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Assessment An umbrella term for description, analysis and evaluation. (Landscape guidelines, 1995)
Authenticity Describes the relative integrity of a place, an object or an activity in relation to its original creation. In the context of living cultural practices, the context of authenticity responds to the evolution of the traditional practice. In the context of an historic Place or object, authenticity can encompass the accuracy or extent of its reconstruction to a known earlier state. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Competent Authority The competent authority or authorities are that or those which the Member States designate as responsible for performing the duties arising from the EIA Directive. (European Directive 97/11/EC).
Culture can be defined as the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a community, society or social group. It includes not only arts and literature, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs. Culture encompasses the living or contemporary characteristics and values of a community as well as those that have survived from the past. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Cultural Heritage is an expression of the ways of living developed by a community and passed on from generation to generation, including customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions and values. Cultural Heritage is often expressed as either Intangible or Tangible Cultural Heritage. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Cultural Landscapes describe those places and landscapes that have been shaped or influenced by human occupation. They include agricultural systems, modified landscapes, patterns of settlement and human activity, and the infrastructure of production, transportation and communication. The concepts of cultural landscapes can be useful in understanding the patterns of activity as diverse as industrial systems, defensive sites and the nature of towns or villages. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Cultural Resources encompass all of the Tangible and Intangible Heritage and living Cultural elements of a community. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Cultural Tourism is essentially that form of tourism that focuses on the culture, and cultural environments including landscapes pf the destination, the values and lifestyles, heritage, visual and performing arts, industries, traditions and leisure pursuits of the local population and host community. It can include attendance at cultural events, visits to museums and heritage places and mixing with local people. It should not be regarded as a definable niche within the broad range of tourism activities, but encompasses all experiences absorbed by the visitor to a place that is beyond their own living environment. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Cumulative effects the combined effect of more than one action or project. (DHV, 1994)
Decision-making the decision points where the competent authority takes a clear decision (at screening and development consent stages) or the whole EIA procedure (SUIT,2001).
Developer the applicant for authorization for a private project or the authority which initiates a project. (ERM, 2000 a)
EA Report The EA report gathers information on the effects of the project (and alternatives). It must be provided by the developer to the competent authority. The form and type of information to be provided is identified during the scoping stage or stated in a ’Terms of Reference’. (SUIT, 2001)
Effect The terms effect – impact as referred to in the CD 97/11 are used as terms with similar meaning. Both terms are only important in relation to significant, i.e. significant effect or significant impact. (SUIT, 2001)
Environmental Information Any information in written, visual, aural, electronic or any other material form on:
(a) The state of elements of the environment, such as air and atmosphere, water, soil, land, landscape and natural sites, biological diversity and its components, including genetically modified organisms and the interaction among these elements;
(b) Factors, such as substances, energy, noise and radiation, and activities or measures, including administrative measures, environmental agreements, policies, legislation, plans and programmes, affecting or likely to affect the elements of the environment within the scope of subparagraph (a) above, and cost-benefit and other economic analyses and assumptions used in environmental decision-making;
(c) The state of human health and safety, conditions of human life, cultural sites and built structures, inasmuch as they are or may be affected by the state of the elements of the environment or, through these elements, by the factors, activities or measures referred to in subparagraph (b) above.
(Aarhus Convention, 1998)
Follow-up EIA follow-up is a generic term referring to post decisions of proponents or environmental authorities in relation to previous consent decisions and EISs prepared (Arts & Nooteboom 1999).
Heritage is a broad concept that encompasses our Natural, Indigenous and Historic or Cultural inheritance. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Heritage Place describes a site or area of heritage significance that contains a number of buildings and structures, cultural landscape, monument, building or other structure, historic human settlement, together with the associated contents and surroundings or cartilage. Heritage places include those, which may be buried or underwater. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Host Community is a general concept that encompasses all of the people who inhabit a defined geographical entity, ranging from a continent, a country, a region, a town, village or historic site. Members of the host community have responsibilities that include governing the place and can be regarded as those who have or continue to define its particular cultural identity, lifestyle and diversity. They contribute to the conservation or its heritage and interact with visitors. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Impact Impact as referred to in the CD 97/11 are used as terms with similar meaning. Both terms are only important in relation to significant. (SUIT, 2001)
Indigenous Cultural Heritage is dynamic. It includes both Tangible and Intangible expressions of culture that link generations of Indigenous people over time. Indigenous people often express their cultural heritage through “the person”, their relationships with country, people, beliefs, knowledge, law, language, symbols, was of living, sea, land and objects all of which arise from Indigenous spirituality. Indigenous Cultural Heritage is essentially defined and expressed by the Traditional Custodians of that heritage. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Landscape Quality term used to indicate value based on character, condition and aesthetic appeal. (Landscape guidelines, 1995)
Limits of Acceptable Change refers to a process of establishing the key values and characteristics of a place and the maximum extent to which they may change before the core of their importance is degraded to an unacceptable extent. Tourism and other activities can then be monitored or evaluated to determine the rate at which these values are threatened. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Method the specific approach and techniques used for a given study. (Landscape guidelines, 1995)
Mitigation
a) Action taken to prevent, avoid, or minimise the actual or potential adverse effects of a policy, plav, programme or project. Examples of measures include modifying proposals, using cleaner methods, landscaping etc. (Gilpin, 1995).
b) Modifications to mitigate the adverse impacts of a project can take place at any of the stages in the EA process. They can be influenced by many different factors, including consultations, guidance used, and monitoring. Continuous modifications are also part of the natural evolution of project design. (Jones et al, 1998)
c) Consultation with heritage experts is strongly advised to ensure that appropriate mitigation measures for cultural heritage resources are implemented. Although a range of measures could be deployed to mitigate impacts on cultural heritage resources, those chosen must fit the type and scope of a project. Mitigation measures must be technically and economically feasible and could include:
 Re-siting of the project to avoid sensitive areas such as significant sites or areas known to contain cultural artefacts, significant cultural landscape, etc
Changing the project design or construction techniques and technologies to reduce effects of the project on cultural heritage resources;
Implementing site protection such as stabilization practices, fences, monitoring, etc;
Conducting professional rescue archaeology to salvage archaeological resources and their contextual information prior to their damage or destruction;
Changing site maintenance practices causing damage to historic fabric, e.g. road salt on stone walls. (CEAA, 1996)
Measures designed to avoid, reduce, remedy or compensate for landscape and visual impacts. (Landscape guidelines, 1995)
Monitoring The EIA Directive contains no formal requirements as regards monitoring but most Member States have formal provisions for monitoring for certain project categories. These provisions are usually not a part of the EIA legislation, but are required by sectoral laws. (CEC, 1997 b)
Monitoring is in essence the collection of data with the aim to provide information on the characteristics and/or functioning of (environmental) variables. For this purpose, monitoring usually consists of a programme of repetitive observation, measurement and recording of environmental variables and operational parameters over a period of time for a defined purpose – in the case of early warning systems it may include evaluation of monitoring data. A special type is baseline monitoring – the measuring of the initial state of environmental indicators before action is undertaken. Such monitoring provides the basis for prediction and evaluation in the EIS. After the consent decision, monitoring may relate to both compliance with and the effects of that decision (Arts 1999).
Monitoring involves the measuring and recording of relevant variables (bio-physical and socio-economic) associated with development impacts (e.g. traffic flows, air quality, noise, employment levels). The activity seeks to provide information on the characteristics and functioning of variables in time and space, and in particular on the occurrence and magnitude of impacts (Glasson 1994)
Organisers (term used in the EA procedure scheme) The people – or group of people – responsible of the organisation of the given stage in the EIA procedure. Of course the organiser may be helped by an appropriate team. He may also delegate his role to this team. For example, a ’competent authority’ may set up an advisory committee constituted of experts or/and stakeholders. The ’developer’, organiser of the impact evaluations may of course (should) delegate the impacts assessments tasks to expert teams. (SUIT, 2001)
Participant The participant to a particular stage of the EIA procedure is anyone taking part to the debate, but not necessarily responsible of the organization of the stage or competent for the final decision in this stage. (SUIT, 2001)
Project "Project" means: (i) the execution of construction works or of other installations or schemes, (ii) other interventions in the natural surroundings and landscape including those involving the extraction of mineral resources. (SUIT, 2001)
Public The "public" means one or more natural or legal persons, and, in accordance with national legislation or practice, their associations, organizations or groups (Aarhus Convention, 1998)
Public Authority
Government at national, regional and other level;
Natural or legal persons performing public administrative functions under national law, including specific duties, activities or services in relation to the environment;
Any other natural or legal persons having public responsibilities or functions, or providing public services, in relation to the environment, under the control of a body or person falling within subparagraphs (a) or (b) above;
The institutions of any regional economic integration organization referred to in article 17 which is a Party to this Convention.
This definition does not include bodies or institutions acting in a judicial or legislative capacity. (Aarhus Convention, 1998)
Public consultation A process involving the public which is very strong and formalised, therefore obliging the competent authority to take the results into consideration (SUIT, 2001)
Public involvement
a) The spectrum of interactions between project proponents and third parties at any stage in an EIA. The term includes information exchange, consultation and participation. (ERM, 2000 b)
b) The mechanism that a project sponsor uses to ensure that individuals, groups and organisations potentially affected by its decision are informed and given an opportunity to provide input to project planning and design. (ERM, 2000 b)
Public participation A process involving the public (or only a part of the public?), much more vague and less formalised than the ’public consultation’ one, which allows the competent authorities to take into consideration only what they want? (SUIT, 2001)
Quality review Reviewing the quality and adequacy of the information submitted by developers in their EA report. The quality review must be done at first by an independent organisation (as recommended by the Auditing report of the Commission of Petitions, European Parliament, 25th April 2001, received from Alain Bozet), and then by the public in its largest sense (public must be allowed to react before the production of the final EIS, it must "participate" in some way to the development of this EIS). (SUIT, 2001)
Scoping
a) Selecting environmental issues that really matter at the level of abstraction of the action at stake. (DHV, 1994)
b) Scoping the activity with the objective to establish project specifications for each Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). (Commission for EIA, the Netherlands, cited in (ERM, 2000 a))
c) Scoping provides a focus for environmental assessment by identifying key issues of concern at an early stage and ensuring that they are subject to assessment at the appropriate level. (Environment Agency, UK, cited in (ERM, 2000 a))
d) The aim of scoping is to identify the most significant environmental issues, the timing and extent of the analysis required, the sources of expertise and the gathering of data. (Department for International Development, cited in (ERM, 2000 a))
e) Scoping establishes the boundaries of environmental assessment (what elements of the project to consider and include and what environmental components are likely to be affected and how far removed those components are from the project) and focuses the assessment on the relevant issues and concerns. (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, cited in cited in (ERM, 2000 a))
f) Scoping determines the environmental impacts of the proposed project, brings into consideration alternative means of carrying out the project, including technical and technological alternatives, identifies the potential effects on the sustainability of resources in the project area and clarifies the mitigation measures that will be analysed in the EIA process ... scoping should set realistic temporal spatial and jurisdictional boundaries for the assessment, and specify key environmental criteria to be addressed and methods to be used in the assessment. (Artic Environmental Protection Strategy, cited in (ERM, 2000 a))
g) The process of identifying the potentially significant impacts of a development. (Landscape guidelines, 1995)
Screening
a) Screening is the earliest stage of the EIA process and its aim is to decide whether a particular project of Annex II of the EIA Directive should be subject to EIA or not, through a case-by-case examination or thresholds or criteria. The relevant selection criteria set out in Annex III of the EIA Directive shall then be taken into account.
b) Identifying all conceivable environmental impacts of an action (this term is in other contexts also sometimes used for "to identify actions for which an EIA would be appropriate regarding its potential environmental impacts"). (DHV, 1994)
c) Environmental screening is intended to ensure that proposed projects are subject to the appropriate extent and type of environmental assessment. (The World Bank, 1999)
d) Environmental screening is carried out ... to identify potential environmental issues associated with a propose operation and to specify the types of environmental information required in order to assess environmental risk, liabilities, regulatory compliance, and adverse environmental impacts, and other concerns. The information required should include an analysis of the applicable legislation and standards. Environmental screening should also identify potential environmental benefits or enhancements which could built into the operation" (European bank for Reconstruction and Development, cited in (ERM, 2000 a))
e) A project is covered by the rules on environmental impact assessment if it likely to have significant effects on the environment" (Ministry of Environment and Energy, Denmark, cited in (ERM, 2000 a))
Sense of place (or Genius Loci) The essential character and spirit of an area. Genius Loci literally ‘spirit of a place’ (Landscape guidelines, 1995)
Stakeholders Those groups or individuals who will be directly affected by the project? Representative of the public concerned or representative with interests in the decision-making? (SUIT, 2001)
Steering committee A group of experts/stakeholders constituted in order to assist the competent authority in the decision-making (SUIT, 2001)
Sustainable Future refers to the ability of an action to be carried out without diminishing the continuation of natural processes of change or damaging the long term integrity of natural or cultural environments, while providing for present and future economic and social well-being. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Sustainable Tourism refers to a level of tourism activity that can be maintained over the long term because it results in a net benefit for the social, economic, natural and cultural environments of the area in which it takes place. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Impact Threshold A specified level of impact significance. (Landscape guidelines, 1995)
Tourism Projects include all of the activities that enable, facilitate, or enhance a visit to a destination, including the provision or upgrading of related infrastructure and facilities. (ICOMOS, ICTC, 2002)
Urban tourism is the set of tourist resources or activities located in towns and cities and offered to visitors from elsewhere. (IQM, 2000)
Visualization computer simulation, photomontage or other technique to illustrate the appearance of a development. (Landscape guidelines, 1995)
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