EIA INTRODUCTION

C HAPTER-I

INTRODUCTION

Economic, social and environmental change is inherent to development. Whilst

development aims to bring about positive change it can lead to conflicts. In the past, the
promotion of economic growth as the motor for increased well-being was the main
development thrust with little sensitivity to adverse social or environmental impacts. The
need to avoid adverse impacts and to ensure long term benefits led to the concept of
sustainability. This has become accepted as an essential feature of development if the aim
of increased well-being and greater equity in fulfilling basic needs is to be met for this and
future generations.

In order to predict environmental impacts of any development activity and to provide an

opportunity to mitigate against negative impacts and enhance positive impacts, the
environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure was developed.
1.1 Definition:
An EIA may be defined as:
A formal process to predict the environmental consequences of human development
activities and to plan appropriate measures to eliminate or reduce adverse effects and to
augment positive effects. (FAO definition)
A process used to identify and predict the impact on the environment and on man's
health and wellbeing of legislative proposals, policies, programs, projects and operational
procedures, and to interpret and communicate information about the impacts.
(Munn,1979)
A technique and a process by which information about the environmental effects of a
project is collected, both by the developer and from other sources, and taken into account
by the planning authority in forming their judgments on whether the development
should go ahead. (UK DoE,1989)
Based on the above definitions, on can observe that EIA has three basic functions:

• To predict problems,
• To find ways to avoid them, and
• To enhance positive effects.

The third function is of particular importance. The EIA provides a unique opportunity to
demonstrate ways in which the environment may be improved as part of the development
process. The EIA also predicts the conflicts and constraints between the proposed project,

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program or sectoral plan and its environment. It provides an opportunity for mitigation
measures to be incorporated to minimize problems. It enables monitoring programmes to
be established to assess future impacts and provide data on which managers can take
informed decisions to avoid environmental damage.

Environmental impact assessment is an element of the rational model of planning and

decision making. In this model, objectives and criteria for evaluating alternative projects
are identified at the outset. Engineers and planners then design alternative projects and do
studies (including cost benefit analysis and EIA) to predict impacts and evaluate the
alternatives. The information generated is then used to select one project from among the
alternatives.

As a planning tool, EIA serves largely to inform interested parties of the likely
environmental impacts of a project and its proposed alternatives. It illuminates
environmental issues to be considered in making decisions.
EIA has been regarded as both science and art, reflecting the concern both with technical
aspects of appraisal and the effects of EIA upon the decision making process.
EIA as a science has to do with the methodologies and techniques for identifying,
predicting and evaluating the environmental impacts associated with particular
development actions.
EIA as art has to do with those mechanisms for ensuring an environmental analysis of such
actions and influencing the decision making process.
The terms ‘impact’ and ‘effect’ are frequently used synonymously, although some have
advocated differentiating between natural or man-induced changes in the biogeophysical
environment, effects, from the consequences of theses changes, namely impacts. An impact
has both spatial and temporal components and can be described as the change in the
environmental parameter, over a specified period and with in a defined area, resulting
from a particular activity compared with the situation which would have occurred had the
activity not been initiated. It is most likely envisaged graphically as below:
EIA is a management tool for planners and decision makers and complements other project
studies on engineering and economics. Environmental assessment is now accepted as an
essential part of development planning and management. It should become as familiar and
important as economic analysis in project evaluation.
An EIA, in our case, is concerned with impacts of water resources development projects on
the environment and with the sustainability of the projects themselves. Clearly an EIA will
not resolve all problems. There will be trade-offs between economic development and
environmental protection as in all development activities. However, without an objective
EIA, informed decision making would be impossible.

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Environmental parameters

Project initiated
With project

ENVIRONMENTAL
impact

Without project

time

Figure: an Impact
1.2 Evolution of EIA
Initially EIA was seen by some project promoters as a constraint to development but this
view is gradually disappearing. It can, however, be a useful constraint to unsustainable
development. It is now well understood that environment and development are
complementary and interdependent and EIA is a technique for ensuring that the two are
mutually reinforcing. A study carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (USA)
in 1980 showed that there were significant changes to projects during the EIA process,
marked improvements in environmental protection measures and net financial benefits.
The costs of EIA preparation and any delays were more than covered by savings accruing
from modifications, (Wathern, 1988).
Although predictions of how human actions affect the environment are as old as recorded
history, the contemporary usage of “environmental impact assessment” has its origins in
the US National Policy act of 1969 (NEPA). The cause for the enforcement of the law was
the wide spread recognition that some environmental problems in the US resulted from
actions by the US government itself. The appetite of large infrastructures agencies in charge
of water resources projects, highways and energy facilities appeared to be unquenchable,
and the mission statement of those agencies did not force them to account for the adverse
environmental impacts of their action. NEPA changed that. By a single act of congress, all
federal agencies were required to consider the EIA of their decisions. The most widely
known of these provisions was the following:
“All agencies of the federal government shall include in every recommendation and report on
proposals for legislations and other major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of human
environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official.”

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This detailed statement comes to be called as an ‘environmental impact statement (EIS)’.
EIA activities throughout the world have provided extra-ordinary opportunities to share
information on an international level.

EIA in developing countries

There are huge differences in the EIA systems in the developing countries. With in Africa,
for example, while the South Africa EIA system is sophisticated and EIA is becoming
important in Zimbabwe, as yet EIA is unimportant in Somalia.
Despite these variations, it remains true that, on the whole, environmental impact
assessment in developing countries tends to be very different from EIA in developed
countries. Over the past decade several developing countries have established their own
formal legislative bases for EIA. Often, however, the necessary organization to enforce it is
absent.

1.3 Purpose and objectives of EIA

Purpose of EIA
The EIA process makes sure that environmental issue when a project or plan is first
discussed and that all relevant concerns are addressed as a project proceeds to
implementation.
According to World Bank Guidelines for EIA, the project should ensure sustainable and
sound development. The main purposes of EIA can then be stated as follows:
Identify and forecast the possible positive and negative impacts to the
environment resulting from a proposed project.
Provide for a plan, which up on implementation will reduce the negative
impacts of the project resulting in acceptable environmental changes.
Assure the level of plan implementation and the degree of effectiveness of the
above environmental protection provisions.
The following are additional purposes of EIA:
☻ Environmental impact assessment is a process with several important
purposes. It is an aid to decision-making. For the decision-maker, for example
the local authority, it provides a systematic examination of the environmental
implications of a proposed action, and sometimes alternatives, before a
decision is taken. The EIS can be considered by the decision-maker along with
other documentation related to the planned activity. EIA is normally wider in
scope and less quantitative than other techniques, such as cost-benefit analysis.
☻ Many developers no doubt see EIA as another set of hurdles for them to jump
in order to proceed with their various activities; the process can be seen as yet
another costly and time-consuming activity in the permission process.
However, EIA can be of great benefit to them since it can provide a framework
for considering location and design issues and environmental issues in
parallel. It can be an aid to the formulation of development actions, indicating

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areas where the project can be modified to minimize or eliminate altogether
the adverse impacts on the environment.
☻ Underlying such purposes is of course the central role of EIA as one of the in-
struments to be used to achieve sustainable development: development that
does not cost the Earth! Existing environmentally harmful developments have
to be managed as best they can.

Significance of EIA
1. EIA is a means to a larger end-the protection and improvement of the environmental
quality of life.
2. It is a procedure to discover and evaluate the effects of activities of humans on the
environment- natural and social. It is not a single specific analytical method but uses
many approaches as appropriate to a problem.
3. It should not be treated as an add-on to a project but regarded as an integral part of
project planning. Its costs should be calculated as a part of adequate planning and
not regarded as something extra.
4. EIA does not make decisions, but its findings should be considered in policy and
decision making and should be reflected in final choices.
5. The findings of EIA should focus on the important or crtical issues, explaining why
they are important and estimating probabilities in language that affords a basis for
policy decision.

1.4
1.5 Projects, Environment and Impact

Understanding the dimensions of the project

All projects have a life-cycle of activities, and the project description should clarify the
various stages in the life-cycle: and their relative duration, for the project under
consideration. A minimum description would usually involve the identification of
construction and operational stages and associated activities. Further refinement might
include planning and design, project commissioning, expansion, close-down and site
rehabilitation stages. The size of the development at various stages in the life-cycle should
also be specified. This can include reference to inputs, outputs, physical size and the
number of people to be employed.
The location and physical presence of the project should also be clarified at an early stage.
This should include the general location of the project on a base map in relation to other
activities and to administrative areas. A more detailed site layout of the proposed
development, again on a (large-scale) base map; should illustrate the land area and the
main disposition of the elements of the project (e.g. storage areas, main processing plant,
waste collection areas, transport connections to the site).

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Understanding the project also involves an understanding of the processes integral to the
project. The nature of processes varies between industrial, service and infrastructure
projects, but many can be described in terms of a flow of inputs through a process and their
transformation into outputs. The nature, origins and destinations of the inputs and outputs,
and the timescale, over which they are expected, should be identified. This systematic
identification should be undertaken for both physical and socio-economic characteristics,
although the interaction should be clearly recognized, with many of the socio-economic
following from the physical.
The nature of major projects:
EIA is relevant to a broad spectrum of development actions, including policies, plans,
programmes and projects. The focus here is on projects, reflecting the dominant role of
project EIA in practice. The scope of projects covered by EIA is widening, and is discussed
further ahead. Traditionally, project EIA has applied to major projects, but what are major
projects and what criteria can be used to identify them? One approach is to take Lord
Morley's approach to defining an elephant: it's difficult, but you easily recognize one when
you see it. In a similar vein, the acronym LULU (locally unacceptable land-uses) has been
applied in the USA to many major projects, such as energy, transport and various
manufacturing projects, clearly reflecting the public perception of the negative impacts
associated with such developments. There is no easy definition, but it is possible to
highlight some key characteristics

Characteristics of major projects

. Substantial capital investment
. Cover large areas; employ large numbers (construction and/or operation)
. Complex array of organizational links
. Wide-ranging impacts (geographical and by type)
. Significant environmental impacts
. Require special procedures
. Extractive and primary (including agriculture); services; infrastructure and utilities
Band, point
The definition of significance with regard to environmental effects is a key issue in EIA. It
may relate, inter alia, to scale of development, to sensitivity of location and to the nature of
adverse effects; it will be discussed further in later chapters. Like a large stone thrown into
a pond, a major project can create major ripples with impacts spreading far and wide. In
many respects major projects tend to be regarded as exceptional, requiring special
procedures.
Effect of EIA on Projects
The following are ranges of positive influences of EIA on projects:
Withdrawal of unsound projects

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Legitimation of sound projects
Selection of improved project locations
Reformulation of plans
Redefinitions of goals and responsibilities of project proponents.
The positive influences listed above are neither exhaustive nor typical. The most common
positive outcomes of EIA are suggestions for measures needed to mitigate the adverse
effects of a proposed plan. ‘To mitigate’ is to avoid having the damage take place. It is more
common to say that mitigation involves one or more of the following:
Minimizing adverse effects by scaling down or redesigning projects. (e.g. adding
fish ladder to allow fish to reach spawning ground upstream of a proposed dam)
Repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring those parts of the environment that are
adversely affected by a project. (e.g replanting native vegetation in area cleared
for pipeline installation)
Creating or acquiring environments similar to those adversely affected by an
action. (e.g. donation of wetlands to a public land trust to compensate for wet
lands destroyed by a project)
The result of a project EIA is usually suggestions for mitigation measures rather than
changes in fundamental decision concerning the type of alternative actions considered or
the size or location of a proposed project.

1.6 Some terms

Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA):
EIA can be described as a process for identifying the likely consequences for the
biogeophisical environment and for human’s health and welfare of implementing
particular activities and for conveying this information, at a stage where it can materially
affect their decision, to those responsible for sanctioning the proposals.

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS):

The outcome of an EIA is usually some formal document. This report has a variety of
names throughout the world; ‘environmental assessment’ and ‘environmental appraisal’
are the common synonyms. A major set back of many EISs has been the failure to establish
a time frame indicating when impacts are likely to be manifest. Impacts are also site
specific and determination of their spatial distribution is also important. Spatial aspects are
usually considered more adequately than temporal ones.
Environmental effects;
Changes of environmental factors due to the implementation of a project. Environmental
effects due to a project may be grouped and classified as:
Direct or indirect: related to main purpose or secondary spect of the project.
It is useful to distinguish between direct (primary) and Indirect (secondary, tertiary, and
higher order) impacts. Some impacts are a direct consequence of a particular activity. Thus,

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without adequate mitigating measures, construction of a dam on a river will prevent the
upward movement of migratory fishes. This would be a direct impact of the project. Other
impacts, however, occur as a result of changes in a chain of environmental parameters.
Thus, to continue this example, there would also be indirect impacts upon fish population.
Reduction in stream flow and turbulence would lower the oxygen tension and affect
survival. Reduced water flow would also affect the nature of streambed, the consequent
siltation making conditions unsuitable for migratory fish to breed.

First order, second order, higher order,: the first order effects are the immediate
consequences of the proposed activity; second order effects are the immediate
consequences of the first order effects, etc. Higher order effects are more difficult
to assess than the first order effects, but they can be more important than the first
order effects.
Non-cumulative and cumulative: these are combined effects of a proposed activity
and other, already existing or planned activities.
Positive and negative: with the meaning of favorable and unfavorable.
Significant and insignificant: according to their relevance and according to a given
set of criteria.
Reversible and Irreversible: permanent or long lasting as opposed to short term.
Environmental Impact Mitigation: measures to control adverse impacts. Such measures may
be preventive, corrective and compensatory, corresponding to avoidance, correction or
compensation of the impacts respectively.

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