Environmental Impact Assessment with the Ecosystem Services Approach

Due to the wide range of scientific methods used to solve different environmental challenges, decision-making has become increasingly difficult for managers. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies, as one of the key decision-making tools, are no exception. More than two decades have passed since the adoption of laws and regulations on environmental impact assessment in Iran, and their implementation in recent years, while being followed in earnest, has sometimes been criticized by experts and academics. This shows the need for further review and updating of the EIA process and its methods. In this paper we attempted to briefly review environmental impact assessment methods, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses. We have resorted to the discussions about the benefits of using ecosystem services in environmental impact assessment. As such, the purpose of this paper was to demonstrate the potential values of integrating ecosystem services into assessing environmental impacts, leading to a more accurate identification of the best options in the proposed project area based on ecosystem sensitivities. Therefore, this study will be useful to environmental analysts and researchers as well as improvement of the country's environmental impact assessment system.