INFORMATION IN AN EIA PROCESS AND THE INFLUENCE THEREOF ON PUBLIC OPINION

Environmental issues can only be solved by coherent action at local, national and international levels, therefore understanding of the factors that influence the information exchange process is very important. The subject of investigation in this research is the influence of environmental information provided in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process on the level of knowledge concerning environmental issues in the local community. A survey of public opinion of the environmental impacts of the Port of Koper in Slovenia was performed.Results show that respondents did not find the EIA presentations effective and received more information from TV, newspapers and radio. The EIA process did not fulfil its' potential, since respondents express the highest trust in expert information, but the effectiveness of the expert part of the presentation is considered to be low, not reaching the media. By improving the presentations effectiveness in the EIA process, further efforts in informing public and employees could theoretically bring the opinions of both groups to a similar level of understanding.