Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Assessment
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Outline and Course Objectives
Course Objectives:
Learning objectives can be formulated as:
To become familiar with the concept and principles
of EIA
To understand the main commonalities and
differences in EIA requirements in different regions
of the world;
To be able to prepare terms of reference and an
proposal;
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Outline and Course Objectives
Course Outline:
INTRODUCTION
THE EIA PROCESS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
TECHNIQUES
SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
MAJOR IMPACTS OF WATER RESOURCES
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
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Outline and Course Objectives
COURSE ORGANIZATION:
The evolution of the EIA process predominantly
comes from the technical and managerial
challenges faced during environmental assessment
implementation.
In order to support the in-depth understanding of
the EIA process, a case study of EIA of the major
WRD projects will be presented along with the
lectures in class.
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Introduction
It is very clear for all that water is one of the
most essential elements for everything alive on
earth.
The past 30 to 40 years have been a period of
strong water resources development all over
the world
Although positive results were recorded, the
environmental, social, and cultural impacts of
some water projects have not been what water
resources donors and planners expected.
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Introduction
These threats lead to finding the way how to
accommodate water resources development and
management with in the context of
environmental, social, and cultural preservation
and improvement.
From the above perspectives EIA comes to be
understood as an integrated part of the planning
process devoted to the identification,
quantification and qualification of environmental
impacts due to the development of projects as
well as policies and strategies to monitor and
control such impacts.
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Introduction
Definitions: 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)
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Introduction
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, one can observe
that EIA has three basic functions:
• To predict problems,
• To find ways to avoid them, and
• To enhance positive effects.
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Introduction
In an updated view, EIA is understood as an
integrated part of the planning process devoted
to the identification, quantification and
qualification of environmental impacts due to the
development of a plan or a project as well as the
definition of policies and strategies required to
monitor and control such impacts.
As
As aa planning
planning tool,
tool, EIA
EIA serves
serves
largely
largely to
to inform
inform interested
interested parties
parties of
of the
the likely
likely
environmental
environmental impacts
impacts
of
of aa project
project and
and its
its proposed
proposed alternatives.
alternatives.
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Introduction
EIA=
SCIENCE+ART
AS A SCIENCE
has to do with
AS AN ART
the methodologies and
has to do with those
techniques for
mechanisms for ensuring an
identifying, predicting and
environmental analysis of such
evaluating the environmental
actions and influencing
impacts associated
the decision making process.
with particular
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Introduction
The terms ‘impact’ and ‘effect’ are
frequently used synonymously.
have both
have both spatial
spatial and
and temporal
temporal components
components
and can
and can be
be described
described asas the
the change
change in in the
the
environmental parameter,
environmental parameter, over
over aa specified
specified
period and
period and within
within aa defined
defined area,
area, resulting
resulting from
from
aa particular
particular activity
activity compared
compared withwith the
the
situation which
situation which would
would have
have occurred,
occurred,
had the
had the activity
activity not
not been
been initiated.
initiated.
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Environmental parameters
Project initiated
With project
ENVIRONMENTAL
impact
Without project
time
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Introduction
Evolution of EIA:
Initial Belief:
Initially EIA was seen by some project promoters as a constraint to
development but this view is gradually disappearing.
Present day understanding:
environment and development are complementary and
interdependent and EIA is a technique for ensuring that the two
are mutually reinforcing.
Origin:
the contemporary usage of “environmental impact assessment”
has its origins in the US National Policy act of 1969 (NEPA)
Cause of Law Enforcement:
the wide spread recognition that some environmental problems in
the US resulted from actions by the US government itself.
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Introduction
The most widely known of the law enforcement provisions:
“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.”
This detailed statement comes to be called as an
‘environmental impact statement (EIS)
Power of an EIA recommendation:
Redesigning some project components
Suggest change affecting project viability
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Introduction
EIA Procedure’s
Sub-reports
quality of life
to discover and evaluate the effects of activities
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introduction
Projects, Environment and Impact
impacts
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Introduction
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
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Definitions of
Commonly used Terms
Environmental system:
A system centered on a defined human community at a certain
time, composed of physical, biological and socio-economic
factors and their multiple links.
Environmental Effects:
Changes of environmental factors due to the implementation of
a project
Environmental impact:
The consequence of environmental effects of a project which
are of significance to human society.
Impacts are always measured as a difference between situations
with and without the project.
Parameters used to quantify impacts are related to
Magnitude/intensity
Area of influence
significance
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Definitions of
Commonly used Terms