Environmental impact assessment (EIA) follow- up refers to the activities undertaken during the post-decision stages of the process to monitor, evaluate, manage and communicate the environmental outcomes that occur in order to provide for some follow-up to the environmental impact statement. This article presents the key findings of a workshop on EIA follow-up conducted at IAIA'00 Back to the Future, the 20th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Impact Assessment held in Hong Kong, 19-23 June 2000.

This article presents principles for best practice environmental impact assessment (EIA) follow-up. These are intended to guide development and capacity building amongst EIA practitioners. The article starts by defining EIA follow-up and identifying the principal stakeholders involved. The core values that should underpin EIA follow-up are provided which explain why EIA follow-up should be done. The principles then consider: who should be involved in EIA follow-up; what best practice follow-up entails; and how follow-up can be undertaken. The article ends with some challenges for practitioners. It is hoped that the principles will help in the consolidation of EIA follow-up internationally and encourage further improvement in this field.