Environmental indicator frameworks to design and assess environmental monitoring programs

Abstract

Monitoring is fundamental to environmental impact assessment (EIA) both to assess adherence to standards and to support management options. The use of indicators assures that a monitoring program addresses only the key variables associated with significant environmental impacts and also improves monitoring communication and reporting processes. This paper develops a conceptual framework to design and assess an environmental post-decision monitoring program under EIA procedures – INDICAMP. It also discusses how current indicator frameworks can be used to design and evaluate the performance of environmental monitoring programs in projects. A coastal infrastructure case study demonstrates the usefulness of this methodology.