ABSTRACT
Over the last four decades there has been a remarkable growth of interest in environmental issues – in sustainability and the better man - agement of development in harmony with the environment. Associated with this growth of interest has been the introduction of new legis - lation, emanating from national and inter national sources such as the European Commission, that seeks to influence the relationship between devel - opment and the environment. Environ mental impact assessment (EIA) is an important example. EIA legislation was introduced in the USA over 40 years ago. A European Community (EC) directive in 1985 accelerated its application in EU Member States and it has spread worldwide. Since its introduction in the UK in 1988, it has been a major growth area for planning practice; the originally anticipated 20 environmental impact statements (EIS) per year in the UK has escalated to several hundreds, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. The scope of EIA continues to widen and grow.
