It has been acknowledged in Mexico that there is a need to increase the infrastructure for the adequate management of hazardous wastes, and therefore hazardous waste management decision-making needs to be improved. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a component for granting permission for, and the licensing of, waste treatment and disposal facilities in many countries. In Mexico, EIA is considered an important instrument of environmental policy; however, its practice and effectiveness in decision making has been questioned. Studies about the influence of EIA in decision making have analysed effects of EIA on decisions prior to formal application and during the EIA process concluding that EIA has limited or weak influence in decision making. EIA was founded on the rational model of decision making, which assumes that EIA is a process for generating, organising, and communicating information. However, it has been advanced that environmental assessment based on the rational model of decision making is inadequate to determine EIA’s influence. Thus, research regarding the different models of EIA and its influence could provide guidance to increase the effect of EIA on decision making. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to critically evaluate the influence of EIA on the decision-making process for Hazardous Waste Management Facilities (HWMF) in Mexico. A case study research design and a qualitative research strategy (semi-structured interviews and documents) were used. During the different stages of decision making for HWMF different theoretical models of EIA and potential outcomes were identified. The theoretical models of EIA identified include the information processing, participation, institutional, political economy, and symbolic politics. The findings in this research indicate that the rational decision making model was limited at explaining how decision making occurred. Rather, decision making for HWMF was similar to the bounded rationality, incrementalism, and mixed-scanning theoretical model. Thus, recommendations are made for increasing the opportunity for EIA to influence decision making and for improving the Mexican EIA system.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:569310 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Gomez Osorio, Maria Teresa |
| Publisher | University of East Anglia |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/10573/ |
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