Review: Definition of EIA
Environmental
Impact Assessment is
A formal process for identifying:
• likely effects of activities or Environment is
projects on the broadly interpreted:
ENVIRONMENT, and on physical, biological,
human health and welfare. and social.
• means and measures to
In EIA, the term
mitigate & monitor these “impacts” is used
impacts instead of “effects
of activities.”
What is an
impact?
ENCAP EA-ESD 1
Course: Basic Concepts
What is an impact?
The impact of an activity is
a deviation (a change) from The baseline
situation is the
the baseline situation that is existing
caused by the activity. environmental
situation or
condition in the
absence of the
! To measure an impact, you activity.
must know what the
The baseline
baseline situation is. situation is a key
More…
concept in EIA.
ENCAP EA-ESD 2
Course: Basic Concepts
The baseline situation
Water Quantity, quality, reliability,
In characterizing the accessibility
baseline situation,
Soils Erosion, crop productivity,
many environmental fallow periods, salinity,
components MAY be nutrient concentrations
of interest Fauna Populations, habitat
The components of
Env Health Disease vectors, pathogens
interest are those that
are likely to be affected
Flora Composition and density of
by your activity—or natural vegetation,
upon which your productivity, key species
activity depends for its
success Special Key species
ecosystems
ENCAP EA-ESD 3
Course: Basic Concepts
Why do impact Need results from
problems of
assessments? choice, where
decision-makers face
one or more options
in a given context
(e.g. choice among
projects; choice
within a project; Ensures
policy impacts coherence
(‘trade-offs’) between
development
interventions
Will support better policy-
making but cannot be a
substitute for it
The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Approach to
Sustainable Development
Human needs &
demand
Development is a management
multidimensional
undertaking to achieve a
higher quality of life for Economy &
Social &
all people. Economic
Political Industry
development, social
development and
environmental
protection are
interdependent and Environment
mutually reinforcing & Resources
components of Efficiency
Green
sustainable development lifestyles & & clean
(United Nations, 1997) cultural goals technology
(Ravetz, 2000)
Example 1: TBL linkages in
the Chilika Lagoon Length: 64 kms (max)
Breadth: 20 kms (max)
Avg. water spread area: 1065 sq km
Depth: 0.38 to 4.2 m
Catchment area: 4406 sq km
Total fisher folk: 0.2 million
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 As a result …
management • significant ecosystem
• public consultation improvements
• rehabilitation through • eight-fold increase in annual
successive cycles fish landings
Example 2: Environmental Pollution in the Taj
Trapezium Zone (TTZ)
TTZ: a 10,400 sq
km area in and
around the city of
Agra (India),
witness to
unplanned urban
growth, lack of
basic infrastructure
services, and poor
quality of life
But, at the same time, the zone is home to the breathtaking
beauty of the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the
world a World Heritage Site
Sources of air pollution in the TTZ
2,354 polluting
factories inside the
zone, majority
belonging to the small
sector (foundries, glass-
making, etc)
Emissions from an oil
refinery at Mathura
Most importantly, over
95,000 vehicles pass
50,000 diesel generators
through the zone every
used to fight endemic power
day
shortages in the city
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 of industrial relocation
Shutdown of the small scale industries, as a result
of which millions of workers have lost their jobs
Little impact on air quality as the other sources
have been left out
Health hazards persist because of poor working
conditions
Again a strategy far removed from sustainability
objectives!
Framing sustainability objectives and
indicators: an example
The scheme used in the SEA of Fiji’s Tourism
Development Plan:
(O) Main Objective
(S-O) Sub-objective
(O-I) Outcome indicators
(I-I) Tourism related input/ output/
process indicators
An illustration:
(O) Maintain and enhance Fiji’s environmental quality
(S-O) Protect, enhance and restore special ecosystems
especially mangroves, coral reefs and forests
(O-I) Area and quality of ecosystems (e.g. absence of
coral bleaching; diverse age structure of forest
trees); large areas intact; avoidance of
fragmentation
(I-I) Tourism development complying with
management regimes - e.g. Managed
Marine Area network; logging controls;
bans on mangrove clearing
The 66 Subregions around the
world
GIWA 5 Concerns (22 Issues)
1. Freshwater shortage (Reduction of stream flow; Lowering of water table and;
Pollution of existing water supplies)
2. Pollution (Microbiological pollution; Eutrophication; Chemical pollution; Suspended
solids; Solid waste; Thermal pollution; Radionuclides; Spills)
3. Habitat and community modification (Loss of ecosystems or ecotones; Modification
of ecosystems or ecotones)
4. Unsustainable exploitation of fisheries and other living resources
(Inappropriate harvesting practices; Resources/habitat changes; Habitat destruction;
Decreased viability of stock through contamination and disease; Biodiversity impacts)
5. Global change (Changes in hydrological cycles; Sea level change; Increased UV-B
radiation as a result of ozone depletion; Changes in ocean carbon dioxide source/sink
function)
GIWA Status of Assessment
Scaling/Scoping Done Scaling/Scoping Planned Pending
Sub-region
45a • Introduction
Eight river basins, giving the water to ca
Agulhas 5000 km transboundary coastline and
continental shelves. Human population is
ca 58 miljons inhabitants.
Current • Freshwater shortage: This is the main
problem, due to excessive water abstraction
(mainly for irrigation) and pollution of
supplies. Streamflow in Zambesi River has
declined with >50% the last 30 years, due to
dam constructions.
• Pollution: Presently not a critical concern.
Though some hotspots have been reported
in mining and industrial zones in major cities.
• Unsustainable fisheries: Unsustainable
exploitation of marine fisheries, particularly
tuna and shrimps, is severe and likely to
escalate to critical levels by the year 2020. In
other African areas also freshwater fisheries
have similar problems.
• Habitat Modification: Quite extensive harvesting
of mangroves along Zambezi basin.
Overexploitation of seagrass exceeds natural
replenishment. Floodplains exploited for
agricultural and urban development, but also
mining. Wetlands, marshes and riparian zones are
extensively modified, due to declining streamflow
Sub-region 45a
and more intensive agricultural activities. Coral
Agulhas Current reefs are increasingly affected in several ways.
• Socio-economic implications: Escalating poverty,
food deseases, all resulting in within-rural and
rural-urban migration. Root causes are suggested
to be decline in agricultural productivity, fisheries
harvest and habitat losses. More than 30% of the
Sub-Saharan water systems do not meet the WHO
drinking standards
Introduction
Yellow Sea Sub-region should include:
The Yalujiang River and its associated coastal
and marine habitats in its river mouth north of
the Yellow Sea;
Coastal river basins in Liaodong Peninsula
which drain partially to the northern Yellow Sea
(and partially to the Bohai Sea);
Coastal river basins in Shandong Peninsula
which partially drain to the mid and southern
Yellow Sea (and partially to the Bohai Sea)
The Huaihe River Basins which include
Hongzehu Lake and Gaoyuhu Lake, etc.
Mega-region:
North Pacific
Sub-region 34:
Yellow Sea
Critical Issues
1. Freshwater shortage
Major river systems showed serious reduction in flow
of more 20% over the past 30 years.
Many river systems of the sub-region are polluted
causing habitat deterioration and unable to support living fish.
Fish kills due to pollution in rivers are evident.
2. Habitat and Community Modification
Loss are particulary serous with fresh water marshland, lakes, rivers, lagoons.
Mega-region: Modification are particularly serious with fresh water marshland, lakes, rivers, lagoons
North Pacific and estuaries.
Volume and biodiversity of lakes and rivers changed significantly. Muddy shores
Sub-region 34: greatly modified with increased opportunistic organisms.
Yellow Sea
3. Unsustainable Exploitation of Fisheries and Other Living Resources
Fisheries resources were highly over-exploited exceeding their maximum sustainable
yields. Destruction of aquatic habitats leading to depletion of fish populations and
decrease in biodiversity.
4. Socio-economic factors.
High concerns associated with social, economic and human health impacts are:
– increased pollution of water;
– habitat and community modification; and.
– unsustainable exploitation of fisheries and other living resources.
Causal chain analysis for Yellow Sea:
Unsustainable Exploitation of Living Resources
IMPACT GIWA ISSUE IMMEDIATE SECTOR ROOT CAUSE
CAUSE ACTIVITY
Fisheries
resources were Increase in population
highly growth, increased
overexploited demand for seafood,
More efficient enhances the fishing
fishing activities.
Employment rates practices by
had decreased by introduction of Fisheries: Profit motive in fishing
30-50% due to improved fishing easy access and disregard of the
over-fishing & technology. to improved environmental
environmental 14. fishing consequences caused
degradation with Overexploitation technologies; uncontrolled entry in the
substantial impact increasing the number of fishing vessels
on the social life of number of into the fisheries sector.
the local fishing fleets.
Increased
population.
fishing efforts
leading to over-
Increased market
harvesting of
Business demand for seafood
the living
opportunities in that leads to increased
resources.
the seafood fishing activities in
processing disregard of the
industries had consequences related to
decreased depletion of the living
resources.
The EIA process
Phase II:
Phase I:
Full EIA study
Initial inquiries
(if needed)
•Understand • Scope
proposed activities • Evaluate baseline situation
• Identify & choose alternatives
•Screen • Identify and characterize potential
•Conduct preliminary impacts of proposed activity and
assessment (if each alternative
needed) • Develop mitigation and monitoring
• Communicate and document
Our focus!
ENCAP EA-ESD 24
Course: Basic Concepts
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!
ENCAP EA-ESD 25
Course: Basic Concepts
To arrive at findings:
Identify, Predict and Judge
Arriving at the FINDINGS in a preliminary
assessment requires 3 steps:
1
Identify potential Many resources describe the potential
impacts impacts of typical small-scale activities.
2 Determine which potential impacts are likely
Predict potential
to become actual, and quantify these
impacts
impacts to the extent possible.
3 Judge the Determine whether the predicted impacts are
significance of indeed significant!
potential impacts THIS WILL OFTEN DEPEND ON HOW
EFFECTIVE THE PROPOSED MITIGATION
MEASURES ARE!
ENCAP EA-ESD 26
Course: Basic Concepts
Who is involved in EIA?
Public consultation is usually
Sponsor of the activity only REQUIRED for full EIA
(usually commissions/conducts the EIA) studies.
Regulatory agencies/ However, it is good practice
for preliminary assessments
Review authorities because:
Broad-based
Communities (men & public
Civil society
women) • Predicting impacts is
FACILITATED by broad-
Private Sector
based public consultation;
Judging significance is very
difficult without it.
• Transparency and
accessibility require
ENCAP EA-ESD 27 disclosure to stakeholders
Course: Basic Concepts
Making EIA effective
To be an effective tool
for ESD, EIA must be: EIA is undertaken early enough
to affect project design
– a integral part of the
Mitigation and monitoring
project development cycle. developed in the EIA process is
implemented.
– Honest The full EIA study must
consider real alternatives
Impacts must be assessed
honestly.
– Transparent & accessible
The EIA products must be clear
and accessible to key actors.
ENCAP EA-ESD 28
Course: Basic Concepts
