ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN LAND-USE PLANNING IN ISRAEL

The article critically describes the development of environmental assessment in the land use planning system in Israel. The author proposes that environmental assessment is composed of tools for the integration of environmental policies at different stages and levels of the planning process. Environmental assessment is incorporated into the planning process by the planning authorities responsible for initiating and approving masterplans. The National Masterplan for the Mediterranean coast is described to demonstrate this stage. Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), which have been statutorily required in Israel since 1982, are a tool for checking a limited number of major projects at a detailed stage of planning. Detailed, project-specific guidelines for EIS and careful checking of submitted EIS have proved essential for the successful operation of the EIS system. Cumulative impacts, generated by multiple small-scale proposals, cannot be assessed by an EIS system. These are handled by environmental advisors to the planning authorities, and efforts are now in hand to prepare environmental policy statements to guide common small-scale land use proposals.