Analysis of Impacts to Cultural Heritage in Environmental Studies

Abstract

A legal instrument composed of interdisciplinary technical elements; the Environmental Impact Study aims at foreseeing and preventing environmental damage, by guiding the choice of the best alternative to avoid, eliminate or reduce harmful effects caused by the proposed enterprise. Since cultural heritage integrates a wide environment concept, all the impact factors on material cultural heritage (such as caves, archeological and paleontological sites, historical buildings, urban complexes, landscape and geological monuments) and on immaterial cultural heritage (such as the traditional ways of living, of doing and of expressing oneself; places and memory references) must be thoroughly evaluated to verify the viability of the enterprise and to put forward the corresponding mitigating and countervailing measures. Consequently, one can assert that the process of environmental licensing is also an instrument to protect and preserve the cultural heritage.