AN OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN TURKEY: ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Since its introduction, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has become an important tool for planning, environmental management, environmental decision making and environmental preservation in European Union (EU) and in Turkey as well. This article provides an overview of Turkey's EIA system by underlining the role that Turkey's candidacy to EU plays on development and strengthening of Turkish EIA process. In this context, the article presents historical evolution of EIA system in European Union to provide a background for understanding and evaluating the developments in Turkish EIA system. Following this, article lays down the legal framework of Turkish EIA system and addresses the issues that Turkish EIA system faces with regard to transposition and effective implementation of EU's EIA law. Finally, the article concludes by proposing several measures and mechanisms to overcome the weaknesses of Turkish EIA system and improve the effective implementation of the EIA legislation in Turkey.