This document outlines the principles of environmental impact assessment (EIA) best practices. It is organized into two main parts. Part 1 describes the purpose, aims, and approach used to develop the principles. The principles are intended to provide guidance to those involved in applying EIA processes. Part 2 presents the definition of EIA as identifying, predicting, evaluating, and mitigating environmental effects prior to major decisions. It lists the objectives of EIA and introduces the basic and operating principles, which include transparency, participation, practicality, and applying EIA early in decision making.