Environmental Impact Assessment: Myth or reality? Lessons from Spain

This paper analyzes the situation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in Spain since its inception in 1988. The analysis covers the general framework (the national and the autonomous communitiesʹ laws, the official guidebooks, the agenciesʹ procedure), the Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) issued by the environmental national agency, and a sample of Environmental Impact Studies of different type of projects. The results of this research show that (1) EIAs have been very general in their content, lacking a concrete analysis and without providing substantial solutions to the problems; (2) the socioeconomic analyses are frequently reduced to emphasizing the projectʹs economic benefits while overlooking their potential harm; (3) especially serious is the acceptance of irregular EIA procedure by environmental agencies; and (4) public participation consists mainly in a bureaucratic process exhibiting the document for 30 days at the city hall. This paper concludes with a set of recommendations.