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The Definitions
Environment: may be
defined differently depending upon the perspective of the definer. In
the case of EIA, environment is usually considered to constitute of
three main subsystems:
-
Physical
environment (geology, topology, climate, water, air)
-
Biological
environment (terrestrial and aquatic communities, rare and endangered
species, sensitive habitats, significant natural sites);
-
Socio-cultural
environment (population, land use, development activities, goods and
services, public health, recreation, cultural properties, customs,
aspirations).
Impact:
may be defined as the consequences of changes in the environment but
it should not be confused with effect. For example, increase in river
pollution due to a initiation of a new project is an effect while
consequences of river pollution on human health, flora, fauna etc. is
the impact.
Assessment:
according to R. E. Munn, "Assessment normally does not
mean doing new science, but rather assembling, summarising, organising
and interpreting pieces of existing knowledge, and communicating them
so that an intelligent but inexpert policy-maker will find them
relevant and helpful in their deliberations." (Munn, 1979).
Environmental
Impact Assessment:
is defined as "the systematic process of identifying future
consequences of a current or proposed action" by the
International association for Impact Assessment".
The Application
of EIA
EIA is considered as a project management tool for
collecting and analyzing information on the environmental effects of a
particular project. As such, it is used to:
- identify
the potential environmental impacts,
- examine
the significance of environmental implications,
- assess
whether impacts can be mitigated,
- recommends
preventive and corrective mitigating measures,
- inform
decision makers and concerned parties about environmental
implications, and
- advise
whether development should go ahead.
An application of EIA is based upon the
certain values and principles for an effective implementation at the
project level. There are following three core values:
- sustainability
the EIA process will result in environmental safeguards,
- integrity
the EIA process will confirm to agreed standards, and
- utility
the EIA process will provide balance, credible information for
decision making.
EIA is both an art and a science.
Management aspect in EIA is an art, whereas the technical analysis is
based on the scientific principles.
EIA has been considered as a central management tool for achieving
sustainable development supporting the notions of the Brundtland
Commission (1987), which defined sustainable development as
"development, which meets the needs of the present generation
without compromising the ability of fulfilling the needs for future
generations."
The
EIA Process
In EIA systems, there are number of sequence of activities to be
implemented in project in logical order and are termed as EIA
processes. EIA Process in sequences of Application are:
Screening:
determines whether the project needs an EIA,
Initial Environment Examination:
ascertains whether the project needs an EIA or not when it is not
clear from screening process,
Scoping: identifies
significant impact, provides project alternatives and a basis for
developing terms of reference,
Terms of Reference: guides in
baseline data collection, identification, prediction and evaluation of
impacts, mitigation measures, monitoring, auditing and report
preparation.
Project Description and Consideration of Alternatives: seeks to
describe all reasonable alternatives, including the preferred and
"no action" options (project location, scale, process,
layout, and operating conditions),
Prediction of Impacts: predicts impacts (as far as possible,
quantitatively) in terms of characteristics such as magnitude, extent
and duration,
Evaluation of Impacts: the significance of predicted impacts,
Mitigation Measures: measures to avoid, reduce and minimize adverse
impacts and to enhance beneficial impacts,
Stakeholders Involvement: occurs at various stages in the EIA process
to ensure quality, comprehensiveness and effectiveness of EIA, and to
ensure that stakeholders view are adequately addressed in the
decision-making process,
Monitoring and Auditing Measures: impacts which should be monitor are
identified and auditing requirements are specified,
EIA Report: summarizes all the information obtained, analyzed,
interpreted and compiled in a report form. The report should contain a
non-technical summary, including methods used, results, interpretation
and conclusions,
Review: EIA report submitted in order to assess whether or not all the
possible issues have been adequately addressed and to facilitate the
decision making process, and
Decision making: Determines whether or not the project should proceed
with the help of information and conclusion given in EIA reports. |
