From procedural to transformative: A review of the evolution of effectiveness in EIA

The concept of effectiveness has become a relevant topic in environmental impact assessment (EIA) or impact assessment (IA) research in response to the need to improve the decision-making process. Although some studies have included reviews of the state of the art on the concept of EIA effectiveness, there are no reported studies that use bibliometric analysis to describe in detail the historical evolution of effectiveness in EIA. The aims of this study are to define the geographic areas where more research is being carried out on this topic, identify the coworking network developed in this field and the main trends in research on the effectiveness of EIA to review the evolution of the concept and its dimensions. To achieve these objectives, data obtained through the implementation of the PRISMA methodology and bibliometric analysis were considered. For this purpose, 280 publications on EIA effectiveness obtained from a systematic review in the Scopus database between 1997 and 2021 were selected. As a novelty, a performance analysis, a keyword analysis as well as a content analysis based on bibliometric indicators were developed. The results show that the main geographic regions where research on EIA effectiveness and cross-country collaboration is concentrated are the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa. In addition, the most common research topics, and the evolution over the years of the dimensions of effectiveness are determined. It was found that the procedural approach still has a significant place in the analysis of effectiveness; however, the intention to study in detail the legitimacy of the EIA, the role of stakeholders, and the evaluation of EIA systems based on the dimensions of effectiveness (procedural, substantive, transactive and legitimacy) is recognized. The concept of EIA effectiveness is transforming, in fact recent research reflects a paradigm shift in which the reductionist vision of EIA is being replaced by a more complex approach. Therefore, it is concluded that it is necessary to address new elements of analysis to generate significant changes and improve the effectiveness in the EIA process.