Abstract The consideration and disclosure of uncertainties is fundamental to a credible EA process, but little is known about the nature and type of requirements and guidance available to proponents, practitioners and decision makers about how to deal with uncertainties. This paper examines the provisions for considering and disclosing uncertainties in EA. Methods are based on a comparative review of uncertainty provisions in EA legislation, regulations and guidance documents under Canadian federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions. Results show 10 types of provisions applied at different stages of the EA process with considerable jurisdictional variability and incoherence. The most common provision was that decision makers can request that project proponents provide more information, followed by the preparation of contingency plans, and that practitioners document their assumptions about data reliability. Most of these provisions were found in guidelines, versus legislation or regulations; and most addressed impact management, with very few provisions for addressing uncertainty during EA review and decision making. Current practices of uncertainty (non)disclosure and (non)consideration in EA can be explained, in part, by the superficial nature and limited extent of the requirements and guidance made available to EA practitioners, proponents, and decision makers. The existing requirements placed on proponents and practitioners to disclose and consider uncertainties are necessary, but insufficient. Stronger, more coherent and transparent requirements for those tasked with EA review and decision making to consider uncertainty information when disclosed, and the development of practical guidance on how to do so, are needed.

中文翻译：

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EA 立法、法规和指南中不确定性披露和考虑的零碎规定以及改进的必要性

摘要 不确定性的考虑和披露是可信的 EA 过程的基础，但对支持者、实践者和决策者如何处理不确定性的要求和指南的性质和类型知之甚少。本文研究了在 EA 中考虑和披露不确定性的规定。方法基于对加拿大联邦、省和地区管辖范围内的 EA 立法、法规和指导文件中的不确定性条款的比较审查。结果显示 10 类条款适用于 EA 过程的不同阶段，具有相当大的管辖权可变性和不连贯性。最常见的规定是决策者可以要求项目发起人提供更多信息，然后准备应急计划，并且从业者记录他们对数据可靠性的假设。这些规定中的大多数是在指南中找到的，而不是立法或法规；大多数都涉及影响管理，很少有规定用于解决 EA 审查和决策过程中的不确定性。EA 中不确定性（不）披露和（不）考虑的当前做法可以部分解释为向 EA 从业者、支持者和决策者提供的要求和指南的肤浅性质和有限范围。对支持者和从业者披露和考虑不确定性的现有要求是必要的，但还不够。对那些负责 EA 审查和决策的人员提出更严格、更连贯和透明的要求，以便在披露时考虑不确定性信息，