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Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the recognized procedure for ensuring that the potential environmental effects of new building or engineering development are considered before planning approval is consented. There is no doubt that all construction projects have a profound effect upon their environs and therefore accurate and reliable environmental assessment is essential. As the concept of environmental assessment perpetuates and experience grows through application, greater attention is being directed towards the evaluation of its effectiveness. This paper focuses specifically on this issue. Drawing upon a series of interviews with respondents from regional planning authorities and local planning department offices, investigation identifies current thoughts, highlights some of the principal concerns and issues that have arisen in early application, and views the likely future orientation of environmental assessment in the UK. The principal intention of this paper is to review current opinion on environment assessment procedures and practice at this time. Many aspects concerning the concept, principles and practices of EA, some of which start to emerge in this paper, remain for future research and investigation.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the environmental impact assessment of power energy projects in Latvia. Every industrial activity and procedure influences the environment and climate change: each to a lesser or greater extent. In Latvia, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure has been carried out for more than ten years, and during these years numerous impact assessments have been conducted. The main purpose of the EIA is to assess the possible impacts of the implementation of an intended activity, or planning document, on the environment and to consequently develop proposals for the prevention or minimization of negative effects. In turn, the project shall avert violation of the requirements specified in the regulatory enactments. Currently, particular global attention, including in Latvia, is being paid to two aspects of the energy crisis – energy dependency and climate change. The global experience has proven that with an increase in the consumption of energy, a deficiency of energy resources occurs. In this situation, public officials have increased the import of energy resources, rather than encourage a reduction of consumption. Consequently, the state becomes more dependent on imported energy resources. At the same time, scientists are researching alternative energy resources, and the development of new technology. Latvia is a country with limited resources. The development of the national economy is unthinkable without an increase in the production sector. In turn, the development of the production sector is connected with the intensification of production capacity and the resulting consequences to the environment.

The paper takes the form of a literature review and a case study.

The power industry in Latvia has acquired a stable position in the national economy. It is necessary to elaborate the common approach of EIA power projects. During the process of impact assessment, principles of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) should be implemented, which enhance the quality and efficiency of the EIA. The use of LCA principles in the process of the EIA will allow the assessment of the designed activities and environmental impact of proposed alternatives to have greater objectivity.

The work concludes with suggestions on how to include the principles of LCA in the EIA procedure. This is to improve the impact assessment of energy projects.

The purpose of this study is to identify crucial sustainability assessment criteria in the context of international port sector.

Data collection was based on a questionnaire survey from 135 managers and supervisors at major international ports in Taiwan, including Keelung, Taichung and Kaohsiung. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to identify crucial sustainability assessment criteria at ports.

A total of 31 important sustainable assessment criteria were adapted from previous studies in terms of environmental, economic and social issues. Results revealed that social issues with respect to staff job security and safety were ranked as the most important sustainability assessment criteria, followed by environmental protection when handling cargo, facilitation of economic activities, port traffic accidents prevention and cargo handled safely and effectively. In contrary, respondents revealed their less importance in the criteria, namely, mitigating light influence on neighboring residents, considering the arrangement of vehicles when constructing port transportation system, avoiding using unpolluted land in port area and hiring minority groups and consulting interests groups when making port projects. Four sustainability assessment dimensions were identified, namely, environmental material, economic issue, environmental practices and social concerns.

The research findings indicated that economic issue was deemed as the most important dimension of sustainability assessment criteria from a port operator’s perspective, followed by environmental practices, social concerns and environmental material. Practical implications for port sustainability assessment were discussed in this research.

Although a majority of previous studies on sustainability assessment have been discussed, there is still a lack of investigation of sustainability assessment in the context of port sector. This study not only develops sustainability assessment attributes but also highlights the important criteria of sustainability assessment. Further, this study identified four crucial sustainability assessment factors, which provide helpful information for port corporations to identify important criteria and policy of sustainability assessment.

The increase in issues pertaining to the strategic assessment of territorial transformation has made it necessary to find new methods and tools that are able to consider the several factors at stake. The purpose of this paper is to examine the full range of impacts produced by a project in a territorial context and propose a real application concerning the construction of a new hydropower plant in Bulgaria.

Making use of checklists, network chains and specific impact matrixes, the paper tries to evaluate the overall environmental compatibility of the project.

The performed analysis highlights a final compatibility that in most cases is satisfactory, where the most critical states concern the disturbance to the fauna species living in the area and, above all, the impacts of the project on the landscape.

The work puts in evidence the necessity of further investigations for the definition of mitigation measures that are able to reduce the most relevant effects of the project, especially the visual impact of the dams.

A part from the environmental issues, a key‐role in the general feasibility of large dam projects is played by the analysis of the social impacts. The paper puts in evidence the importance of considering in the evaluation, the effects of the hydropower plant on the community.

The general theme has an interdisciplinary nature and requires several issues to be considered: technical, economic, social and environmental aspects. The paper provides a comprehensive assessment framework in order to implement such an interdisciplinary approach.

The purpose of this paper is to present a public university’s design and implementation of an assessment approach that measures the change in undergraduate students’ environmental stewardship reasoning and knowledge abilities over time.

In support of a university’s strategic emphasis on environmental stewardship, members of a university committee developed environmental stewardship learning outcomes for undergraduate students. The learning outcomes were not required in specific academic courses or in general education. Subsequently, volunteers from a variety of roles, in cooperation with committee members, developed a corresponding assessment test that focused on reasoning and knowledge. The instrument was revised between Spring 2011 and Spring 2014, and its validity was evaluated. An exploratory analysis of student learning over time was conducted using 22 items shared by different test forms.

A series of implementations and revisions resulted in a 50-question test, the Environmental Stewardship Reasoning and Knowledge Assessment (ESRKA), which showed good reliability (0.83). A comparative analysis provided evidence of the validity of the instrument. Results from a small sample of students showed that second-year students generally performed better on the 22 items than incoming first-year students. Those taking the assessment as second-year students, 18 months after their initial assessment, scored significantly higher on the 22 items by about 10.4 percentage points (0.61 standard deviation units, t₆₈ = 6.23, p < 0.0001).

Because of the small sample size and revision of the items, the analysis of student learning is only exploratory.

The learning outcomes and validated assessment instrument may be used either in whole or part by other institutions. The approach to measure changes in students’ environmental stewardship reasoning and knowledge abilities as cohorts over time could assist universities in tracking environmental stewardship learning and could inform strategic implementation of learning opportunities through the curriculum, as well as through other student learning experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to review the Rwandan Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) practice and identify the possible constraints faced by EIA practitioners in Rwanda. The results presented here will help to highlight strengths and weakness of the Rwandan EIA practice.

The EIA practice was evaluated by a self-administered questionnaire survey for respondents including approved EIA experts in Rwanda, government agencies involved in EIA process and corporate which have received environmental clearance. The aspects of practices and challenges were evaluated and include the suitability of institutional arrangements, the scientific methodological bases of EIA, the conduct of EIA, the effectiveness of EIA with respect to influence decision making, overall results and EIA as a learning process. These aspects were rated on different scales by the respondents to identify where the Rwandan EIA practice stands now in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and constraints.

The institutional arrangements of EIA were judged to be good overall by the respondents with main strengths being seen in the policy and legal base, and the scope of application. Only the marginal weaknesses are seen in the monitoring. The scientific and empirical basis for assessment was judged to stand moderately strengthened during the last five years. The performance of key activities is more than satisfactory. A majority of Rwandan EIA stages are good and excellent to some extent.

This paper identifies some of the constraints and challenges faced by the Rwandan EIA practitioners. It will contribute to an understanding of EIA practice and robust practices across the globe.

Developments at all levels between project and policy have a potential impact on human health. Health‐impact assessment (HIA) is a discipline that seeks to assess these impacts to safeguard and enhance human health. There is a growing consensus about the scope, methodology and context for HIA but there are also many unresolved issues. This paper reviews the main trends as they vary between the healthy public policy, environmental assessment and environmental epidemiology communities; and between retrospective and prospective, developed and developing economies and urban/industrial versus rural settings. There are unresolved issues associated with the nature of evidence, the link with economic appraisal, and with the core biophysical and social health determinants. The nature of the evidence used is examined and some resolutions are proposed. The growing number of guidelines testify to a demand by development agencies for HIA, but increased consensus is required to ensure that quality assessments are delivered.