Environmental Impact Assessment Principles and Process

Figure 1: EIA concept and eight guiding principles The eight guiding principles... There are eight guilding principles that govern the entire process of EIA and they are as follows: Participation: An appropriate and timely access to the process for all interested parties. Transparency: All assessment decisions and their basis should be open and accessible. Certainty: The process and timing of the assessment should be agreed in advanced and followed by all participants. Accountability: The decision-makers are responsible to all parties for their action and decisions under the assessment process. Credibility: Assessment is undertaken with professionalism and objectivity. Cost-effectiveness: The assessment process and its outcomes will ensure environmental protection at the least cost to the society.

Flexibility: The assessment process should be able to adapt to deal efficiently with any proposal and decision making situation. Practicality: The information and outputs provided by the assessment process are readily usable in decision making and planning. Applying EIA... EIA is considered as a project management tool for collecting and analyzing information on the environmental effects of a project. As such, it is used to: identify potential environmental impacts, examine the significance of environmental implications, assess whether impacts can be mitigated, recommend preventive and corrective mitigating measures, inform decision makers and concerned parties about the environmental implications, and advise whether development should go ahead. EIA Process... In EIA systems there are sequence of activities implemented in project in a logical sequence and are termed as EIA process. They are given in Figure 2. Figure 2: The EIA processes in sequences of application. Figure 2: The EIA processes in sequences of application.

Project screening Not all development projects require EIA. Project screening will help identify the ones that actually do. Here in this section describes the various screening criteria. Scoping The process of scoping helps determine the coverage or 'scope' of the EIA. The methods of scoping is elaborated in this section. Baseline data collection A brief explanation on the concept of baseline data collection and its purposes. Identification of environmental impacts Described here are the various types of environmental impacts of development projects both beneficial and adverse. Impact prediction comparison of alternatives and determination of significance This sections covers the considerations for impact prediction, uncertainties in impact prediction and comparison of alternatives for impact prediction. Mitigation measures Described briefly under this section are the concept and objectives, types and interesting points, of mitigation measures. Public consultation and participation Public participation is a necessary component of the EIA. "Who are the public?", "How to involve them?", and "What are the benefits/disbenefits?" The answers can be found under this section. Environmental monitoring As one of the most important aspects of EIA, "Environmental Monitoring" is defined here along with explanations on monitoring principles, types and institutional aspects. Environmental auditing You will find under this section, the various types of Environmental Auditing and when it should be carried out during the EIA. EIA Benefits and Flaws EIA gener Table 1: EIA benefits and flaws Benefits Flaws

Provides systematic methods of impact assessment Estimates the cost/benefit trade-off of alternative actions Facilitates the public participation

Time-consuming

Costly

Little public participation in actual implementation Unavailability for reliable data (mostly in developing countries)

Provides an effective mechanism for

coordination environmental integration negotiations feed back

Top-level decision making

Too focused on scientific analysis (sometimes) Poor presentation of EIA report (bulky volumes, scientific explanation, difficult to understand) Compliance monitoring after EIA is seldom carried out

Triggers an institutional building

Achieve a balance between the impact of developmental and environmental concern Education and training...

One significant factor that could help improve the EIA process is good education and training. Currently, very few educational and training courses exist in developing countries that properly consider various EIA methodologies available in depth. Information on the legal and regulatory frameworks and institutional arrangements are also necessary. Education and training process are important since the fundamental factors behind all EIA predictions are still the best professional judgment and/or experiences with similar projects implemented elsewhere. Both short-term and long- term courses are necessary. These courses however, must be multidisciplinary, and the focus should be on the practical and operational aspects of EIA based on theoretical implications.