? The first part of the paper briefly examines the spread of EIA around the world, recent trends in the uptake of EIA, and the continuing emergence of variants of impact assessment. The second part of the paper concentrates on current issues in EIA, under three broad headings: theory and EIA, practice issues and EIA effectiveness. An important thread running through the second part of the paper is how discussions about EIA theory, a feature of the last 15 years, are affecting the different areas of EIA practice and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]