Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)

What is Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)? Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process of assessing the potential impacts that a proposed project may have on the environment, involving of the ecological, social and economic aspect. "The process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made." defines by The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA).[1]

The purpose of EIA? The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers consider the environmental impacts when deciding whether or not to proceed with a project. They require decision -makers to account for environmental values in their decisions and to justify those decisions detailed environmental studies and public comments on the potential environmental impacts. [2]

EIA can be a complex and challenging task which is integrates five distinct: Cumulative impact assessment Preparing greenhouse emission assessments Preparing risk assessments and accident analyses Social impact assessment and environmental justice The international environmental impact assessment process guiding principles

Cumulative Impact Assessment CIA is the process of an analysing the potential impacts and risks of proposed developments in the context of the potential eects of other human activities and natural environmental and social external drivers on the chosen Valued Environmental and Social Components (VECs) over time, and proposing concrete measures to avoid, reduce, or mitigate such cumulative impacts and risk to the extent possible.

What Are the Expected Outcomes of CIA? The expected outcomes of a good CIA can be summarized as follows: Identication of all Valued Environmental and Social Components (VECs) that may be aected by the development under evaluation. In consultation with stakeholders, agreement on the selected VECs the assessment will focus on. Identication of all other existing and reasonably anticipated and/or planned and potentially induced developments, as well as natural environmental and external social drivers that could aect the selected VECs. Assessment and/or estimation of the future condition of selected VECs, as the result of the cumulative impacts that the development is expected to have, when combined with those of other reasonably predictable developments as well as those from natural environmental and external social drivers. Evaluation of the future condition of the VECs relative to established or estimated thresholds of VEC condition or to comparable benchmarks. Avoidance and minimization, in accordance with the mitigation hierarchy, of the developments impact on the VECs for the life of the development or for as long as the impacts continue to be present. Monitoring and management of risks to VEC viability or sustainability over the life span of either the development or its eects.

Preparing greenhouse emission assessments

Reference 1. "Principle of Environmental Impact Assessment Best Practice." International Association for Impact Assessment. 1999. 2. Holder, J., (2004), Environmental Assessment: The Regulation of Decision Making, Oxford University Press, New York; For a comparative discussion of the elements of various domestic EIA systems, see Christopher Wood Environmental Impact Assessment: A Comparative Review (2nd edition, Prentice Hall, Harlow, 2002).