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IMPACT ACCESSMENT
What is Environment ?
The dictionary meaning of the term environment is
surrounding.
What continues surrounding?
It encompasses all external conditions influencing
development or growth of people, animals and/or
Climate,
plants.
People/
Animal/
Plant
Nature
Soil,
Water,
Air,
Land-forms,
Vegetation,
Minerals
Social,
Cultural,
Economic
Physical Environment
Impact Assessment:
systematic analysis of the problem
being addressed, the objective,
alternative options to reach the
objective and their likely impacts
through a structured way .
(from EU Guidelines)
Why do impact
assessments?
Ensures
coherence
between
development
interventions
The World Bank and the regional development banks, such as Asian Development
Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Inter-American
Development Bank, now have well-established EIA procedures, which apply to their
lending activities and projects undertaken by borrowing countries.
The World Bank environmental agenda
Policy
Aims
Do-No-Harm
Aims
Public Involvement
This term includes public consultation (or dialogue) and public participation, which is a
more interactive and intensive process of stakeholder engagement.
Most EIA processes are undertaken through consultation rather than participation.
At a minimum, public involvement must provide an opportunity for those directly affected
by a proposal to express their views regarding the proposal and its environmental and social
impacts.
Form of involvement
Informing
Consulting Two way flow of information between the proponent and the public with
opportunities for the public to express views on the proposal
Participati
ng
Negotiatin
g
Measurement of Environmental
Impacts
Air Pollution
Mobile Emission
Residential activities
commercial activities
Stationary Emission
Residential activities
commercial activities
Commercial/Industrial Demand
Irrigation Demand
Solid West
Impact Analysis
Environmental
Impact Assessment is
Environment is
broadly interpreted:
physical, biological,
and social.
In EIA, the term
impacts is used
instead of effects
of activities.
What is an
impact?
What is an impact?
The impact of an activity is
a deviation (a change) from
the baseline situation that
is caused by the activity.
The baseline
situation is the
existing
environmental
situation or
condition in the
absence of the
activity.
The baseline
situation is a key
concept in EIA.
More
Fauna
Populations, habitat
Special
Key species
ecosystems
Water table
time
This chart of
groundwater levels
shows both variability
and a trend over time.
Both are part of the
groundwater baseline
situation.
Specifically,
! It is ESSENTIAL in EIA
to focus on the most
significant impacts.
Dont waste effort & time
analyzing and discussing
impacts that are less
important.
Impact Identification
checklists;
matrices;
networks;
overlays and geographic information systems
(GIS);
expert systems; and
professional judgement
Checklist
Screening
Identifying whether or not an EIA is required for a proposal.
It examines projects relative strengths and weaknesses, and allows
participants to gain initial familiarity with the concept of impact,
significance and its importance in triggering the right level of EIA review.
The screening process can have one of four outcomes:
No further level of EIA is required;
A full and comprehensive EIA is required;
A more limited EIA is required (often called preliminary or initial assessment); or
Further study is necessary to determine the level of EIA required (often called an
initial environmental evaluation or examination [IEE]).
Screening procedure
The screening procedures employed for this purpose can be classified into two broad,
overlapping approaches:
Prescriptive or standardised approach
Proposals subject to or exempt from EIA are defined or listed in legislation and regulations;
and
Discretionary or customised approach
Proposals are screened on an individual or case-by-case base, using indicative guidance.
include:
Scoping
The scoping process identifies the issues that are likely to be
of most importance during the EIA and eliminates those that
are of little concern. Typically, this process concludes with
the establishment of Terms of Reference for the preparation
of an EIA.
In this way, scoping ensures that EIA studies are focused on
the significant effects and time and money are not wasted on
unnecessary investigations.
Major issues and impacts that will be important in decisionmaking on the proposal, and need to be addressed in an EIA
What is an activity?
We are discussing the impacts of activities.
What are activities?
An activity is:
a desired
accomplishment or
output
E.g.: a road, seedling
production, or river
diversion to irrigate
land
Accomplishing an activity
requires a set of actions
ACTIVIT
Y:
ACTIONS:
Phase I:
Initial inquiries
Scope
Evaluate baseline situation
Identify & choose alternatives
Identify and characterize potential
impacts of proposed activity and
each alternative
Develop mitigation and monitoring
Communicate and document
Understand
proposed activities
Screen
Conduct preliminary
assessment (if
needed)
Our focus!
Screen the
activity
Based on the
nature of the
activity what
level of
environmental
review is
indicated?
Conduct a
Preliminary
Assessment
ACTIVITY IS
OF MODERATE
OR UNKNOWN
RISK
ACTIVITY IS LOW
RISK (Of its nature,
very unlikely to have
significant adverse
impacts)
ACTIVITY IS
HIGH RISK (Of its
nature, likely to have
significant adverse
impacts)
A rapid,
simplified EIA
study using
simple tools
(e.g. the
USAID IEE)
Phase I
SIGNIFICANT
ADVERSE
IMPACTS
POSSIBLE
SIGNIFICANT
ADVERSE
IMPACTS
VERY UNLIKELY
STOP
the EIA
process
Phase II
BEGIN
FULL EIA
STUDY
Understand
proposed
ALLthe
EIA processes
beginactivity
with
Understand
the proposed
activities
Why is the
activity being
proposed?
What is being
proposed?
building a road
If we dont
understand
it, we cant
assess it!
Not a D.O.!
increasing access
Is a D.O.
to markets
What is being
proposed?
Oops. I
forgot about
the borrow
pit.
PRIMARY ACTIVITY:
construction of diversion dam &
irrigation canal
ASSOCIATED ACTIONS:
Survey
negotiate land tenure
construct borrow pit
establish construction camp
construct temporary
diversion structure
dispose of soil, debris
Based on the
nature of the
activity, what
level of
environmental
analysis is
indicated?
Based on the
nature of the
activity, what
level of
environmental
analysis is
indicated?
MODERATE OR
UNKNOWN RISK
Do preliminary
assessment
A rapid,
simplified EIA
study using
simple tools
(e.g. the
USAID IEE)
Screening
determines
whether the
preliminary
assessment is
3. Evaluation of potential
environmental impacts
4. Mitigation & monitoring
5. Recommended Findings
What is mitigation?
Mitigation is. . .
The implementation of
measures designed to
reduce the undesirable
effects of a proposed
action on the
environment
Mitigation is the topic of
an upcoming module!
To arrive at findings:
Identify,
and inJudge
Arriving at Predict
the FINDINGS
a preliminary
assessment requires 3 steps:
1
Identify potential
impacts
Predict potential
impacts
Judge the
significance of
potential impacts
Subsequent modules. . .
Present tools to assist
in identifying &
predicting impacts
Discuss the factors
involved in judging
significance
We only proceed to
Phase II of the EIA process
if
Phase I indicates that
a FULL EIA STUDY
is required
!
The
Full
EIA
study
The full EIA study has
very similar objectives
and structure to a
preliminary
assessment.
However, the full EIA
study differs in
important ways:
*includes the project as
proposed, the no-action alternative
at least one other real alternative
Analysis of environmental
impacts is much more
detailed
Alternatives* must be
formally defined. The
impacts of each
alternative must be
identified & evaluated,
and the results compared.
Public participation is
usually required.
A professional EIA team is
usually required.
1. Background (Development
objective, list of activities)
2. Description of the baseline
situation
3. Evaluation of potential
environmental impacts
4. Mitigation & monitoring
5. Recommended Findings
Scope
Evaluate baseline
situation
Identify & choose
alternatives
Identify and characterize
potential impacts of
proposed activity and
each alternative
Compare alternatives
Develop mitigation and
monitoring
InThesummary,
full EIA study is a far
more significant effort than
the preliminary assessment.
It is reserved for activities for
which screening or the
preliminary assessment
shows that significant
impacts are likely.
Regulatory agencies/
Review authorities
Broad-based public
Communities (men & women)
Civil society
Private Sector
Making
EIA
effective
To be an effective tool for
ESD, EIA must be:
a integral part of the project
development cycle
Honest
Transparent & accessible
Social &
Political
SD
Economy &
Industry
Environment
& Resources
Green
lifestyles &
cultural goals
Efficiency
& clean
technology
(Ravetz, 2000)
By the mid-1990s
the old mouth opening to the
sea was getting choked up
siltation and poor flushing
was resulting in the shrinkage
in waterspread area
salinity was decreasing and
the lagoon was in danger of
turning into a freshwater lake
proliferation of invasive
species and loss of
biodiversity
decrease in fish yield and
diversity
The restoration
strategy implemented
included:
opening of a new mouth
to the sea
watershed management in
the catchment area
GIS-based monitoring
local community
involvement in lagoon
management
As a result
public consultation
significant ecosystem
improvements
rehabilitation through
successive cycles
A successful intervention??
Large-scale entry of non-traditional producers has led to
marginalization of traditional fisher folk and,
consequently, huge social conflicts
Substantial increase in money incomes, but no avenues
for productive investment. Result: increasing alcoholism
and crime in the region
Growing mafia activity; manifested in the form of
unauthorised encroachments for shrimp culture
Hence, doubts about long-run sustainability! How
can an IIA help in this case?
All this is
contributing to
aesthetic damage of
the Taj, but the focus
of public intervention
has been on
relocating the small
scale industries!
Impacts-based
(EIA driven)
Objectives-led
(SEA driven)
ex post
ex ante
focus on net
impacts over baseline
conditions
focus on the
best available
option
aim is to minimize
negative TBL
outcomes
aim is to
maximize positive
TBL outcomes
trade-offs between
TBL categories?
Do TBL objectives
reflect sustainability?
Policy Making
Environmental Protection
Policies (e.g. Western
Australia)
Policy Making
Project EIA
g&
n
i
nn
a
l
P
Project Development
Site remediation
(e.g. USA)
o
Pr
i
m
m
gra
Pla
nn
in
Capital
investments (e.g.
World Bank,
Indonesia)
Ecosystem
Approaches
g&
Pro
g
ram
mi
ng
ng
SEA
Environmental
regulation (e.g.
Western Australia)
Environment
Hydrology
Geomorphology
Ecology, etc
Economy
Production
Consumption
Labour market
Evaluation
method
Environmental
Impact
Assessment (EIA)
Economic Impact
Assessment
(CBA)
Social Impact
Assessment
(SIA)
Environmental
Economic
Social
Values &
evaluation
criteria
Assessment
method
Society
Institutions
Networks
Stakeholders
Extended CBA
Multi-criteria Analysis (MCA)
Challenges of IIA
Lack of a generic toolkit
Methodological consistency
Dominance of EIA
Issues relating to multi-disciplinary
cooperation
Inclusive ownership of stakeholders
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Thanks