Environmental Impact Assessment Teaching at the University of São Paulo: Evolving Approaches to Different Needs

This paper documents the experience of teaching environmental impact assessment (EIA) to undergraduate students at Escola Politécnica, an engineering school in Brazil, where EIA was first introduced as a graduate course in 1990, evolving to be taught as an undergraduate course. Learning objectives, course contents and teaching approaches are described. The courses have always sought to prevent a "legal trap" in teaching EIA, i.e. shaping the contents and the approach upon the applicable legal requirements, as it is assumed that, ultimately, EIA is not practiced because of laws, but because society calls for environmentally and socially responsible decision-making. Given the limited literature on EIA education, the paper also hopes to stimulate further reflection and debate on the role of teaching in enhancing environmental assessment practice and in improving its effectiveness and disseminating best practices.