Environmental impact assessment - necessity, principles and specificities

One of the most important procedures related to nature conservation and achieving the goals of sustainable development is the assessment of the environmental impact of investment proposals (EIA). This procedure is an essential tool for preventive control. The purpose of EIA is to identify, describe and assess the various direct and indirect impacts of investment proposals on humanity and the components of the environment, before implementing the relevant investment proposals. There are eight leading principles that govern the entire EIA process, namely participation, transparency, security, accountability, credibility, cost efficiency, flexibility and practicality. In the EIA procedure the following features are observed: 1) The EIA process is informative, not regulatory. The main challenge is how the recommendations of the evaluation and compliance with the EPA (Environmental Protection Act) to become an effective tool for environmental management. 2) Experience shows that almost no EIA is performed prior to the approval of any project and the most of EIA Reports actually intend to justify the project and to answer the criticisms of the stakeholders. According to the World Economic Forum, the most serious environmental threats caused by man are pollution, mismanagement of land and water, overexploitation of species unprecedented geophysical destruction and mismanagement of urbanization. EIA, as one of the key instruments for preventive control, takes an important role in the development of investment proposals and in achievement of the objectives of sustainable development, reducing the negative impacts on the environment and improving its quality.