Linking impact assessment and sustainable development at the local level: The introduction of sustainability assessment systems

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA), two instruments for environmental management that aim to prevent negative environmental impacts, are currently being examined for their usefulness in promoting sustainable development. Because of the importance of introducing sustainable development at the local level, this paper deals with impact assessment systems introduced by local authorities and links them to the sustainable development debate. First, the establishment of EIA and SEA systems at the local level is considered. The adaptation of existing impact assessment systems to their new role as sustainability assessment tool leads to the search for so called sustainability assessment systems. These systems aim to examine during the decision-making process whether policies, plans, programmes or other initiatives will lead society in a more sustainable direction. A framework for sustainability assessment studies is developed and proposals for the further improvement of EIA, SEA and sustainability assessment systems at the local level are discussed. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.