Legislative amendments and the environmental impact assessment process in Istanbul

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a tool that has been used for more than 50 years to assess situations that may have future negative effects on the environment. This study has attempted to address the status of the EIA in Istanbul, a city founded 2500 years ago and, therefore, one of the oldest cities in the world. The study first defines the EIA and then discusses legislative amendments to the Turkish EIA Regulation, which are the most important source of problems in the application of EIAs in Turkey. Twenty amendments have been passed since the first EIA Regulation was entered into force, and these amendments have had significant effects on the application of EIAs. It has been determined that some of these amendments have expanded the scope of EIAs but others have narrowed the scope. In the last part of the study, the effects of these legislative amendments in the case of Istanbul are revealed. Graphics show that when an amendment in passed that narrows the scope of an EIA, the number of projects excluded from review by that EIA increases, and they are projects that could have a negative impact on the environment.