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Evaluation and Assessment Techniques Example: simplified flow chart for the EIA procedure

These techniques are an aid in analysing the effect The flow chart shows how an EIA procedure could be implemented
proposed measures (alternative developments) have on following UNEP90. It is based on a set of 13 guiding principles which
aspects of the coastal system. Well established define what an EIA should include which were endorsed by the General
techniques exist for the following aspects: Assembly of the United Nations in 1987 (click for a larger version):

quality of the natural environment

risk for natural disasters
economical efficiency

Quality of the natural environment

Techniques analysing effects with the focus on the quality

of the natural environment are usually called:
"environmental impact assessment" (EIA) techniques.
Currently, the use of EIA is legislated in the EU since
1985. In that year, the EU enforced the EIA Directive on
Environmental Impact Assessment for projects. In 2000
a similar Directive (Strategic Environmental Assessment,
SIA) was adopted for plans, policies and programmes.
These assessments ensure that significant environmental
impacts are identified and assessed and taken into
account in the decision making process to which the
public can participate. The EU published three guidelines,
corresponding to three stages of environmental
assessments:

Screening: The process by which a decision is

taken on whether or not EIA is required for a
particular project.
Scoping: The process of identifying the content
and extent of the environmental information to
be submitted to the EIA authority.
Review: The process of establishing whether an
EIS is adequate for the EIA authority to use it to
inform the decision makers.

The UNEP published a useful report about how to to EIA

in marine and coastal zones (Figure SCHEME, UNEP90).
EA techniques exist for specific themes: the Carrying
Capacity Assessment (CCA), Climate Impact Studies
(CIS), Rapid Assessment of Coastal Communities
(RACE).

Risk for natural disasters

Increasing developments in coastal zones lead to the fact

that people, their properties, and the flora and fauna are
exposed to increasing risks and vulnerability for natural
disasters like flooding, landslides and tanker accidents. In
the Mediterranean Basin, earthquakes are a major
coastal risk. In many tropical regions, flooding caused by
rivers or the sea is a major problem. To reduce the risk
for and impact of natural disasters, these risks must be
assessed and managed. The standard Environmental Risk
Management strategy will:

Identify what can go wrong and prioritize the

most serious hazards;
Consider how likely such events are to happen,
how tolerable it will be if each does and how each
might be avoided, reduced or controlled;
Implement the most appropriate policy option;
Evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen risk
mitigation.

A risk assessment should be standard part of the

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Principles of ICZM - Methods, Tools and Techniques - EIA techniques http://www.biodiversity.ru/coastlearn/iczm-eng/eia.html

evaluation of ICZM projects. Read more on

Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) in the CoastLearn
module.

Economical efficiency

Many decisions are taken if the benefits are proven. Thus,

it is logical to include studies in the evaluation of ICZM
programmes who determine the economical efficiency of
a proposal. A common difficulty in applying economical
techniques to evaluate investments with nature values
involved, is that the latter are difficult to express in terms
of money. In addition, the relevant aspects of the coastal
system are not always understood completely, and one
easily neglects negative or positive effects (costs or
benefits) one activity has on another. Examples of
techniques are:

cost/benefit analysis (CBA): An analysis in which

the discounted benefits and costs are compared.
The benefits of a development should exceed the
costs before a go-ahead is given;
least cost analysis: A least cost analysis does not
consider the benefits, either because they can
not be determined, or when there are no
significant different benefits among the
alternatives. In this case, the decision is based on
the discounted costs which should be as low as
possible, of course.

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