CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL
IMPACT ASSESSMENT (ESIA)

Rafid Mahmud Khan

Lecturer
ESM, NSU
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This lecture will cover
1) Chapter 1 of Glasson et al. 2012
(page 1-30)
2) Page 1-6 of IISD 2016
3) Chapter 2 of Rathi 2021 (page 19 –
45)

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 WHAT IS IMPACT
ASSESSMENT?

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WHAT IS IMPACT
ASSESSMENT?
Impact Assessment (IA) is the process of identifying
the future consequences of a current or proposed
action.

The “impact” is the difference between what would

happen with the action and what would happen
without it

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 WHAT IS IMPACT
ASSESSMENT?
IA has a dual nature, each with its own
methodological approaches:
1)As a technical tool for analysis of the
consequences of a planned intervention
(policy, plan, program, project), providing
information to stake-holders and decision-
makers; or unplanned events, such as
natural disasters, war and conflicts.
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 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ASSESSMENT (EIA)

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ttp://www.cseindia.org/category/thesaurus/eia-training-programme
 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ASSESSMENT (EIA)

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//resourcestrategy.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/environmental-impact-assessment-and-the-real-impacts/
 EIA

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DIFFERENT TYPES OF ASSESSMENT

Strategic environmental assessment - done at the

highest levels, viz. at the levels of policy, plan, or
program.

Regional environmental assessment - done for an

identified larger geographical region

Sectoral environmental assessment - done for a given

project sector.

Environmental impact assessment - done for a given

project proposed at a particular location.
EIA 1 2 3 4

“EIA can be defined as the

systematic identification and
evaluation of the potential
impacts (effects) of proposed
projects, plans, programs, or
legislative actions relative to the
physical-chemical, biological, 10
Understanding E, I, and A of environmental impact assessment

Environmental

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Understanding E, I, and A of environmental impact assessment
Impact

1. Harmful or beneficial impact

2. Reversible or irreversible impact

3. Reparable or irreparable impact

4. Short term or long term impact

5. Temporary or permanent impact

6. Periodic or continuous impact

7. Direct or indirect impact

8. Single or cumulative impact

9. Spatial or temporal impact

10. Local or transboundary impact

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Understanding E, I, and A of environmental impact assessment
Assessment

Essentially involves:

i) Comparing the predicted environmental conditions,

Basic Steps: i.e. those resulting from project-related activities,
and induced development that is envisaged in the
a. identification of the vicinity of the proposed project in the foreseeable
impacts future with,

a) the existing values of the environmental

parameters, i.e. under a “no project” scenario
b. prediction or
estimation of b) the permissible values of such parameters as
per the applicable regulations
the impacts ii) Evaluating the extent to which the resultant
environmental conditions are acceptable

c. assessment or iii) making a judgment on the impacts

evaluation of
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 EIA is part of a larger process of decision-
making to approve a major proposal

It results in a decision,
which is based on
information from a
number of different
sources and involves
making a large number
of trade-offs. A balance
must be struck between
the benefits and costs;
their environmental,
economic and social
elements must be 14
mportant steps in EIA
EIA should be a
cyclical process with
considerable
interaction between
the various steps. For
example, public
participation can be
useful at most stages
of the process;
monitoring systems
should relate to 15
Glasson et al. 2012
EIA PROCESS
Screening—to determine whether or not a proposal should be subject to EIA, and if so, at what level of detail

Scoping—to identify the issues and environmental impacts that are likely to be important and to establish terms
of reference for EIA

Examination of alternatives—to establish the preferred or most environmentally sound and benign option for
achieving the objectives of the proposal

Description of the project – Includes rationale, all stages, location, processes etc.

Environmental baseline – present and future state of the environment

Impact analysis—to identify and predict the likely environmental, social, and other related effects of the
proposal

Mitigation and impact management—to establish the measures that are necessary to avoid, minimize, or offset
predicted adverse impacts and, where appropriate, to incorporate these into an environmental management
plan or system
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Evaluation of significance—to determine the relative importance and acceptability of residual
impacts, i.e. the impacts that remain even after applying mitigation measures

Preparation of environmental impact statement (EIS) or EIA report—to document clearly and
impartially the impacts of the proposal, the proposed measures for mitigation, the significance of
effects and concerns of the interested public, and communities affected by the proposal.

Review of the EIS—to determine whether the report meets its terms of reference, provides a
satisfactory assessment of the proposal and the information required for decision-making.

Decision-making—to approve or reject the proposal, and to establish the terms and conditions for
its implementation.

Follow-up—to
 ensure that terms and conditions of the environmental approval are met

 monitor the impacts of development and effectiveness of the implemented mitigation measures

 strengthen future application and mitigation measures

 undertake environmental audit and process evaluation, where required to optimize environmental management

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EIA (RATHI, 2021)

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Dimensions of the environment

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
STATEMENTS (EIS)

The EIS documents the

information about and
estimates of impacts
derived from the various
steps in the process.

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PURPOSE OF EIA
1. An aid to decision making - For the decision maker, for example a local
authority, it provides a systematic examination of the environmental implications
of a proposed action, and sometimes alternatives, before a decision is taken.

2. An aid to formulation of development action - It can be an aid to the

formulation of development actions, indicating areas where a project can be
modified to minimize or eliminate altogether its adverse impacts on the
environment.

3. A vehicle for stakeholder consultation and participation - EIA can be a

very useful vehicle for engaging with communities and stakeholders, helping those
potentially affected by a proposed development to be much better informed and to
be more fully involved in the planning and development process.

4. An instrument for sustainable development - Mitigate the harmful effects in

advance, at the planning stage, or in some cases avoid the particular development
altogether. Prevention is better than cure.
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https://www.iisd.org/learning/eia/eia-essentials

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SOCIAL OR SOCIO-ECONOMIC
IMPACT ASSESSMENT (SIA)
• One of the major subfields of impact assessment is
social impact assessment
• The process of identifying the future
consequences of a current or proposed
actions, which are related to individuals,
organizations and social macro-systems (Becker
2001)
• The social consequences of actions, including
change to norms, beliefs, perceptions, values,
etc. There are many categories of impact, 24
 SOCIAL OR
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
IMPACT ASSESSMENT (SIA)

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AIMS OF SIA
1)Identify the main features of the proposed development
project, programme, policy or whatever
2)Identify the types of numbers of people involved
3)Identify data sources: use published scientific literature,
secondary data and primary data from the affected area
4)Plan for gaps in the data
5)Identify the impacts of the proposed development will have on
various segments of the population
6)Involve the public: identify and involve all the potentially
affected groups and individuals
7)Analyze impact equity: identify who are “winners” and who
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 AIMS OF SIA
8) Focus the assessment: deal with the issues and concerns that
really count, not those that are easy to handle
9) Identify methods and assumptions and define significance
in advance: define how the SIA was conducted, what assumptions
were used and how significance was selected
10) provide feedback on social impacts to projects planes and
identify problems that can be solved with changes to the proposed
action or alternatives
11) Establish monitoring and mitigation programmes: manage
uncertaninty by monitoring and mitigating adverse impacts
12) Make development more socially sound
Barrow 2000 27
EIA+SIA = ESIA
The most widely used techniques to investigate projects’
environmental and social implications are Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment
(SIA), or Environmental and Social Impact
Assessment (ESIA). Many governments, project
financiers and project developers require ESIA or EIA

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ESIA
ESIA is a comprehensive, concept-to-completion approach that
involves all stakeholders from the start, relies upon sound science at
every stage and works to achieve sustainable development
throughout a project's lifecycle.

It is a holistic approach builds positive stakeholder relationships,

identifies and solves problems early on, effectively manages risks,
avoids costly scheduling delays and, ultimately, identifies
those social license items that require change in order to operate.

ESIA assembles multidisciplinary teams-

Physical disciplines such as hydrology, water quality, noise and air
quality
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 ESIA

http://www.fao.org/3/a-x0622e/x0622e06.htm
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 ESIA

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 ESIA

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 PROJECTS, ENVIRONMENT
AND IMPACTS
Characteristics of major projects
Substantial capital investment
large areas; employ large numbers (construction and/or operation)
Complex array of organizational links
ide-ranging impacts (geographical and by type)
Significant environmental impacts
Require special procedures
cture and utilities, extractive and utilities (including agriculture); services
Band, point (Point infrastructure would include, for example, power
stations, bridges and harbours; band or linear infrastructure would
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 Generalized planning and development life
cycle for major projects (with particular
reference to impact assessment on host
area)
The initial planning stage A may take several
years, and lead to A specific proposal for a
particular site
It is at stage B that the various control and
regulatory procedures, including EIA, normally
come into play

The construction stage can be particularly

disruptive, and may last up to 10 years for some
project
Major projects invariably have long operational
lives, although extractive projects can be short
compared with infrastructure projects
The environmental impact of the eventual
closedown/ decommissioning of a facility should
not be forgotten; for nuclear power facilities its is
a major undertaking 34
Broad variations in life cycle
stages between different types of
project

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Dimensions of the environment

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nvironment can also be analyzed at
arious scale

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ature of an environmental impact

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ANY QUESTIONS?

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