TOPIC III

Environmental Impact
Assessment(EIA)
 Session outline
• Definition of key terms
• Purpose/aims and objectives of EIA
• Steps in EIA/Tools for EIA
• Benefits of applying EIA
• Risks associated with not doing EIA properly
• Challenges for EIA practitioners
• Positive trends on EIA
 What is Environment?
"Environment" is meant to include:
• Land, water and air (all layers of atmosphere)
• Organic and inorganic matter and living organisms and
species, including humans;
• Interacting natural systems
• Social, economical and cultural conditions. Economical and
cultural conditions influence lives of people and community
• Any structure or thing made by people.
 An Impact on the environment is defined as:
Any incremental change (increase/ decrease) in the biophysical
and/or social environment caused by or directly related to a
former, ongoing, or proposed activity.

What is Environmental Impact Assessment?

“An important procedure for ensuring that the likely effects of
new development on the environment are fully understood
and taken into account before the development is allowed to
go ahead”
 What is EIA in reality?
• A process or Technique to be used in integrated planning of
development proposals, which identifies, predicts,
interprets and communicates information about impacts of
a proposed action on human health and well-being of the
ecosystem upon which human survival depends.
• It sets down a repeatable series of steps to be taken, to
allow the environmental consequences of an intervention to
to be assessed.
 Brief history of EIA
• The national Environmental policy Act 1969 of USA is the
legislative basis for EIA. The policy was the result of wide spread
recognition in the 1960s that some major environmental problems
were created by government’s projects (power stations, dams and
reservoirs, industrial complexes)
• The regulation made it mandatory to assess the environmental
consequences of all projects by federal agencies
• In 1990s many developed and some developing countries
designed their EIA legislation e.g. New Zealand (1991), Canada
(1995),Australia (1999),Vietnam (1993) Uganda (1994) Ecuador
(1997).
• Today EIA is firmly established in planning process in many of
these countries
 PURPOSE/AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF EIA
The immediate aim (Short term) of EIA is to; inform the process
of decision making by identifying the potentially significant
environmental effects and risks of development projects
Objectives related to this aim are to:
• Improve the environmental design of the proposal
• Ensure that resources are used appropriately and efficiently
• Identify appropriate measures for mitigating the potential
impact of the proposal and
• Facilitate informed decision making including setting the
environmental terms and conditions for implementing the
proposal
 Purpose/aims and objectives of EIA
The ultimate (long term)aim of EIA is to; promote sustainable
development by ensuring that development proposals do not
undermine critical resource and ecological functions or the well being,
lifestyle and livelihood of the communities and people who depend on
them
Objectives related to this aim are to:
• Protect human health and safety;
• Avoid irreversible changes and serious damage to the environment
• Safeguard value resources , natural resources and ecosystem
components and;
• Enhance the social aspect of the proposal
 Environmental issues
• Pollution of Air, Water and Land: the emission of any impurity into the air,
such as smoke (including tobacco smoke), dust, cinders, solid particles, gases,
mists, fumes, odours and radioactive substances.
 Causes of air, water and land pollution
• EMISSIONS / DISCHARGES FROM INDUSTRY, TRANSPORT AND ENERGY
PRODUCTION.
• Agricultural run offs
• NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF AMBIENT QUALITY STANDARDS
• INADEQUATE POLICIES AND LEGAL REGIMES
• Unclean technology
Hazardous Chemicals and Wastes
• PRODUCTION, USE AND DISPOSAL OF CHEMICALS INCLUDING
PESTICIDES
• GENERATION AND DISPOSAL OF HAZARDOUS WASTES
• IRRESPONSIBLE INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS
AND WASTES
• PRODUCTION AND USE OF PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS
Land Degradation
Loss of Biodiversity: Variability among living organisms
Ozone Depletion
Regions Major environmental issues

Africa The continent has the world’s poorest and most resource dependent population. It carries the highest
health burden due to severe environmental problems. These include desertification and soil degradation,
declining food security, and increasing water scarcity

Asia and Rapid economic growth, urbanization and industrialization have helped in poverty alleviation but also
Pacific increased pressure on land and water resources, wide spread environmental degradation and high
pollution levels. Mega cities are a particular focus of environmental and health concerns

Eastern and Despite progress with economic restructuring and environmental clean up, there is a legacy of industrial
central Asia pollution and contaminated land during communist era. In many areas of emission of particulates SO2,
lead, heavy metals and toxic chemicals continue to expose the residents to health risks, and in the Balkans,
war and regional conflicts have exacted a heavy environmental and social toll

Latin America Approximately three quarter of the population live in urban areas. Many cities are poor, over crowded,
and the polluted and lack infrastructure. The major environmental issues is the destruction of tropical forests and
Caribbean consequent loss of biodiversity, which especially serious in the Aazon Basin
 STEPS IN EIA
STEP 1.SCREENING /PRELIMINARY ACTIVITIES
This step determines;
• Whether or not EIA is required for a particular project
• What level is required
Screening outcome
• Full or comprehensive EIA required
• Limited EIA required
• No EIA required
 STEPS IN EIA
Tools for screening
• Project list
• Inclusive-listed projects must undergo EIA
• Exclusive-listed project exempted from EIA
• Case by case examinations
• Determine whether project may have significant
environmental effects
• If so project should under go EIA
• Combination of the above
 STEPS IN EIA
STEP 2 SCOPING
• Begins once screening is completed
• The most important steps in EIA
• Establishes the content and scope of an EIA report
• Outcome :
• Identifies key issues and impacts to be considered
• Lays the foundation of an effective process, saves time and
money and reduces conflict
Types of scoping
Closed scoping:
• Where the content and scope of an EIA report is
predetermined by law and modified through closed
consultation between the developer and the competent
authority
Open scoping or public scoping
• A transparent process based on public consultation
Actors
• Proponents, EIA Consultants, supervisory authority for EIA,
other responsible agencies, affected public and interested
public
 The scoping process
• Prepare a scope outline • Organize key issue into impact
• Develop the outline through categories (study list)
informal consultation with
environmental and health • Amend the outline accordingly
authorities • Develop Terms of Reference
• Make the outline available (ToR) for impact analysis
• Compile an extensive list of
concerns • Monitor progress against (ToR)
• Evaluate relevant concerns to • Monitor progress against the
establish key issue TOR, revising as necessary
Scoping cont…
In scoping the four facets of the environment is taken
into consideration
• The physical and chemical environment
• The biological environment
• The human (social) environment
• The human economic environment
 STEP 3. IMPACT ANALYSIS
Type Biophysical, social, health or economic

Nature Direct or indirect, cumulative

Magnitude or severity High, moderate or low

Extent Local, regional, transboundary or global

timing Immediate/long term

Duration Temporary/permanent

uncertainty Low likelihood/high probability

Reversibility Reversible/irreversible

Significance Unimportant/improtant
Tools for Impact analysis
• Check list
• Matrices
• Networks
• Overlapping and geographical information systems
• Experts system
• Professional judgement
 Step 4. Impact mitigation
• To avoid, minimise or remedy adverse impacts
• To ensure that residual impacts are within acceptable levels
• To enhance environmental and social benefits
 STEP 5. REPORTING
Different EIA reports
• Environment impact Assessment report (EIA Report)
• Environment Impact Statement (EIS)
• Environmental Assessment Report (EA Report )
• Environmental Effects Statement (EES)
 STEP 6 REVIEW
• Review the quality of the EIA report
• Take public comments into account
• Determine if the information is sufficient
• Identify any deficiencies to be corrected
Who performs the review
• Environmental agency
• Independent panel
• Public comment and input
 Content of the report
• A description of the project
• An outline of the main alternatives studied by the developer
• A description of the aspects of the environment likely to be
significantly affected by the proposed project
• Measure to prevent, reduce and possibly offset adverse
environmental effects
• An indication of any difficulties (technical deficiencies or lack
of know how) encountered while compiling the required
information
 STEP7: DECISION MAKING

• To provide key inputs to help determine if a proposal is

acceptable

• To help establish environmental terms and conditions for

project implementation
 Step 8: Monitoring
• Ensure the implementation of conditions attached to a
decision
• Verify that impacts are as predicted or permitted
• Confirm that mitigation measures are working as expected
• Take action to manage the unforeseen changes
 Key components of monitoring
• Establish baseline conditions
• Measure impact of a project as constructed
• Verify conformity with conditions and acceptable limits
• Establish links to environmental management plans
• Carry out periodic checks and third party audits
Benefits of applying EIA to economic developments include:
• More efficient and productive (sustainable) use of natural
resources,
• Lower project costs
• Avoidance or remedial measures planned.
• Improved future planning of economic development
• Better protection for the environment and enhanced quality of
life
• Opportunity for the public to learn about environmental effects,
• Opportunity for the public to influence the decision making
process,
• Enhanced public confidence in public and private institutions
Risks associated with not doing EIA properly include:
• Costly proceedings, expensive clean-ups
• Loss of public trust in public and private institutions
• Worsening environmental conditions and deterioration of
the natural resources of the natural resource
• Consumer backlash against industry and businesses
responsible for environmental disaster
 CHALLENGES FOR EIA PRACTIONERS
• Development and application of complex technologies is
proceeding at a much faster rate technologies is proceeding
at a much faster rate than our understanding
• Common agreements on acceptable levels of environmental
and directly related social changes are hard to achieve;
• Availability of adequate baseline data is very limited,
• Project-environment interactions are not always fully
understood;
CHALLENGES FOR EIA PRACTIONERS cont…
• Predictive tools for project-environment interactions and
impacts are not well developed;
• Current methods of impact prediction and analysis are not
adequate enough to meet each and every challenge; and
every challenge;
• Attaching significance and establishing linkages between
predicted environmental impacts, related social and human
health effects often require subjective judgment;
 CHALLENGES FOR EIA PRACTIONERS cont…
• Scientific and technical experts often give different opinion on
the same topic;
• Consultations with the public are often difficult and
frustrating,
• Public discussion of any issue often loses focus and relevance;
• Some segments of the public may introduce issues and
concerns which are not related to the proposal under review.
POSITIVE TRENDS ON EIA
It is generally recognized that:
• World community is committed to preserve and protect the
environment;
• Governments, business and industry, academic institutions and non
governmental organizations are working and cooperating for the
cause of environmental protection;
• Many national and international organizations have passed relevant
legislation and are developing and implementing regulatory
mechanisms;
• Our knowledge and capacity to deal with environmental issues have
been improving.
In order to be effective, EIA practitioners must:
• Understand the real purpose and limitations of EIA practices
and processes
• Understand the legal and procedural requirements and
jurisdictional complexities of the situation complexities of the
situation
• Understand and accept multidisciplinary nature of EIA and learn
to work with teams,
• Keep and expand communication links with appropriate
institutions, organizations and knowledgeable people
• Learn to simplify, as much as possible, complex issues
• Communicate regularly and effectively with others.
 Group work questions
• Systematically elaborate the steps you must undertake for a
successful Environmental Impact Assessment exercise
• What tools would you use to gather the required data for
this exercise?
• What challenges are you likely to face and how do you plan
to overcome those challenges during the exercise?