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Sustainable Development Objectives In Impact Assessment: Why Are They Needed And Where Do They Come From?

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  • THEOPHILUS HACKING

    (Centre for Sustainable Development, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, UK)

  • PETER GUTHRIE

    (Centre for Sustainable Development, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, UK)

Abstract

The established approach to impact assessment is baseline-led, whereby the conditions that are likely to prevail in the absence of a proposed initiative are used as the "benchmarks" for determining the significance of impacts. Proponents of sustainable development (SD) criticise this approach for being directionless since it is based on extrapolating the past with no clear vision of what should be achieved in the future. Establishing objectives by which SD can be defined is one of the greatest challenges in the development of objectives-led assessment, especially since there is still so little consensus regarding exactly what SD entails. This paper explores a number of methods for establishing SD objectives based on a literature review and the analysis of case studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Theophilus Hacking & Peter Guthrie, 2006. "Sustainable Development Objectives In Impact Assessment: Why Are They Needed And Where Do They Come From?," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 8(03), pages 341-371.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:jeapmx:v:08:y:2006:i:03:n:s1464333206002554
    DOI: 10.1142/S1464333206002554
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. George, Clive & Kirkpatrick, Colin, 2003. "Sustainability Impact Assessment of World Trade Negotiations: Current Practice and Lessons for Further Development," Impact Assessment Research Centre (IARC) Working Papers 30587, University of Manchester, Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM).
    2. David Pearce, 1999. "Economics and Environment," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 354.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hermanns, Till & Helming, Katharina & König, Hannes J. & Schmidt, Katharina & Li, Qirui & Faust, Heiko, 2017. "Sustainability impact assessment of peatland-use scenarios: Confronting land use supply with demand," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 26(PB), pages 365-376.
    2. Dong-Shang Chang & Sheng-Hung Chen & Chia-Wei Hsu & Allen H. Hu & Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng, 2015. "Evaluation Framework for Alternative Fuel Vehicles: Sustainable Development Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-25, August.
    3. Kathryn Davidson, 2011. "Reporting Systems for Sustainability: What Are They Measuring?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 100(2), pages 351-365, January.

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