Strengthening EIA through adaptive management: a systems perspective

The paper addresses major difficulties in current EIA by pointing out the potential of adaptive management. Several researchers have already suggested this approach, and they stress limitations in our abilities to predict and develop mitigative strategies for complex, dynamic environmental systems. Adaptive EIA adjusts for the unexpected impacts of human activities on the environment. The adaptive approach reflects a conclusion that EIA strategies should be facilitated through an approach that allows adjustments to changing events, decisions, and circumstances and that can modify implementation and mitigative strategies as new knowledge is gained.