PURPOSE
The CAED project aims to provide criteria, methods, and useful tools to enhance competent authorities and practitioner’s capability in promptly and effectively determining the clues and evidence of environmental damage and imminent threats of damage caused by environmental incidents, non-compliances, offences, and criminal actions.
It is anticipated that the success of preventive or remedial measures may be improved, with such a framework of procedures, criteria, methods and planning and assessment tools for the determination of the environmental damage and imminent threat of damage. The purpose of this guide is to provide that framework by providing practical tools to support competent authorities in identifying potential cases of environmental damage under the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD). Early identification of clues of damage can facilitate rapid decision making, saving time, efforts, and money. The guide therefore focuses on preliminary assessments for the evaluation of potential cases of environmental damage and imminent threat of damage under ELD.
SCOPE
The Criteria for the Assessment of the Environmental Damage (CAED) project is primarily concerned with the Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/CE (ELD) which concerns the environmental liability for the prevention and remediation of environmental damage.
In particular, the CAED project concerns the environmental damage to the natural resources protected by the ELD, namely, protected species and natural habitats (included in Habitat and Birds Directives), waters (under Water Framework and Marine Strategy Directives) and land1 2. Inaddition, the scope includes areas protected by national legislation (such as protected areas, national and regional parks, wetlands) and international conventions (RAMSAR).
The CAED project is framed in the administrative procedure for the determination of environmental damage and imminent threat of damage, and it is devoted to the the early stages of environmental damage assessment, referred to as the phase of “ascertainment” or the “determination of environmental damage”3.
2 Impacts on land generated by GMOs and MGMOs are not included.
3 This phase includes the activation phase (the event is discovered/notified by/to the authority), immediate action phase (the event is investigated by the authority), assessment phase (the imminent threat of damage or/and the damage is determined).