Using of Indicators for Environmental Impact Assessment in Latvia and Necessity for Indicators Validation

The EIA procedure in Latvia as it`s known today was implemented by the law „On environmental impact assessment” in 1998. The quantity assessment of expected environmental impact is provided by indicators giving the highest impartiality in this process. The choice of indicators and their approval in EIA projects in Latvia have not received the right attention, the issue is left upon the EIA performers. The problematic issues on necessity of indicator selection and validation are dealt with in the article. 39 environmental indicators were selected for EIA of motor road projects, with the evaluation of their significance and essence, as well as the analysis f application of these indicators in 14 reports concerning EIA of motor road projects. The results revealed the existing problems of indicator application and proved the assumption that there is no common indicator system for the assessment of impact of similar economic projects, proving the necessity of indicator validation to ensure good quality of assessment