Are current techniques for ecological prediction being used in practice? An investigation into ecological impact assessment in the UK.

Techniques for prediction in ecology have advanced enormously in the last decade, e.g. modeling of habitat suitability and predicting population trends under climate change scenarios. But have practical applications of such methods infiltrated into applied fields such as ecological impact assessment? Environmental assessment of the impacts of development is required under the 1985 European Directive (85/337/EEC), implemented in Britain through the 1988 Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations. Ecology provides analytical techniques for studying relationships between organisms and their environment and therefore has an obvious role in EA. However, ecological science is underexploited in project EIA and ecological data in environmental statements often lacks rigour and fails to predict ecological impacts (Treweek 1999; Thompson et al (1997). In 1999, Treweek detailed the wide range of ecological approaches that could be employed in EIA. Furthermore, Byron et al (2000) reported improvements in ecological assessment methods, e.g. an increase in the proportion of EISs reporting the results of new ecological surveys. However, they also highlighted the persistence of many shortcomings identified in earlier reviews. In 2006, the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management published a comprehensive set of guidelines for ecological impact assessment highlighting the need for integration of more sophisticated ecological approaches into EIA as well as greater commitment to early stakeholder participation and to monitoring post construction. The aim of this project is to review the actual and potential application of ecological methods in EIA, to evaluate the potential value of different methods for different project types and a synthesis of best practice guidelines for the industry. The project will investigate a range of existing project EIA case studies, including linear developments such as roads and pipelines and site based developments such as power stations and wind farms. Key stakeholders will be identified for consultation, including developers and planners as well as statutory and non-statutory consultees. The project will investigate the current utilization of ecological methodologies, their efficacy and the drivers for achieving innovation. Exemplars of the use of advanced ecological methods in ecological assessment will be used as demonstration material of the art of the possible. Outputs of the project will include an evaluation of best practice and a menu (decision tree) of ecological approaches suited to different development types and impact categories. The results and recommendations will be published both in the academic literature and in the practitioners literature.