ABSTRACT
Like Asia or Europe, Latin America is not a homogeneous region in many respects. The name Latin America itself conjures up a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces would be extremely difficult to fit together on account of the historical vicissitudes of these countries and the present situation which exists within them. Any attempt or intent to treat the recent advances in EIA in all Latin America together would prove to be impossible and could lead to the most base generalizations or to a repetition of the preconceived judgements found sometimes in the literature on EIA in developing countries. Therefore, this chapter is restricted to the provision of some information showing how these countries have been dealing with their environmental problems and how EIA has been adapted to suit the national situation in a few of them.
