Environmental impact assessment attitudes and values of environmental assessment practitioners
The link between the EIA process and decision-making has been legislated and applied in policy. A vital component of this link is the ability to combine an expert-driven and participative approach to decision-making. However the practical implementation thereof remains challenging with a dominanc...
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| Format: | Others |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
2010
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10539/8581 |
| Summary: | The link between the EIA process and decision-making has been legislated and applied
in policy. A vital component of this link is the ability to combine an expert-driven and
participative approach to decision-making. However the practical implementation
thereof remains challenging with a dominance of one approach over another frequently
occurring in the decision-making process. This research explored the expertise of
environmental practitioners and the public participation process and links these to the
outcome of the EIA practice. It specifically explored the level of expertise and the
implementation of the public participation process, and how this was reflected in the
decision-making. The qualitative approach utilised in this study employed multiple
research methodologies through the utilization of the Gautrain Environmental Impact
Assessment and Comparative Impact Assessment as a case study. This research
report illustrates that while there is often a dominant approach between the expertdriven
and participative, there is no indication that this choice is influenced by the
practitioner’s expertise. This research has also shown that the public participation
process has a number of weaknesses however it has potential as a tool to aid in the
implementation of communicative planning through its ability to bring together diverse
stakeholders in an interactive decision-making process. |
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