How to enhance EIA systems in developing countries: a quantitative literature review

Developing countries introduced environmental impact assessment (EIA) systems in the 1970s and 1980s, but their weak implementation has been a major problem. This study suggests solutions for the enhancement of EIA systems in developing countries using a quantitative literature review. It clarifies the time-series changes of constraints and develops recommendations on EIA systems by applying quantitative text analysis to 128 documents published between 1983 and 2020. Before and after 2003, the ratio of the constraints embodied in law and administration significantly decreased, and that of environmental impact statements (EISs) significantly increased, while the ratio of recommendations for monitoring significantly increased. Based on these findings, the study proposes that countries should strive for better quality EIS and develop an EIS database to enhance EIA systems, because EIS quality determines the effectiveness of an EIA system and the database supports improvement of that quality. It is suggested that improving EIS quality will lead to the enhancement of EIA systems in developing countries.