EIA: Improving Decision Making

Since the evolution of man, the general assumption is that man has been living at the detriment of the environment without the awareness about the limited availability of the earth resources in particular before and during the 18th centuries. This was due to the proportion of human population on the earth surface to the available resources. At the beginning of the 20th century when there was a dramatic increment in human population (UnitedNations 2015) couple with industrial revolution which lead to increment of human activities such as deforestation, air pollution, increase use of chemicals resulting into soil degradation and lot more, it became clear to man the limited capacity of the environment and the need for sustainability to have a

EIA is defined in several ways by many authors. However, it is generally known as the process of evaluating advance and immediate effects of a proposed project on the environment prior to a decision being taken on whether or not a proposal should be given approval to proceed (Jay et al. 2007).Although, it has been noted that EIA is a not substitute for decision making but rather a guide for decision making, it plays a crucial role in decision making especially for sustainable development. The aim of this paper is to discuss how EIA can be a tool for improved decision making. Therefore, based on the existing knowledge in literature, this paper will review the relationship between EIA and sustainability while highlighting its importance in enhancing decision making for sustainable development. The integration of EIA into international agenda and how it can promote balance between economic growth and sustainable development will also be discussed and further discussion will be based on precautionary principle and its implementations in decision making

Unequal distribution of development as can be seen in problems like hunger, poverty, illiteracy and ill health are also some key issues. These social, environmental and economic stresses are now known to be interdependent (Lawrence 1997; Morrison-Saunders & Pope 2013). The challenges posed by the increasing population became the drivers for sustainable development, a concept, which is now adapted as an important objective by policy makers (Morrison-Saunders & Retief 2012). Part of the goals of EIA, is to achieve a sustainable development. However, before the role of EIA in sustainable development can be critically assessed, there is need to understand the concept of sustainability. Sustainable development is widely defined according to the Brundtland report by several authors as the development that meets the needs of the present generation without depriving the future generations of the ability to meet their own needs (Bruhn-Tysk & Eklund 2002). This encompasses the conservation of the integrity of the ecosystem for both the present and the future generation without depriving the present generation of the basic needs for survival and comfort at the same time positively enhancing the economic growth (Herremans & Reid 2002). According to Sadler (1990),