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The fourth W H O International Seminar on Environmental Impact Assessment attracted 120 participants from over 60 c o u n t r i e s . P o l i t i c i a n s , s c i e n t i s t s , a cademics and i n d u s t r i a l i s t s f rom Eastern and Western blocs, and developed and developing nations met at the University of Aberdeen July 18-29, 1983, to share knowledge and discuss the problems of apply ing EIA, part icularly in the deve lop ing world. Keynote speakers included Dr. Eric Gi rouh of the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen , Denmark, Mr. James Provan, Member of European Parl iament for Grampian and Tayside, Scotland, Mr. Di l ip K. Biswas, of the Department of Environment, India, and Dr. Abdul Rahman A1-Awadi, Minister of Public H e a l t h a n d C h a i r m a n of t h e Env i ronmen t P r o t e c t i o n Counci l of Kuwait. In h i s address opening the meeting, Dr. Gi rouh was the first of several speakers to emphas ize the importance of introducing environmen- tal concerns as early as possible into the p lann ing process. He characterized EIA as "one of the most powerful p lanning tools for the prevention of environmental pol lu t ion and degradation."

Mr. Brian D. Clark, one of the three seminar directors associated with the" Centre for Environmental Management and P lann ing (formerly PADG) at the University of Aberdeen, stressed at the opening session that implementat ion of the EIA process is innately political. Loca l , n a t i o n a l and i n t e r n a t i o n a l government spokesmen reinforced the message that the environment must become part of the political agenda or succumb to short term economic and polit ical interests.

Throughou t the seminar, faculty members emphasized that EIA can help decision makers use scientific knowledge to take poli t ical ly defensible posit ions on po l lu t i on , resource u t i l iza t ion , and

r e l a t e d i s sues of e n v i r o n m e n t a l importance. Where the scarcest resource is money, EIA can be used to avoid otherwise unforeseeable mistakes that may be extremely expensive to rectify. A l t h o u g h EIA was deve loped to accommodate factors that cost-benefit analysis excludes, cost is still the o v e r r i d i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n in most development decisions. Participants were encouraged to consider EIA as a structural tool to identify the wisest and most economical development strategies.

Special guest Dr. Abdul Rahman A1- Awadi addressed the meeting on "Heal th I m p a c t s o f U r b a n i z a t i o n a n d Deve lopment . " He emphasized the complex i ty of these impacts with examples demons t r a t ing that even intended improvements in environmen- tal qual i ty can have adverse effects. For ins tance , the i n t r o d u c t i o n of a i r condi t ioning in Kuwait has not only great ly increased the demand for electricity, but has also caused an ou tbreak of vasomotor rh in i t i s , a respiratory condit ion treated with large doses of antihistamines which in turn can have serious side effects.

At a press conference July 27, Dr. AI- A w a d i d i s c u s s e d the i m m i n e n t environmental danger posed by the discharge of 2-4000 barrels of oil daily since March from bombed wells located in the Iran-Iraq war zone. He called on the world scientific communi ty to form a poli t ical ly non-al igned group to study the effects of the growing oil slick, a threat to sea and coastal life in the Persian Gulf.

Satellite estimates of the size, speed, and direction of the slick are inadequate, according to Dr. AI-Awadi. Surface conditions affecting the oil must be analyzed through immediate, close-up inspection of the area.

Dr. AI -Awad i e mpha s i z e d the polit ical sensitivity of this environmental

Environment1 Impact A~,~ssment Re',iew, V. 4. N. 1 o19~-9~sm~o3ooooomoolo E I A R E V I E W 4 /1 3 r Plenum Publishing Corporadon

problem. As chairman of a group trying to control the problem of the expanding slick, he is in daily communicat ion with the warring states in an effort to get the b u r n i n g w e l l s c a p p e d . H o w e v e r , fluctuations in the ongoing hostilities continue to jeopardize these negotiations. As yet no scientific group has been able to enter the war zone.

Participants in the seminar heard lectures from leading practitioners and theoreticians in the field of EIA. Speakers p r e s e n t e d b o t h p r o c e d u r a l a n d administrative aspects with emphasis on the responsibil i ty for selecting projects for assessment, the production of EIAs, decision making, and the problems of public part icipat ion. Much of the lecture time was devoted to demonstrating the various methods used to structure and o rgan ize EIAs. Exper t s p re sen ted techniques [or determining air and water p o l l u t a n t c o n c e n t r a t i o n s , n o i s e , ecological effects, social consequences, hazard and health impacts. The role of moni tor ing and impact audi t ing as an integral part of EIA was emphasized in lecture and discussion sessions.

A "s imula t ion game" in which small groups undertook a hypothetical

problem in impact assessment gave members of the group new to EIA a strong sense of the difficulties involved, even in an environmental problem ta i lored/or them to solve. In a later phase of the s imulat ion exercise each group wa~ assigned a role, such as "Ministry of H e a l t h , " or " f i s h e r m e n , " in an env i ronmenta l conflict . Each team established its best case, based on information developed in the first phase of the exercise.

In addit ion to general orientation and detailed instruction in the "state of the art" in impact assessment, the seminar provided an oppor tuni ty to meet leaders in the field, and a number of people who surely will be instrumental in i n t r o d u c i n g the concep t s and methodologies of EIA in the developing world. With another year of experience behind them, the CEMP staff is now organizing the fifth annual seminar scheduled for 8-21 July 1984. Interested parties should contact Sandra Ralston, CEMP, Depar tmen t of Geography , University of Aberdeen, Old Aberdeen AB9 2UF, Scot land. We urge al l p r inc ipa l s and pa r t i c ipan t s in the seminar to keep in touch through

Small groups met to hear experts on special problems, topics, and methods.

Speakers discussed points raised in their lectures with seminar participants.

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subscribing and contr ibut ing to the Review.

Contents Despite the exciting activities described in the above report, we have managed to place before you another issue, with which we begin Volume 4. Our features i n c l u d e a s t u d y of " R e g i o n a l Environmental Assessments for pol icy Making and Research and Development P lann ing" by Thomas E. James, Jr., Steven C. Ballard, and Michael D. Devine. The authors present an approach to integrated regional assessments as one mechanism to offset several weaknesses t h a t h a v e p l a g u e d t r a d i t i o n a l environmental research. Dr. John D. Robinson and his colleagues Michael D. Higg ins and P. Kenneth Bolyard comment on "The Role of Behavioral Sciences in Environmental Health," drawing upon historical examples and the more recent crisis at Three Mile Island. R. Wayne Nelson, a practi t ioner in the field of water and land resource p lann ing and policy analysis, discusses "Wetland Impact Assessment Problems under the Clean Water Act." He suggests t ha t s eve r a l e x i s t i n g r e g u l a t o r y mechanisms mhy be used to protect areas p o t e n t i a l l y c o m p r o m i s e d by the expanded use of general permits for ac t iv i t i e s tha t may have se r ious cumulative or compounding impacts.

A G E N D A [or Env i ronmen ta l Negotiation has two feature articles in this issue. W.J.D. Kennedy and Henry Lansford, of ACCORD Associates in Denver, Colorado, and Roger Richman, of Public Mediation, Inc., of Falls Church, Virginia, report the processes and results of two negotiat ion efforts in which env i ronmenta l cons idera t ions were of pivotal importance. Wendy E m r i c h , of the E n v i r o n m e n t a l Management Center ol the Brandywine Conservancy, reviews Allan R. Talbot ' s recent book Settling Thing: Six Case Studies in Environmental Mediation.

This issue carries three departments. In Impacts on the Natural Environment Robert H. Gray presents a review of the literature on the behavioral response of fish to altered water quality. He draws upon the extensive research on salmonids to demonstrate that organisms must he studied in their natural environment to determine how they will act to mitigate

or exacerbate the stress of exposure to potential harm.

In International Perspectives, John Horberry offers some findings from his recent study conducted for the Joint Environmental Service of IIED and IUCN. He concludes that organizational factors are greater constraints on the effective environmental p lanning and assessment of development projects than the absence of rational techniques and methods. Moving from the international to the local level, Sachihiko Harashina discusses the technology and objectives of Japan ' s Evaluation Laboratory for Man. Env i ronmen t Systems, organized to apply systems analysis to group decision making. The devisers of the Laboratory hope that the system may be adopted by local decision-making bodies to enhance citizen part icipation.

Social Impact Assessment includes a description by Wil l iam G. Hamil ton of techniques for resident part ic ipat ion in analyzing visual impacts of development in the North Okanagan Valley, in British Columbia. The author presents some t e c h n i q u e s for v i s u a l l a n d s c a p e assessment which demonst ra te the affective bond between a landscape and its viewers.

In the first of our two book reviews, Mark Schuster considers Energy and Material Resources: Attitudes, Values, and Public Policy, a group of papers edited by W. David Conn. The authors focus on the role at t i tudinal surveys play in the formulat ion of resources policy. In the second review, Connie Ozawa discusses Andrew Goudie 's The Human Impact, a detailed overview of how

" h u m a n activi t ies have affected the physical character of the earth.

I would like to welcome each of you reading the Review for the first time, and encourage you to participate in keeping this journal in the forefront of research relevant to EIA. The Review is the only regularly appear ing publicat ion in the field, and has the widest circulation in the U.S. and internationally. Watch our networks column for news of special p u b l i c a t i o n s , c o n f e r e n c e s a n d organizations and use it to publicize your own activities in the field. We invite your involvement through contributions and subscriptions.

Teresa Hil l August 1983

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