Good practices for environmental assessment

Abstract

Environmental assessment (EA) has emerged in the last five decades as one of the primary management tools that governments use to protect the environment. However, despite substantial theoretical development and practical experience, there are concerns that EA is not meeting its objectives. This article develops a set of good practices to improve EA. An integrated list of proposed good practices is developed based on a literature review of impact assessment research and related fields of study. The practices are then evaluated by surveying experts and practitioners involved in EA of tar sands (also known as oil sands) development in Canada. In all, 74 practices grouped under 22 themes are recommended to improve EA. Key unresolved issues in EA requiring future research are identified.