Abstract In this study, we carried out a comparative analysis of the Chilean Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system using evaluation criteria compared against three countries to allow for an objective evaluation within the growing demand of society for a more creditable and trustable EIA system. A total of 18 evaluation criteria were selected from the literature, and four new criteria for comparing EIA systems were proposed. The Chilean EIA system was compared to that of Brazil, Spain, and Canada using the following four evaluation criteria categories: EIA Legislation (four criteria), EIA Administration (four criteria), EIA Process (eleven criteria), and After EIA (three criteria). A Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster Analysis for assessing similarity among the EIA systems of Chile, Canada, and Spain was performed: the similarity being 88%. A Principal Component Analysis shows that only 13 of the selected 22 criteria contribute to the variability of the selected EIA systems. The main strengths of the Chilean EIA system are the existence of Specialized Environmental Courts for the resolution of disputes and Appeal options before execution. The identified weaknesses are an EIA system with high centralization at the national level, the absence of consideration of project alternatives, no requirement for scoping, and that the process of Strategic Environmental Assessment is not binding. Modifications to the Environmental Impact Assessment System Regulation are proposed by authors as feasible improvements particularly in relation to, Decentralization of the EIA system, Alternatives for design, Scoping incorporation, Register of reviewers of baseline information, and the public information process and post-evaluation. The method used seeks out to serve as guidance for countries with similar environmental and social contexts, as well as environmental legislation improvement needs.

中文翻译：

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智利的环境影响评估：概述、改进和比较

摘要 在本研究中，我们使用评估标准对三个国家的智利环境影响评估 (EIA) 系统进行了比较分析，以便在社会对更可信和可信赖的环评系统日益增长的需求中进行客观评估。共从文献中选取了18条评价标准，并提出了4个比较环评体系的新标准。使用以下四个评估标准类别将智利的 EIA 系统与巴西、西班牙和加拿大的系统进行比较：EIA 立法（四个标准）、EIA 管理（四个标准）、EIA 流程（十一个标准）和 EIA 之后（三个标准） ）。进行了用于评估智利、加拿大和西班牙 EIA 系统之间相似性的分层凝聚聚类分析：相似性为 88%。主成分分析表明，在选定的 22 个标准中，只有 13 个对选定的 EIA 系统的可变性有贡献。智利 EIA 系统的主要优势是存在专门的环境法庭来解决争议和执行前的上诉选项。确定的弱点是在国家层面高度集中的环境影响评估系统，没有考虑项目替代方案，没有范围界定的要求，以及战略环境评估过程没有约束力。作者提出了对环境影响评估系统法规的修改作为可行的改进，特别是在环境影响评估系统的权力下放、设计替代方案、范围界定、基线信息审查员登记册、以及公共信息过程和后评估。所使用的方法旨在为具有类似环境和社会背景以及环境立法改进需求的国家提供指导。