ENP 301 : ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

ASSESSMENT

Part - I: Introduction, Concepts and Procedures

Session 1: Concept of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 1
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Session Outline
„ Human Impact on Environment
„ Environmental Impact Assessment – Definition
„ EIA Good Practice Approach:
– To what should EIA apply?
– In what circumstances is EIA appropriate?
– How should EIA systems be put in place?
– When should EIA be performed?
– Who should be involved,, and how?
– What description of the environment is required?
– What potential impacts should be assessed?
– How should potential impacts be evaluated?
– How should avoiding/reducing/mitigating/compensating for
impacts
p be addressed?
– How should the results be used? Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 2
„ National EIA Capacity Building Issues Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Human Impact on Environment:
„ N t
Natural
lPProcesses/Phenomenon
/Ph
9 Natural environment undergoes continual change
(time and geographical scale) even without human,
ex. continental drift, mountain-building,
g eutrophication
p and siltation
of lakes, formation of swamp

9 Reversible or cyclic
(e.g., the annual climatic cycle) or transient (i.e., droughts)

9 Irreversible
(e.g., eutrophication)

„ Changes/Processes Brought by the Human

9 Human activities accelerated, triggered, started, widespread,
or stopped the natural environmental changes/processes

ex Hunter-gatherer, Fire, Domestication of animals, Agriculture,

large human settlements, development of industry, fuels/energy
production

Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar,
3
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
What is Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) ?

„ A process of predicting and evaluating an action's

impacts on the environment, from which the
conclusions are used as a tool in planning and
decision-making.

„ Aim
• To provide the factual information about the
consequences

• which (development) actions could have on the

environment

• to planners & designers of actions, decision-makers

• to prevent environmental degradation

Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 4
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
 Approach and Content
„ Multidisciplinary, Systematic and Predictive
„ Involves:
– Reviewing the existing state of the environment
– Profiling
P fili theth characteristics
h t i ti off the
th proposed
d action
ti (alternatives)
( lt ti )

– Predicting the state of the future environment with and without the
action (Gap is action's impact)
– Considering methods for avoiding, eliminating or reducing
negative impacts
– Considering
g the possible
p and appropriate
pp p compensation
p for
unavoidable Impacts

– Preparing an Environmental Statement or Assessment Report

– Preparation
P i off Mitigation
Mi i i or Management
M Pl
Plan

– Post Project monitoring of Impacts and feedback mechanism

– Revising
R i i theth Management
M t Plan
Pl
Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar,
5
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
To what
T h t should
h ld EIA apply? l ?
Assessment of
„ Anyypproposed
p development
p or land-use changeg
projects (at defined sites) or modifications of landuse
than the original activities

„ Applicable to a programmes (sequences) / projects

„ Strategic plans

„ Policies

„ Project showcasing for development assistance

(funding) programmes
Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 6
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
In what circumstances is EIA appropriate?
„ As systematic "screening" process to identify those instances
where EIA may or may not be needed

„ Whenever information is required on likely future change in

ecological character project sites

„ When the nature of the proposed activity and the sensitivity of

the location (the "receiving environment") call for screening
judgments.

„ Benchmarking a project/ program in reference to criteria or

thresholds

„ To clarify in case of certainty about the likelihood of significant

effects, and to workout precautionary measure.

Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 7
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
How should EIA systems
y be p
put in place?
p
„ EIA systems should be incorporated within the policies,
laws and administrations

„ Measures should be adopted to ensure that

– application is systematic, consistent and publicly
accountable;
– legal implementation is enforced;
– quality standards are agreed and applied;
„ G id
Guidance and
d advice
d i on good
d practice
ti iis made
d available.
il bl

„ Sufficient significance to be given to the EIA in decision-

making processes to achieve the genuinely influenced
outcomes.

„ Encouraging good practice (going beyond the strict

minimum
i i off llegall compliance)
li ) as strategy
Course Instructor: 8
Er. Ashwani Kumar,
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
When should the EIA be p
performed in Project
j Cycle?
y

„ An iterative process, thus important to each stage in the

programme or project cycle (including post-project
monitoring)
monitoring).

„ At an early stage for assessments

– Any necessary surveys to cover adequately relevant periods

for seasonal interests/variations are carried out

– Sufficient data collected for more reliable conclusions

– Results to become available well in time to be acted upon

p

– Early decision or modification in project may save the project

from time and cost delays

Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar,
9
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
Who should be involved ((Stakeholders)?
) and how?
1. Project/programme proponent

ƒ An proposal profiling, appraisal process,

ƒ Acting on the results of EIA

2. Relevant decision-making Authority

9 Risk of bias reduced (commissioned, supervised,

independent verification or peer-review method).
9 If, proponent of programmes or projects is Authority itself,
transparent procedures to ensure impartiality.

3. Suitably qualified professionals

ƒ To carries out assessment and evaluation
ƒ Requisite expertise in the relevant field(s)
ƒ Competent to apply correct methods
ƒ Research
R h IInstitutions
tit ti – New
N methods,
th d research
h initiatives
i iti ti can
be designed out of project
10
Good Practice Principles ……
Who should be involved,
involved and how? Contd……
Contd

4. Focus Group (Advisors)

ƒ To equip the requisite technical expertise and

ƒ Advice for judging the adequacy of EIA

ƒ Taking their findings properly into account.

5. Public/NGO

ƒ Provision for consultation and participative involvement of

local people, interested non-governmental organizations

ƒ All should
h ld given
i an opportunity,
t it in i defined
d fi d manner,

ƒ To challenge information and observance of relevant

procedures,, methods which
p
Course Instructor:
ƒ they believe to be deficient. Er. Ashwani Kumar, 11
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
What description is required?
Scoping
To define an extent depending on the sensitivities and
interests in the location(s) concerned.

Potential Impact
To address the important expected impacts.

Areas
Depending on the natural interaction the project is
effecting or may affect. And the functions, values and
attributes.

Legal Aspects
Depending upon the applicable rules, regulation the
relevant baseline description to be decided. Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 12
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
What potential impacts should be assessed?
¾ Direct potentially detrimental effects on the functions and values
identified in the baseline description, including delayed effects;

¾Any potentially beneficial environmental effects of the proposal;

¾Indirect effects,, including

g influences on adjacent
j or upstream/
p
downstream areas;

¾ Cumulative effects (Domnio), adding together over different areas,

times processes,
times, processes etc
etc.;;

¾ Secondary impacts (Masking);

¾ Transboundary effects, of relevance to adjacent jurisdiction(s);

¾ Effects of each alternative or optional proposal under consideration

Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 13
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles …………
How should p
potential impacts
p be evaluated?
„ An evaluation of significance of Impacts should be
presented.

„ Absolute significance (in terms of value in their own right)

perhaps to the local community, of numbers of individuals
of a species, or area of habitat affected)

„ Relative significance (in terms of loss of a resource) as a

proportion
p p of its total extent,, or as a comparison
p with
losses which would result from an alternative development
option.

„ Hi hli ht th
Highlight the uncertainties,
t i ti d t gaps
data

„ Legal Implications or policy conflicts: Likely to be

precipitated
i it t d to
t be
b made d clear
l (d
(departure
t ffrom national
ti l
policy, risk of breaching previous agreements, riskCourse of Instructor:
14
litigation or liability for compensation). Er. Ashwani Kumar,
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
How
o should
s ou d avoiding/reducing/mitigating/
a o d g/ educ g/ t gat g/
compensating for impacts be addressed?
„ Consideration of available alternative locations, alignments,
manufacturing processes and other ways of meeting the
development need.
„ Satisfactorily demonstration of no alternative or feasible
p
options
„ Comparison of the environmental effects of all alternatives
„ Identification of the least damaging options
„ Exploring the methods for avoiding potentially damaging
impacts for each alternative
„ Choosing
g a non(least)-damaging
( ) g g alternative ((including
g
sometimes "no development")
„ Identify the unavoidable potentially damaging impacts
„ To consider possible means for mitigating or reducing
(adding, modifying the development proposal) or
Course Instructor:
appropriate compensation may arise. Er. Ashwani Kumar, 15
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
How should the results be used?
1. Consultation
– Draft findings should be provided to affected parties
– At a stage when it is possible to make modifications

2 Information Gathering
2.
– In case of deficient information presented in the impact
report
– Process for gathering the further information can be
undertaken

3. Information to Public
– Made available to the public (at least separately
published).
– Summary written in non-technical language Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 16
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
How should the results be used?
4. Decision-Making
– Results to be given due weight (unfavorable findings as
s fficient grounds)
sufficient gro nds) to refuse
ref se consents or approval
appro al or require
req ire
modifications.

– Uncertainty, a precautionary approach can be taken.

– Decisions published, showing the manner in which they have

been influenced by any EIA carried out.

5. Project Implementation
– Provide a framework for monitoring the project management for
minimizing the environmental effects

– A ready reckoner for making any implementation adjustments

required
– To
T ensure mitigation
iti ti measures perform
f as expected
t d
Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 17
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
Good Practice Principles ……
How should the results be used?

6. Post Project Monitoring

– During the operational phase provided a framework for

monitoring actual effects with reference to the predictions

– For providing the feedback to the decision makers for better

decisions on the future similar projects

Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 18
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
National EIA Capacity Building - Issues

Essential Requirements
„ Advanced
Ad anced standards
„ Substantial institutional structures

„ Personnel Trainings

„ Development of the technical material

on methods, tools etc.
„ Value of the Environmental Component

Course Instructor:
Er. Ashwani Kumar, 19
Asstt. Prof.
Faculty of Planning, CEPT, Ahmedabad - 9
THANK YOU

20