Investigation and evaluation of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) concept development process in Turkey

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is one of the most important and preventive approaches in identifying and solving environmental problems. In accordance with the legislation, institutions, organizations and enterprises are obliged to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report for all activities that may cause environmental problems. The purpose with this obligation is to eliminate or minimize environmental problems. In this study, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations and the revisions made in these regulations between 1993 and 2020 were examined. Suggestions have been made for more effective and rapid progress of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. Evaluations have been made in the light of numerical data since 1993 and analyzes have been made to improve the process. With the changes made in the regulations, it was also examined whether it is in compliance with the European Union (EU) standards. In order for the EIA process to work better, problems should be identified and resolved in advance. Thus, an advantage is obtained in terms of time-cost. The main objective of our country regarding the EIA process should be to meet the country's needs in a realistic way. While there is no problem in the procedural part in our country, it is noteworthy that there are many problems in the implementation phases. In addition to these, it should be aimed to completely eliminate the problems by looking at the events holistically.