This is essentially a textbook. Rather than presenting an analytical review of the concept of environmental impact assessment (EIA) as it relates to low-and middle-income countries, it presents the reader with a detailed summary of the procedures and conventions as they relate both to the concept of EIA and its application. Divided into two parts, the ®rst deals with the mechanics of EIA, while the second concentrates on country speci®c case studies and aid agencies. The book concludes with a short chapter on recommendations for improvement in the EIA process.
In Part One, the ®rst chapter focuses on the origins of EIA, detailing the prescribed steps necessary for its completion, its relation to sustainable development and its relative costs and bene®ts. The second chapter presents an overview of how this process is undertaken across three broadly regional categories; Africa, Asia/Paci®c, and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Former Soviet Union (FSU). In Chapter 3, the EIA procedures undertaken across these regions are compared, albeit in a limited fashion. Chapters 1±3 are highly descriptive, containing a large number of lists, bulletpointed sections and summary tables, based largely on documentation obtained from the countries in question. In combination, they set the scene for the remainder of part one.
The remaining chapters in Part One, 4±11, follow a similar pattern. Each stage of the EIA process is taken in turn, beginning with `Screening and scoping', and examined in some detail, both from a technical viewpoint, and as it relates to the countries in question. De®nitions of the processes under examination are offered, followed by a detailed description of how this concept is to be operationalised. Throughout, small case study examples from low-and middle-income countries are used to illustrate points. For example, in Chapter 4, the scoping guidelines for plant product harvesting in the Indonesian wetlands are included. The chapter then concludes with an attempt to suggest potential pitfalls in applying this particular part of the EIA process within low-to middleincome countries. A similar format is maintained throughout Chapters 5±11.
Part One offers the reader an opportunity to gain a good grounding in EIA techniques, as well as highlighting the potential problems associated with applications. However, it does little, if anything, to challenge the concept of EIA at the philosophical level. It does not offer an alternative system designed speci®cally for low and middle income countries, rather it concentrates on modifying existing techniques. This absence of critical evaluation and analysis persists into Part Two.
Chapters 12 and 13 concentrate on examining EIA procedures in greater detail in speci®c countries. These include the Russian Federation, Chile, and Zimbabwe. The information presented in these chapters relies heavily on source documentation and legislation speci®c to the country at hand, thus presenting the reader with an accurate (to the best of my knowledge, vis-a Á-vis the Russian Federation) and detailed data source. However, little attempt is made throughout these chapters to compare and contrast the differing systems present in each country, or to look at speci®c prescriptions developed in one nation state that may be transferable to another.
In concluding, Chapter 15 attempts to make recommendations with regard to the improvement of EIA. At less than 10 pages however, this chapter is far too brief to do justice to such a complex issue. This reader is left with the impression that this chapter is more of a postscript than a serious attempt to get to grips with the issues of growth, sustainability, environmental degradation, and the role of EIA within them.
As already stated, the volume has a textbook' feel about it. Its presentation is littered with bullet points and case studies ringed with boxes. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions'. It presents the mechanisms of EIA at generic and country speci®c level in considerable detail, but fails to engage with the more theoretical debates in this area. That said, this is not its stated aim; as Copyright # 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. established in the prologue, its remit is to ®ll a gap in the current literature with regard to the topic of EIA in low and middle income countries, and that it does in full measure. It also states that it is orientated towards practitioners as much as students, and in this regard it succeeds in offering them a valuable reference point. By virtue of the detail contained within it, this book is a valuable teaching resource, and makes a valuable, if limited theoretically, contribution to the literature.