2.2. Prior Environmental Review System (PERS)
The Prior Environmental Review System (PERS), a policy measure
for sustainable development reflecting environmental conservation
in development, aims to balance development with conservation by
identifying possible environmental impacts of administrative plans
and development projects at the early stages of planning. Similar to
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), which seeks to achieve
sustainable development, the PERS was introduced to overcome some
of the limitations of the EIA system, through review of the environmental
impacts of major policy and administrative plans and programs
in the earliest appropriate stages of the decision making process. The
system includes consideration of ways to execute development plans
while harmonizing the artificial and natural environment in an aesthetically
pleasing manner. Widespread problems brought forth by
reckless development, including—inefficient land use, water pollution,
and traffic congestion—have surfaced as serious societal issues. The EIA
system has not sufficiently secured a balance between environmental
conservation and development in land use planning. These limitations
were the motivation for the introduction of PERS. As a result, the need to evaluate potential environmental effects during the early stages of
development planning continues to grow.