A new tool for EIA and a study on scoping.
ARVI tool for EIA
The three-year project, called IMPERIA, to improve environmental assessment by adopting good practice and tools of multi-criteria decision analysis (MDCA) ended in December. A key objective of the project, which was partly funded by the EU Life+ programme, was to develop new MCDA-based tools for integrated EIA and a questionnaire tool to gather public opinions online in a structured and efficient way. IMPERIA developed an Excel-based ARVI tool to aid this.
Managed by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), IMPERIA developed good practice and methods for MCDA with project partners. These were tested on eight different schemes, including assessments of the increased use of biofuels by Helsingin Energia in 2014 and of the ‘Balticconnector’ natural gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia in 2015. The ARVI method enabled experts to collect and compare different datasets and to produce charts and tables to illustrate the results. It found that taking local considerations into account early in the planning process bolstered lower impact development.
Views on EIA scoping
A study in Environmental Impact Assessment Review examines practitioner notions of effectiveness in EIA scoping in England. The authors tested the ‘received view’ of scoping, which asserts that effectiveness is constrained by a failure to narrow the assessment focus, against an alternative, pragmatist interpretation. They found that risk management ‘ends-in-view’ shape the interpretation of the purpose of scoping and hence effective practice. Among EIA consultants, this focus translates into managing the risk of project delays, while planning officers seek to minimise the risk of legal challenge, and statutory consultees aim to provide advice that is proportionate to potential environmental risks. The research also revealed that scoping approaches limit opportunities for learning.
