A remarkable influence of future use of XPS in EIA may thus be the formalization of fundamental methods. As planners should not leave computer scientists alone with this task, chapter 7 tries to contribute to it. Recent case studies do not strictly follow the original method any more. Most of the consultants utilize a modular system of methods which combines ecological risk analysis with balancing, scenario technique, logic aggregation, or text assessment. In spite of the dominance of the ecological risk analysis, no standardization of methods can be recognized.
Consultants prefer certain schools or have developed their own modules.
This includes selection of indicators and classification as well as aggregation rules. Thus, comparison of EIS carried out by different consultants is difficult if not impossible. Many consultants are strongly influenced by landscape planning because of their instruction or studies they carry out in other fields. Their methods recall the impact and mitigation regulations as laid down in the nature protection law and only slowly change towards factors of the environment instead of landscape potentials and the other terms of the EIA law. There is disagreement esp.