Environmental impact assessment attitudes and values of environmental assessment practitioners

Abstract

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.