Effectiveness of environmental impact statement methods: A Colombian case study

Abstract

The effectiveness of impact assessment (IA) methods has been a neglected topic in procedural effectiveness research, which has placed higher relevance on the quality of Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) and the environment impact assessment (EIA) process in general. This study analysed the effectiveness of methods used in IA in Colombia to demonstrate that they have been used in compliance with the Terms of Reference (ToR) but did not analyse their effectiveness. A total of 131 EIS were analysed using a revised version of the Effectiveness Index for Environmental Impact Assessment Methods (EIM) proposed by Caro and Toro (2016). It is concluded that, even if the environmental authority has accepted the EIS as a requirement for obtaining an environmental license, most of the methods that have been used in these technical documents, obtained a medium or low degree of effectiveness. The parameters regulated for the law have a higher percentage of compliance. The analysis suggests that the guidelines provided for the law, related to the design and implementation of the methods, should be improved to develop an effective EIA.