ABSTRACT
In addition to the monitoring and auditing of impact actions (see Chapter 14), it is increasingly being recognised that some form of EIA system monitoring is needed (Canadian Environmental Assessment Research Council – CEARC, 1988; Sadler, 1996). The principal purposes of EIA system monitoring are the consideration of EIA system effectiveness, the amendment of the EIA system to incorporate feedback from experience and to remedy any weaknesses identified, and the diffusion of best EIA practice. As Sadler (1998, p. 37) has stated: ‘there is an evident requirement to use effectiveness reviews as an integral strategy for building quality control and assurance throughout the EA [environmental assessment] process.’
