Metody oceny ryzyka środowiskowego na przykładzie planowania inwestycji liniowych

Realization of linear investments requires applying objective methods to assess their potential negative impacts on environment. Considering the similarity of natural conditions due to geographical proximity of Germany and Poland —the ERA method applied by the German Federal Transportation, Building and Housing Ministry to estimate a general impact of planned highway construction works on the environment, is described in this paper. The paper presents rules of delimitating the study area, evaluation criteria for environment resistance, methods of defining impact strength and matrix classification of the environmental risks. Clear criteria of the assessment allow applying expert systems and GIS, thus enabling quick comparisons between different locations and technical alternatives, and allowing to choose the best solution, which minimizes the negative impact on natural environment.