Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment: A Guide to Principles and Practice.

Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment: A Guide to Principles and Practice

Bram F. Noble. 2006. Oxford University Press Canada, Toronto, ON, ISBN 0-19-542090-X. $41.95 (paper); 206 pp.

Environmental Impact Assessment: Practice and Participation

Kevin S. Hanna, editor. 2005. Oxford University Press Canada, Toronto, ON, ISBN 978-0-19-541928-3 (paper); 0-19-541928-6 (hc) $68.50; 412 pp.

Environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been practiced for more than 30 years, but certainly not without its share of paradoxes and contradictions. EA laws and policies have been established around the world, but there is a continual risk of its processes being undermined and circumvented. To complicate matters, ironically, projects and activities that are screened out of EA processes can sometimes be evidence of good planning. EA's theoretical base has become increasingly diverse and sophisticated, but its practice varies widely in quality and rigor. A great deal of attention has been paid to its participatory aspects, but actual participation remains uneven in both quantity and quality. It may be the most widely practiced and institutionalized environmental management tool in the world, but, as evidenced by decades of critical literature, it does not always reach the audiences and sectors it seeks to engage, nor does it always achieve its objectives. Experience has shown, not surprisingly, that good EA depends greatly on public scrutiny and pressure, but this too, of course, can be highly variable.

Considering all this, the resilience of EA is admirable. It has persisted and matured, in large measure due to the energy of its wide community of practitioners and their long term commitment to process development and improvement. Even if some of the perennial shortcomings of EA remain substantially unresolved and some of the initial optimism surrounding it has faded, many still believe that it is making an important contribution and has the potential to do much more. Some even point to a resurgence of interest in EA, as evidenced by a robust body of academic literature.

Canada has played a prominent role in the development, theory and practice of EA and has always been well represented in the literature. That tradition continues with two new volumes--one an introductory text by Bram Noble and the other a collection of analytical chapters edited by Kevin Hanna.

Two reasonable premises support the existence of these new works. First, three decades of experience with EA and its relatively long history in Canada provide an opportunity to reflect on lessons and prospects. Second, some of the most prominent existing EA textbooks are focused either on Great Britain or the United States, with limited applicability to the Canadian context. As followers of EA have learned, it is in many ways a profoundly local practice and process. With its regional and jurisdictional differences, development pressures and resource use conflicts, Canada has often yielded important lessons for EA. And, clearly, as a rapidly evolving field, EA is in frequent need of new literature--especially if it questions basic assumptions and explores new areas of practice. Both of these new books, in their respective ways, help fill a significant gap. Noble offers an introductory text with numerous Canadian references and examples, while Hanna's book brings together a wealth of knowledge and experience from a variety of contributors.

Noble's book is a standard but thoughtfully assembled and written overview of EA and would serve as a stand alone introduction to its practice. It begins with a general discussion of EA's origins, objectives and approaches, then proceeds with a description of the Canadian context. All of the key concepts, stages and themes of EA are covered in subsequent chapters, although sometimes rather briefly, since this text weighs in at just over 200 pages. Key topics include methods, impact prediction, screening, scoping, impact significance, monitoring, cumulative effects and strategic assessment. Each chapter ends with key terms and study questions, making it useful as an introductory text. Many Canadian, and some international, cases and examples are usefully included throughout. Cases involving, for example, abandoned mine sites, forest management alternatives, subdivision development and offshore oil are put to good use. Readers should find this to be a valuable and economical overview of EA.

Hanna's edited text begins with a thoughtful foreword by Bruce Mitchell which helps to frame the critical analysis that follows on a variety of EA topics. The first part of the book deals with topics such as the evolution of federal EA in Canada, the science of assessment, public participation, public hearings, strategic EA, social impact assessment, multi-jurisdictional EA, and northern or land claim based processes. The second part includes chapters on provincial laws and procedures, as well as another look at federal EA. The book is national in scope, covering in one way or another every region of the country. Some cases are covered in considerable detail, including the Cheviot Mine Project as an example of cumulative effects; and High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal as a case study of social impacts and aboriginal responses.

The experience and expertise assembled in Hanna's book is impressive and many of the chapters take tough and insightful looks at EA practice. A chapter by Roger Creasy and William Ross, for example, offers some sensible lessons for cumulative effects, supported by the Cheviot Mine case. Their advice is logical, but evidently not always applied in EA practice, for example: "Don't be too conservative in seeking and incorporating information on other projects that may aggravate your cumulative effects assessment." A chapter by Patricia Fitzpatrick and John Sinclair analyzes the Sable Gas Panel Review and offers insightful lessons and the perspectives of participants. Robert Gibson and Kevin Hanna examine the evolution of federal EA, noting the practical difficulties in the transition to more advanced forms of assessment, and arguing that a poorly conceived shift to sustainability-based assessment could have unintended consequences. Other chapters yield more useful lessons, and, taken together, Hanna's book offers a wide-ranging and valuable look at EA from a Canadian perspective.

With their different purposes and formats, these two new books complement one another well. Whether the reader is looking for a general overview of current Canadian EA practice, or is more interested in detailed analysis and the specificity of cases and jurisdictions, there is much to be found in these new offerings.

Reviewed by Peter R. Mulvihill, Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, Canada