The tenets of environmental policy evolved in India and how precautionary principles of sustainab... more The tenets of environmental policy evolved in India and how precautionary principles of sustainability are sidelined in the draft EIA regulation 2020 are analyzed. The emphasis on exempting several categories of projects from the EIA requirements and public consultation, standardization of sector-specific terms of reference and environmental clearance conditions, and decentralization of the decision-making to simplify and fast-track the environmental clearance procedure for development projects is apparent. The list of projects/activities requiring prior environmental clearance and the procedures reveal that promoting the ease of doing business scores over precautionary principles. Efforts to increase the effectiveness and improve transparency in monitoring the implementation of environmental clearance conditions are visible. Still, the prime issues of improving the efficiency and efficacy of the EIA framework and institutional reforms in the EIA system need to be earnestly addressed. The evaluation using an ex-ante framework unveils the areas needing meticulous attention to revamp the EIA regulation.
Despite a wealth of literature on the different facets of the EIA, and copious theoretical knowle... more Despite a wealth of literature on the different facets of the EIA, and copious theoretical knowledge and practical experience, the general agreement is eluding definitions of EIA effectiveness, quality, and good practices. There are apprehensions about EIA meeting its basic objectives while project proponents continue to treat EIA as an impediment to development. Governments tend to adopt a “practical” approach, sacrificing pillars of EIA and overlooking the prime objective of environmental protection. Based on an extensive literature study and the author’s long EIA-related experience, some key workable practices for the EIA process are elaborated. Meticulous scoping using different sets of lenses, spotlighting significant impacts to determine the breadth and depth of EIA reports for focussed EIAs, robust EIA review and decision-making, commitment from the regulators for environmental protection, and use of strategic planning, strategic environmental assessment, and tiering practice...
Both environmental impact assessment (EIA) and risk assessment (RA) instituted some 50 years ago ... more Both environmental impact assessment (EIA) and risk assessment (RA) instituted some 50 years ago are interdisciplinary and decision-support tools and have analogies in their procedural steps. Environmental risk assessment could be employed as such or as complementary to EIA for environmental management. This study aims to examine how RA is dealt with in the EIA reports of greenfield projects. The investigation reveals that RA is treated as a standalone exercise and too inadequately in EIA studies. There is a lack of well-defined criteria and methodologies for RA in different contexts, evaluation of prediction uncertainties, residual risks, assimilating RA in EIA, regulatory framework to strengthen RA integration in EIA, objective review of RA by the competent authority, and EIA follow-up. Unambiguous terms of reference are proposed for RA in EIA under the prevailing regulation for immediate implementation. The duration and cost of preparing and reviewing EIA reports integrated with ...
Environmental management basics, cost of environmental degradation, good management practices for... more Environmental management basics, cost of environmental degradation, good management practices for environmentally sustainable development, synergy between environmental management and financial management, and environmental regulations are discussed in the context of India. An organization need to go beyond compliance management, and understand and appreciate limitation of natural resources, preferred waste management hierarchy, pollution prevention vs pollution control, environmental impacts, etc. for reaping maximum benefits. These aspects are expected to be equally relevant to other developing economies.
... Water pollution control eg Common effluent treatment plants, and conveyance of treatedwastewa... more ... Water pollution control eg Common effluent treatment plants, and conveyance of treatedwastewater. ... Do we need some kind of institutional framework to ... Can some kind of twinningarrangement be developed by some of the institutions with those in developed countries? ...
The tenets of environmental policy evolved in India and how precautionary principles of sustainab... more The tenets of environmental policy evolved in India and how precautionary principles of sustainability are sidelined in the draft EIA regulation 2020 are analyzed. The emphasis on exempting several categories of projects from the EIA requirements and public consultation, standardization of sector-specific terms of reference and environmental clearance conditions, and decentralization of the decision-making to simplify and fast-track the environmental clearance procedure for development projects is apparent. The list of projects/activities requiring prior environmental clearance and the procedures reveal that promoting the ease of doing business scores over precautionary principles. Efforts to increase the effectiveness and improve transparency in monitoring the implementation of environmental clearance conditions are visible. Still, the prime issues of improving the efficiency and efficacy of the EIA framework and institutional reforms in the EIA system need to be earnestly addressed. The evaluation using an ex-ante framework unveils the areas needing meticulous attention to revamp the EIA regulation.
Despite a wealth of literature on the different facets of the EIA, and copious theoretical knowle... more Despite a wealth of literature on the different facets of the EIA, and copious theoretical knowledge and practical experience, the general agreement is eluding definitions of EIA effectiveness, quality, and good practices. There are apprehensions about EIA meeting its basic objectives while project proponents continue to treat EIA as an impediment to development. Governments tend to adopt a “practical” approach, sacrificing pillars of EIA and overlooking the prime objective of environmental protection. Based on an extensive literature study and the author’s long EIA-related experience, some key workable practices for the EIA process are elaborated. Meticulous scoping using different sets of lenses, spotlighting significant impacts to determine the breadth and depth of EIA reports for focussed EIAs, robust EIA review and decision-making, commitment from the regulators for environmental protection, and use of strategic planning, strategic environmental assessment, and tiering practice...
Both environmental impact assessment (EIA) and risk assessment (RA) instituted some 50 years ago ... more Both environmental impact assessment (EIA) and risk assessment (RA) instituted some 50 years ago are interdisciplinary and decision-support tools and have analogies in their procedural steps. Environmental risk assessment could be employed as such or as complementary to EIA for environmental management. This study aims to examine how RA is dealt with in the EIA reports of greenfield projects. The investigation reveals that RA is treated as a standalone exercise and too inadequately in EIA studies. There is a lack of well-defined criteria and methodologies for RA in different contexts, evaluation of prediction uncertainties, residual risks, assimilating RA in EIA, regulatory framework to strengthen RA integration in EIA, objective review of RA by the competent authority, and EIA follow-up. Unambiguous terms of reference are proposed for RA in EIA under the prevailing regulation for immediate implementation. The duration and cost of preparing and reviewing EIA reports integrated with ...
Environmental management basics, cost of environmental degradation, good management practices for... more Environmental management basics, cost of environmental degradation, good management practices for environmentally sustainable development, synergy between environmental management and financial management, and environmental regulations are discussed in the context of India. An organization need to go beyond compliance management, and understand and appreciate limitation of natural resources, preferred waste management hierarchy, pollution prevention vs pollution control, environmental impacts, etc. for reaping maximum benefits. These aspects are expected to be equally relevant to other developing economies.
... Water pollution control eg Common effluent treatment plants, and conveyance of treatedwastewa... more ... Water pollution control eg Common effluent treatment plants, and conveyance of treatedwastewater. ... Do we need some kind of institutional framework to ... Can some kind of twinningarrangement be developed by some of the institutions with those in developed countries? ...
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