## 1 Introduction  
The development of human society has led to wide-ranging global sustainability challenges, from maintaining biodiversity to managing freshwater resources, preservation of air quality, and socio-economic growth. The holistic approaches to understanding and integrating different components of human and natural systems are essential to understanding the socio-economic environmental interconnections and creating solutions for sustainable development. Over the last 40 years, there has been an increased interest in environmental issues and sustainable development in order to better manage the development of the economy and society in an environmentally sound way. Sustainable development (SD) is the result of the growing global awareness of environmental, social, and economic problems, as well as issues such as poverty, gender inequality, and the living situation of future generations [1,2]. Solving these complex sustainability constraints does not only involve practical techniques and methods, but a deep conceptual understanding of these challenges' origins is necessary. Since its introduction in national legislation, the EIA process has followed an evolutionary trajectory marked by criticisms and legislative rectifications, aiming to solve the problems identified in its large-scale implementation in the country [3]. The analysis of the evolution of EIA in Romania has highlighted a number of implications that reflect both the progress made and the persistent challenges. The implications can be grouped into three main categories: legislative, social, and environmental. The legislative implications have resulted in the harmonization of European Union (EU) directives into national law, which has led to increased transparency in decision-making processes during evaluations [4; 5]. The social implications have facilitated public consultations that resulted in the acceptance/denial of environmental projects by civil society [6; 7]. The environmental implications play a crucial role in promoting sustainable development [8]. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is seen as a promoter of sustainable development, and its effectiveness is being increasingly monitored. This concept has become a research topic constantly addressed since the 1970s [9], which has led to the development of new effective practices in EIA and the strengthening of this process. The studies carried out have mainly focused on legislative elements resulting in the benefits of implementation [10] and its effectiveness at local, national, and international levels. The benefits of using a related impact assessment tool may vary depending on the assessment framework in which it has been applied. Since the implementation of the EIA concept in the 1970s, the studies reviewed show a significantly positive development of EIA, which has led to a broadening of the scope of the assessment process, an increased emphasis on public participation and transparency, and the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a priority [6; 11; 12; 13]. In recent years, considering the importance of EIA, research has been carried out, resulting in the publication of numerous studies focused on the legislative implementation of EIA as a tool for direct and indirect quantification of environmental impacts resulting from human activities to provide a basis for decision-making. Thus, a large number of related concepts and tools have been generated to support the EIA process, which was referred to as \"impact assessment\", i.e., the environmental, economic, and social impacts of certain activities, processes, and products. These tools refer to EIA [14; 15], Risk Assessment (RA) [16; 17; 18], Social Impact Assessment (SIA) [3; 19], Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) [20; 21], Health and Technology Assessment (HTA) [22], and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) [23; 24; 10; 25], and are the result of a certain level of dissatisfaction with the way in which EIA was applied [26].