Environmental impact assessment on marine resources has become an integral part of planning for the exploitation, development and management of the marine resources. The nature of impact assessment vary according to the conceptual and institutional frameworks and their operation. These involve the scientific and social dimensions, as it is necessary, with the development of modern technology, to provide a measure of the potential changes in environmental and social conditions resulting from the development decisions. Different and diverging needs should be equitably incorporated in the decision-making processes, although the integration of social and biophysical aspects of planning poses problems. This paper presents different perspectives of environmental assessment to provide the basis of linking natural systems, social values and developmental initiatives in an integrated planning process for marine resources.