ABSTRACT
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) legislation was first introduced in the USA over 50 years ago. A European Community (EC) directive in 1985 accelerated its application in EU Member States and it has spread worldwide. The scope of EIA continues to widen and grow. Chapter 1 is the first of three chapters setting out the principles and procedures of EIA. It introduces EIA as a process, a systematic process that examines the environmental consequences of development actions. The underlying purposes of this process are set out, including the fundamental role of EIA as an instrument for sustainable development. The chapter explores the nature and types of development, environment and impacts involved in EIA, followed by an outline of the key participants in the process. There is then an outline of changing perspectives, including EIA in its theoretical context, an adaptive EIA and the evolving EIA family. An outline of current issues in EIA concludes the chapter. Subsequent chapters address these issues.
