Over the last decades, much experience has been gained internationally with Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). EIA was introduced to limit unexpected, adverse environmental effects of planning and decision-making. This approach has great appeal, and EIA has become standard practice in environmental planning. Nevertheless, the instrument still has some weak points. One is the general lack of follow-up after an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared and the development proposal has been approved. Little effort is made to analyse the actual effects of projects and plans that have been subject to EIA. However, it is also important to keep an eye on their effects after the EIS is finished and the decision is taken. This may be done through ex post evaluation of EIA activities, also known by the terms monitoring and auditing and covered by the more general concept of follow-up. The Netherlands is one of the few countries in the world where such EIA evaluation and monitoring is a compulsory part of the EIA process. Although much experience has been built up with the EIA process in general, there is little experience with the ex post evaluation of EIA activities. This book considers why ex post evaluation of EIA activities is so rarely carried out in the Netherlands, and then explores how such evaluations could be done. The aim is to clarify the role ex post evaluation of EIA activities can play in planning and decision-making. An exercise in `learning by doing', the book alternates between practical application and theoretical inference. The book consists of five parts. The introductory part, Chapter 1, introduces the problem, the objectives and the scope of the book. The theoretical part, Chapters 2 and 3, presents the framework of the study. The inventory part, Chapters 4, 5 and 6, reviews the state of the art of EIA evaluation and monitoring internationally and in the Netherlands. The empirical part, Chapters 7, 8 and 9, examines several case studies in order to develop approaches to EIA evaluation and monitoring. Attention is devoted to the following cases: two waste disposal projects, an urban extension project near Amsterdam, various road construction developments, and several strategic waste management plans. The concluding part, Chapter 10, discusses the relevance and future of EIA evaluation and monitoring. (A)
Samenvatting