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Dictionary definition: environmental impact
- Article from:
- A Dictionary of Geography
- Author:
Copyright© A Dictionary of Geography 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information)
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environmental impact
A change in the make‐up, working, or appearance of the environment. These changes may be planned, like afforestation, or accidental, like the introduction of Dutch elm disease into Britain. Most accidental impacts bring about undesirable change, and deliberate actions may have an unexpected impact, as when the construction of a sea wall leads to the destruction of a beach. Sometimes the damage is irreversible, like the introduction of DDT into food webs.
Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA
seeks to consider the probable consequences of human intervention in the environment so as to restrict environmental damage. The USA and European Union, for example, require, ...