An approach to linking environmental impact assessment and environmental management systems

The failure adequately to implement mitigation measures or monitor environmental impacts following the approval of projects, is often cited as a major shortcoming of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. The contents and recommendations of environmental impact statements (EISs) are often disregarded when environmental management systems (EMSs) are implemented. This paper focuses on a possible means of linking the EIA process to EMS implementation, by building a conceptual framework capable of serving the needs of both. A key feature entails relating the project actions or activities to environmental i mpacts via interaction processes, defined as 'environmental aspects' by ISO 14001 sta ndard. The feasibility of constructing double-field matrices that are able to summarise all the relevant linkages is demonstrated. Application to a hypothetical mine illustrates the approach.