Improving the effectiveness of project assessment - Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment - page 349

conservation based; it makes little challenge to the fixed hierarchies of
modernism that underpin it, such as developmentinduced growth and
technological subservience. Environmental design within EIA is too often
merely a by-product of assessment or is even handed back to the
developer to have another shot at the design themselves. It makes little use
of artistic-based metaphors to provide any re-enchantment or return to
human landscape values, it makes no attempt to rip apart environmental
function and form, and creates no demand for the kind of relative
individualism needed to reflect cultural sustainability to an uninterested-
unless-aroused population (all characteristics of postmodernism). Through
this passivity of EIA, time, space, communication, leadership—all the key
elements of good flowing design are lost.
This said, initially it might be argued that true postmodernism is simply beyond the remit
of an EIA which exists for objective assessment rather than artistic purposes. The above
description should be called EID. EID emphasizes the artistic contribution to EIA; it
requires a different set of approaches (and probably personnel) than pure EIA, as well as
creativity and elements of cultural vision. To an extent some of the principles of EID are
already being undertaken in EIA, in the mitigation sections of EISs, and especially within
environmental divisions of the larger developers (e.g. the utilities) who often seem to see
the formal EIA process as merely a lateral extension to their own design policies. Even
so, rarely is it recognized as an artistic activity.
The key difference between EIA and EID lies in the concept of “unmodifiable
design”. Traditionally, EIAs are carried out on projects in which most of the structural
elements have already been finalized. In more EID-oriented approaches, there is less
unmodifiable design and thus more scope for introducing environmentally sound design
as mitigation measures. An even more radical path would be a postmodern EIA which
aims to begin with so few unmodifiable design ideas that the EIA essentially becomes the
leading player in design (adapted from Holstein 1996).
11.3.8 Complementary changes: enhancing skills and knowledge
The previous discussions indicate that EIA practitioners need to develop further their
substantive knowledge of the wider environment. There is an important role for “State of
the Environment reports” and the development of “carrying capacity and sustainability
indicators”—if not interpreted too narrowly. For example, carrying capacity is multi-
dimensional and multi-perspective (see Figure 11.3 for an example for tourism impact
assessment). Carrying capacity is also an elastic concept, and the capacity can be
increased through good management.
Practitioners also need to develop both “technical” and “participatory” approaches,
such as the focus group, the Delphi approach and the mediation approaches noted earlier.
EIA has been too long do minated by the “clinical expert” with the detached quantitative
analysis. Notwithstanding, there is still a place for the sensible use of the rapidly
developing technology—including expert systems, GIS, participatory techniques and
text-oriented analysis (e.g. non-numerical unstructured data—NUD*IST—pulling out
issues from focus group transcripts) (Rodriguez-Bachiller with Glasson 2003). There is