Spatial information in public consultation within environmental impact assessments

Thesis Summary Spatial information in public consultation within Environmental Impact Assessments Angela N. Mwenda Established in the United States of America in 1970, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an interdisciplinary approach that considers the anticipated impacts of development on the environment, and proposes timely mitigation of these impacts to the extent possible. Since then, EIA has continued to be established in countries worldwide, with modifications being made to suit regional and local requirements. Essential to EIA is an attempt to balance environmental concerns with social, economic and other human needs, which has led to partnership with society, to the extent that public participation is deeply incorporated into EIA. Also central to the EIA process is information related to the natural and human environment. Sources of this information, particularly those that contain spatial elements, are valuable due to their ability to provide information on location. Sources of spatial information are numerous, and may include photographs, maps, satellite images, orthophotographs, verbal descriptions, animations, and virtual reality, among others. Despite its innovative presentation of project-relevant information and communication function during public participation, debate exists on the value of spatial information to EIA. For example, high levels of visual realism may hinder the interpretation of spatial information, while high costs, and technical demands may cause certain types of spatial information to be inaccessible to a large number of stakeholders. These challenges are not unique to any one country, and have also been observed in developing countries, where, in addition to a deficiency of information, less developed and poorly enforced legislative, administrative, institutional and procedural frameworks for EIA intensify the challenges. For example, despite an official recommendation for the use of spatial information during public participa