An evaluation of EIA system performance in Turkey in the context of procedural effectiveness
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPPEL-05-2021-0032 |
| Published date | 17 November 2021 |
| Date | 17 November 2021 |
| Pages | 185-202 |
| Subject Matter | Property management & built environment,Building & construction,Building & construction law,Real estate & property,Property law |
| Author | Deniz Çolakkadıoğlu |
An evaluation of EIA system
performanceinTurkeyinthe
context of procedural effectiveness
Deniz Çolakkadıo
glu
Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design,
Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Osmaniye, Turkey
Abstract
Purpose –In Turkey, where the environmentalimpact assessment (EIA) has been applied since 1993, there
have been numerous amendments in the legal and administrative process of the EIA. This study aims to
evaluatethe effectiveness of those amendments to the EIA process.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper evaluated EIA system performance in the context of
procedural effectiveness in Turkey from the day implementation was begun. From its beginning to the
present day, the positiveand negative developments at the EIA process in Turkey caused by the amendments
were evaluated and at which stages. Measures recommendedincreasing the effectiveness of each of the EIA
systemswere also identified.
Findings –As the EIA Directivefirst came into force in the USA in 1970, EIA procedures have been widely
adopted throughoutthe world. Although it has been implemented formany years, expectations regarding the
EIA process have still not been realized which has forced countries to conduct studies to increase the
effectiveness of the EIA process. Turkey, likeother countries that are implementing the EIA, acknowledges
that the EIA is a significant impact assessment tool and continues its studies to implement this system
effectively. In this respect,in Turkey, where the EIA has been applied since 1993, there have been numerous
amendmentsin the legal and administrative process of the EIA.
Originality/value –The results obtained from thisstudy were expected to facilitate the evaluation of the
EIA process in Turkey and to guide other similar countries.
Keywords Environmental impact assessment, Environmental impact assessment performance,
Procedural effectiveness, Turkey, Environmental regulation, Environmental law
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The most commonly used tool in the world to protect natural resources within the scope of the
prevention principle is the environmental impact assessment system (EIA) (Jay et al., 2007;
Christensen and Kørnøv, 2011;Zhang et al., 2013). From its origins under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1970, EIA procedures have been widely adopted throughout
the world. Following the US initiative, several countries implemented EIA systems including
Canada (1973), Australia (1974), Germany (1975), France (1976), Israel (1981), Pakistan(1983), Italy
(1985), Holland (1986), England (1988), Greece(1 990),t he Czech Republic (1991) and Turkey (1993).
Although the EIA practices in Turkey started in 1993 with the EIA regulations, they
really entered into force with Article10 of the 1983 Environment Law. During those 10 years
since the regulation was introduced,six different regulation drafts were prepared byclosely
examining the EIA practicesof some of the developed countries, especially the USA and The
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or
not-for-profit sectors.
EIA system
performance
185
Received9 May 2021
Revised30 July 2021
Accepted25 October 2021
Journalof Property, Planning and
EnvironmentalLaw
Vol.13 No. 3, 2021
pp. 185-202
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2514-9407
DOI 10.1108/JPPEL-05-2021-0032
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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Netherlands. Draft regulationswere sent to 400 institutions and organizations (universities,
governorships, professional chambers, ministries, etc.) for review and the first EIA
regulation was came into force on February 7, 1993, under the direction of the reviewers.
The EIA process in Turkey has been completely amendedsix times (June 23, 1997, June 06,
2002, December 16, 2003, July 17, 2008, October 03, 2013 and November 25, 2014) over the
past 27 years.Since 1993 when EIA practices were started, there have also been a numberof
amendments made to some of the articles. The main reason for these legal amendments,
which are also seen in other countries where the EIA is applied, is primarilyto increase the
efficiency of the EIA process because, although it has been implemented for many years,
expectations from the EIA process have still not been realized (Nykvist and Nilsson, 2009;
Zhang et al.,2013). For this reason, countries, particularly developing countries, have
continued their efforts to improveEIA processes. This development process also requires a
questioning of the conceptof “efficiency”withinthe scope of the EIA.
In the EIA field, Sadler (1996) defined effectiveness as “how well something works or
whether it works as intended and meets the purposes for which it is designed.”Analyzing
the effectiveness of EIA is one of the most widely cited topics in EIA literature (Leu et al.,
1996;Sadler, 1996;Cashmore et al.,2004;Morgan, 2012;Chanchitpricha and Bond, 2013;
Zhang et al.,2013;Veronez and Montaño,2015). Sadler (1996) divided effectiveness for EIA
into three categories, procedural, substantive and transactive. Baker and McLelland (2003)
added “normative effectiveness”tothe suite of categories developed by Sadler(1996).
Procedural effectivenessis defined as the procedural compliance dimension proposed by
Ortolano (1993). Procedural effectiveness means to what extent the EIA process complies
with EIA legislation (Sadler, 1996;Kolhoff et al.,2012;Zhang et al.,2013). Substantive
effectiveness is related to the extent to which the EIA has achieved its objectives.
Substantive effectiveness is defined as the extent to which the short-term objective of
informed decision-making andthe long-term objective of environmental protection in terms
of meeting environmental standards are achieved (Sadler,1996;Khadka and Shrestha, 2011;
Clausen et al.,2011;Bitondo et al., 2014). The transactiveeffectiveness category refers to the
efficiency of the process (Theophilou and Bond, 2010). Normative effectiveness reflects the
extent to which normative goals, defined as a “combinationof social and individual norms,”
were achieved (Bakerand McLelland, 2003;Chanchitpricha and Bond, 2013).
In this study, the procedural efficacy of Turkey’s quarter-century-old EIA process was
assessed within the scope of the ever-changingEIA regulations. Thus, in which stages and
to what extent progress in the EIA process has been implemented in Turkey in 1993 was
investigated, as well as what furtherstages are required to provide effectiveness and which
steps need to be taken. Turkey hasmade significant progress since 1993, but, in this process,
mistakes have been made from time to time which could slow down the progress or cause
regression and studies have been conducted to correct these mistakes. This study is
expected to be a guide for countries similar to Turkey in their level of development and
legal, administrativeand socio-cultural systems.
2. Methodology
The effectiveness issues most focused on during the EIA process are related to EIA
procedures and administrative structures (Van den Berg, 2015;Mubanga and Kwarteng,
2020). These studies can also be a comparison of current systems in different countries
(Annandale, 2001;Ahmad and Wood, 2002;Arts et al., 2012;Bassi et al., 2012;Julio et al.,
2020) and an assessment of the legalsystem in the progress of a country’s EIA process (Badr
et al.,2011;Bilgin, 2015;Thakur and Fischer, 2016;Khosraviet al., 2019).
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