Book Review

by Paul Ganderton

Treweek J. 1999. Ecological Impact Assessment. Blackwell Scientific. Pp xiii + 351. ISBN 0 632 03738 5. £ 29.50.

As the demand for environmental accountability in developments increases so does the need for a structured method of analysis. Although this might be seen as a new idea it is almost 30 years since the very first impact analysis system was trialled in the USA and even longer since the concept of impact was recognised through works such as the Leopold Matrix in the late 1940s. Today, the process is highly organised and increasingly specialised as this title shows. No longer is the environmental impact assessment a few lines in a report; we have environmental, ecological, strategic etc. impact assessments. This text deals solely with the ecological impact assessment (EcIA) and acts as an introduction to the subject. The book unfolds much like the system needed to construct as EcIA. The introduction forms an overview to the process whilst chapter two points out the legislative constraints that must be faced. Subsequent chapters examine scoping (limiting the survey), focusing (methodology), identifying impacts, evaluation, mitigation and monitoring. Two final chapters deal with GIS in EcIA (useful given that large areas and data sets can be involved) and design and analysis (getting the EcIA working).

The EcIA is a complex process and there is little way, as yet, to make it fully understandable to the school student (although sixth-formers would find it easier). This text makes it as clear as possible what is involved. There are sufficient tables and ideas to produce a summary and even use it as part of fieldwork