生態調查法規和調查人員背景對生態環境影響評估報告品質之影響

An Evaluation on Taiwan’s Ecological Impact Assessments during 1988–2006

生態影響評估（Ecological Impact Assessment）是環境影響評估制度的一部分，它主要涉及對各生物類群和其棲息地的實地調查，是預防不周詳的土地開發計畫戕害生物多樣性的主要把關工具。但生態影響評估的品質究竟如何，有什麼因素影響其表現？我們所知甚少。本研究審視台灣生態影響評估的執行狀況。我們使用德爾非專家系統所開發的評審系統，審評台灣1988‒2006年間的生態影響評估報告品質。同時，我們也檢視以下兩個因子對評估報告品質的影響：1）台灣所制定的環境影響評估制度相關法律和準則；2）生態調查人員背景。研究結果顯示，大多數的生態影響評估報告表現不佳，但制定法律對報告之品質有正面影響。依此，我們建議未來必須積極訂立完整的法規引導並檢核生態影響評估。研究結果也顯示，調查人員專業背景對報告品質有顯著影響。然此一結果可能是由生態影響評估的經費與時間限制等關聯因子造成，未來對生態影響評估的其他面向做深入研究可以釐清之。我們建議調查人員的專業程度仍應該建立認證制度。

Ecological Impact Assessment (EIA) is instrumental in guarding biodiversity from ill-planned development projects. Much of EIA involves field surveys of different taxonomic groups and their habitats, but little information is available on what factors influence the performance of these surveys. In this study, we used a recently developed evaluation checklist to understand the state of biodiversity surveys. We asked two questions: 1) Have the installment of laws and guidelines improved survey performance? 2) Does surveyor background affect the performance of surveys? The EIA reports in Taiwan were our study subjects. The results show that the majority of ecological impact assessments are performed poorly, although the average quality of reports has increased significantly over time, with legislation playing a key role in improving the quality of surveys. We also found that the background of surveyors had significant effects on survey reports. The effects need to be interpreted with care. We propose that training and certification be required for personnel performing surveys.