Evaluación De Impacto Ambiental En México

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AN APPROACH FOR EVALUATING EIAS— DEFICIENCIES OF EIA IN MEXICO
Luis A. Bojorquez-Tapia and Ofelia Garcıa ´ ´
´ Instituto de Ecologıa, UNAM

An approach is presented for evaluating the contents of environmental impact statements (EISs) for decision-making. This approach is presented through the review of a set of EISs of highway projects in Mexico. Since the highway projects werealready approved, the basic premises of the study were that the EISs were accurate and comprehensive, and if so, the EIS should not differ significantly in achieving at least a minimum quality standard. We focused on the following points: (1) organization of reports, in terms of clarity and coherence; (2) scientific and technical rigor of the data and the performed analyses; and (3) usefulness fordecision-making, as a function of the relevant issues’ treatment. The evaluation was carried out in two ways: conformity of contents with respect to official guidelines, and the examination of the quality of data, analyses, and conclusions. Results showed that, in general, the EISs tended to contain rather inadequate descriptions, and a biased and subjective assessment of impacts. The EIA reflectedimplicit values and failed to focus on the environmental conflicts likely to be generated by the projects. Consequently, the approach presented here provides a precise framework for judging the worth of EISs as decision-making tools. This study challenges the notion that EIAs are valuable tools for improving the decision-making process in Mexico, and it depicts the problems to be addressed forimproving EISs in the future. © 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.

Introduction Governments all over the world have adopted provisions for the implementation of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) as a means to scrutinize the technical and environmental options of development projects. Likewise,
´ ´ Address requests for reprints to: Luis A. Bojorquez-Tapia, Instituto de Ecologıa, UNAM, Apartado ´xico,D.F. 04510. E-mail: supremo@chico-che.ecologia.unam.mx Postal 70-275, Me ENVIRON IMPACT ASSES REV 1998;18:217–240 © 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010

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´ ´ LUIS BOJORQUEZ-TAPIA AND OFELIA GARCIA

multilateral banks (e.g., The World Bank, or The Inter-American Development Bank,and The Asia Development Bank) also call for EIA prior to the approval of loans for large-scale endeavors (Davis 1989; Goodland 1989). The goal of EISs is to minimize the negative impacts that generate ´ environmental conflicts (Bojorquez-Tapia and Ongay-Delhumeau 1994). Hollick (1981) defines an EIA as a process aimed at ensuring proper consideration of environmental factors in making decisions onmajor proposals. In theory, EIAs are interdisciplinary and comprehensive analyses by which sound inferences can be derived in relation to the consequences of projects. The results of an EIA in Mexico, as in other countries, are reported officially through an environmental impact statement (EIS), which must be submitted to the authorities for evaluation and public scrutiny. Information is a keyelement for successful resolution of environmental conflicts (Crowfoot and Wondolleck 1990; Harashina 1995). Factual and specific information is needed by both the stakeholders and the public officials for reaching a judgment concerning the desirability of a project. As a basis for the approval or rejection of a project, EIS should recount the best obtainable information regarding a project and its likelyimpacts, and its conclusions should be unbiased and rigorous (Holling 1978). Adoption and implementation of the EIA process in both developed and developing countries has depended on the institutional framework and the political context of decision-making (Beattie 1995; Lee and Wood 1978; Ross 1994; Wandesforde-Smith et al. 1985; Wood and Bailey 1994). However, EIAs often have failed to fulfill...