Checking date: 23/04/2024


Course: 2024/2025

Introduction to environmental impact assessment
(19165)
Master in Global Sustainable Development and Global Governance (Plan: 473 - Estudio: 376)
EPC


Coordinating teacher: NICOLINI ALESSI, ESTEBAN ALBERTO

Department assigned to the subject: Social Sciences Department

Type: Compulsory
ECTS Credits: 3.0 ECTS

Course:
Semester:




Objectives
¿ Knowledge of the principles of biodiversity, environmental justice and sustainability and capacity of application of the principles of prevention and precaution in the context of the environmental impact assessment. ¿ Comprehension of the interactions between the steps of the administrative process, planning and documentation in the environmental impact assessment. ¿ Capacity to understand and apply the methods based on identification and evaluation of alternatives, factor weighting, impact identification and impact evaluation. ¿ Comprehension of the potential of the geographic information systems (GIS) and acquisition of collaborative methods in the context of the environmental impact assessment.
Skills and learning outcomes
Description of contents: programme
-Introduction to the concepts of environment, environmental quality, ecosystems and spatial and temporal heterogeneity. -Legal and institutional framework of the environmental impact evaluation: the National Environmental Policy Act. The European and international regulations. -Screening and scoping mechanisms. Identification of alternatives and baseline definition. -Initial evaluation and specific studies: soil use, draining, geomorphologic aspects. -Introduction of the techniques of prediction, evaluation, mitigation and improvement.
Assessment System
  • % end-of-term-examination 40
  • % of continuous assessment (assigments, laboratory, practicals...) 60




Basic Bibliography
  • Glasson et al. . Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment. Routledge. 2012
  • Lawerence, David . Environmental Impact Assessment. Practical Solutions to Recurrent Problems.. Wiley. 2003
Additional Bibliography
  • Beattie, R. . Everything you already know about EIA, but don¿t often admit. . Environmental Impact Assessment Review 15.. 1995
  • Calow, P. . Handbook of environmental risk assessment and management. Blackwell Science.. 1997
  • Canter, L. and Ross, W. State of practice of cumulative effects assessment and management: the good, the bad and the ugly. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 28 (4), 261¿8.. 2010
  • Cooper, L.M. and Sheate W. Cumulative effects assessment: A review of UK environmental impact statements. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 22 (2002) 415¿439.. 2002
  • Morgan, Richard K. Environmental impact assessment: the state of the art. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal Vol. 30, No. 1, March 2012, 5¿14.. 2012

The course syllabus may change due academic events or other reasons.