Commentary资料文件与下载

COMMENTARY 评论

We were unable to gain free access to this book excerpt for MOOC participants. For those without institutional access, we summarize the main points below.

本书仅供慕课学员免费阅读。对于未获得阅读许可的人，我们将本书的主要观点归纳如下。

This reading is taken from Methods of Environmental Impact Assessment, edited by Peter Morris and Riki Therivel. It includes the book's introduction (pages 1-11) and an excerpt from the chapter "Sustainable Development and Sustainability Appraisal" by Roy Emberton and Therivel (pages 471-472). It introduces the major steps in preparing an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and discusses the connection between EIAs and sustainable development.

该阅读材料摘自由皮特•莫里斯和瑞奇•瑟瑞维尔主编的《环境影响评估方法》。它包括本书的引言（第1-11页）和罗伊•恩伯顿与瑟瑞维尔所著《可持续发展和可持续性评估》一章（第471-472页）的节选，主要介绍了准备环境影响评估（EIA）的主要步骤，并讨论了环境影响评估与可持续发展之间的关系。

The authors state that an EIA process should serve to gather and analyze information about the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project. This information should be compiled in a written environmental impact statement (EIS). The findings included in an EIA – dependent on the legal context - can be used to determine whether a project can legally proceed, simply predict the environmental effects of a project without discussing the legal ramifications, and/or analyze and discover alternatives and mitigation measures that would lessen the environmental impact of the project. Robust EIAs take into account a range of impacts such as likely effects on soil quality, plant cover, animal communities, water quality, noise, and air quality.

作者指出，环境影响评估过程应该用以收集和分析相关信息，了解拟议项目可能造成的环境影响。这些信息应该编写成书面的环境影响声明（EIS）。根据相关法律，环境影响评估中所包含的研究结果可用于确定一个项目是否可以合法地继续进行，在不考虑法律后果的情况下，简单地预测项目的环境影响，和/或分析并发现能够降低项目对环境影响的备选方案和减缓措施。可靠的环境影响评估会考虑了一系列影响因素，例如对土壤质量、植物覆盖率、动物群落、水质、噪音和空气质量的可能影响。

The authors outline a seven-step process for conducting an EIA:

作者为环境影响评估列出的七个步骤：

• Scoping 范围确定
• Baseline studies 基本研究
• Description and evaluation of baseline conditions 基本情况描述和评估
• Impact prediction 影响预测
• Mitigation and monitoring proposals and prescriptions 缓和与监管提案与方案
• Presentation of finding and proposals in the EIA 环境影响评估结果与提案展示
• Monitoring 监管

Proper scoping sets out the boundaries for the assessment, specifying the who, what, where, why, when, and hows of the proposed forecasting and appraisal process. Baseline studies allow for comparative analysis of alternative versions of the proposed project. This step seeks to assess the “status quo” environmental conditions of the site prior to any new development. Impact prediction explains how the proposed project is likely to alter the environmental conditions relative to this baseline. Holistic impact predictions attempt to understand primary, secondary, and cumulative impacts. The mini-lecture for this module will review the tools that enable practitioners to predict and assess impacts. The mitigation stage is meant to summarize strategies for counteracting or holding identified impacts to a minimum. The presentation of the EIA results, in an EIS, summarizes all the findings. Finally, while not included in many EIA processes, long-term monitoring can reveal whether the predicted impacts match the actual post-development results and can also be used to ensure the addition of appropriate mitigation measures.  These need to be put in place by the developer, the regulator, and the community and can be part of the regulatory permission to proceed with the process.

恰当的范围决定了评估的界限，明确了提案预测和评估的人员、内容、地点、原因、时间和方式。基本研究可对项目的不同备选方案进行比较分析。这一步旨在评估现场在进行新项目开发之前的环境条件“现状”。影响预测说明了提案项目会为当前的基本环境条件带来什么样的变化。整体影响预测旨在了解主要、次要和累积影响。本部份的小型演讲将回顾帮助从业人员进行预测和评估影响的工具。缓和阶段旨在总结应对或将影响降到最低的策略。环境影响声明即是环境影响评估的展示成功，声明中将总结所有的结果。最后，虽然许多环境影响评估过程中并不包含这一步，但长期监测可以发现预测影响是否与实际开发后的结果相符，也可用于确保增加适当的缓和措施。这些需要由开发商、监管人员和社区共同落实，同时也是这一流程监管许可的一部分。

Section 16.3 (starting on page 471) of this assigned reading reviews the role of EIAs in the growing sustainable development movement. While EIAs push development toward greater sustainability by providing a basis for barring unsound projects and encouraging mitigation of unavoidable impacts, they do not address sustainability at a system-wide level. Some practitioners suggest that EIAs should do more (than is required by current law) to incorporate sustainability concerns to increase the positive effects that projects have, while others worry this will undermine the basic effectiveness of EIAs. 

指定阅读材料的第16.3节（从第471页开始）回顾了环境影响评估在日益增长的可持续发展运动中的作用。虽然环境影响评估通过叫停不良项目，促使开发商对不可避免的影响采取缓和措施是能推动可持续发展，但其对于可持续性问题始终没有上升到全面的系统层面。一些从业人员认为，环境影响评估应该采取更多行动（超出现行法律的要求），将可持续性问题纳入讨论之中，增加项目的积极影响。然而，另一些人则担心这会降低环境影响评估本来的作用。

Reflection questions 思考题:

1. What benefits do robust EIAs offer to the developer and to the community? What, in your view, do EIAs tend to neglect? 可靠的环境影响评估可以为开发商以及社区带来什么益处？你觉得环境影响评估可能忽略什么内容？ 

2. Under what circumstances are EIAs worth their cost? 在什么样的情况下，环境影响评估是值得投入的？

3. Do you think EIAs can and should include sustainability as a key consideration? Is this their primary function? Will including sustainability as a concern strengthen or weaken their contribution to environmental protection ?

你觉得环境影响评估是否应该将可持续性纳入重点考虑范围？这是其主要功能吗？将可持续性纳入考虑范围会强化还是弱化其环保能力？