ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA)

CHACHA Lilian GTHOMAS MugweLUFYAGILA Ibrahim HMAGOHE Stephen

Contents:

Introduction StakeholdersMethodology & case

studyConclusionreference

INTRODUCTION;

• Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a process which can be used to improve decision-making and ensure that development options under consideration are environmentally, socially and economically sound and sustainable (Mwalyosi, R., et al 1999)

• EIA can be defined as the study to predict the effect of the proposed activity or project on the environment(Prof Sandeep Hedge 2015)

Evolution EIA evolved from land use planning, cost benefit analysis(CBA),multiple objective analysis, modelling and simulation and was established by the 1969 USA National EnvironmentalPolicy Act (NEPA) The act required all the projects to be accompanied by a clear EIS EIA process has be evolving since 1970s and to date over half of the country in the world have EIA. Initially the emphasis was in quantify physical factors for which there were standard, but eventually EIA begun to include biological and ecological factors although they were difficult to quantify More recently social economic factors have been incorporative into EIA process to find a compromise betweenSocio-economic and environmental factors

Why EIA?EIA is intended to prevent or minimize potentially adverse environmental impacts and enhance the overall quality of a project. The main benefits and advantages of EIA are:

Lower project costs in the long-term

Increase project acceptance

Improve project design

Inform decision making

Environmentally sensitive decisions

Increase accountability and transparency

Reduce environmental damage

Improve integration of projects into their environmental and

social settings

 The EIA process allows for the

communication of potential environmental problems to:

 (a) the project proponent

(b) the regulatory agencies

(c) all stakeholders and interest groups 

To foresee the potential environmental problems that would arise out of a proposed development and address them in the planning and design stage of the Project.

Objective of EIA

EIA in Africa and Tanzania

• Many countries in Africa adopted EIA rather late – in the 1980s

• African countries with formal EIA procedures include:    Ghana, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa , Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Who is involved in EIA?????? Project proponents Service providers Reviewers Decision makers The public

Methodology Steps involved in EIA as described by Mwalosi R et al., 1999 Registration Screening Scoping Compiling Terms of Reference (ToR) Organizing the EIA Study Undertaking the EIA study Reviewing the EIA Report Environmental management & monitoring Environmental auditing

1.Registration Is a simple administrative procedure which requires project proponents to officially register their intention to undertake development activity.In Tanzania registration is done by Environmental Regulatory Body (ERB) and accomplished by National environment management council (NEMC)2.Screening is the process to determine what level of environmental assessment is necessary or appropriate for a specific project or proposal.After the screening of a project the decision will fall into-Full EIA required-Preliminary assessment required-EIA not required-Project proposal rejected

3.ScopingIs used to focus the EIA on the key issues for decision making.We go to this stage if the screening process subjected the project into full EIA processProvides the first, and most important, opportunity to identify and involve stakeholders Guidelines and structure of scoping report are provided in the EIA and audit regulations of 2005

Roles of scoping;Identifies assessment methods.Identifies project alternatives.Determines the boundaries

(spatial, temporal and institutional).

Helps define the ToR for the EIA study.

4.Compiling the terms of references

ToR- are special terms set by a registered EIA consultant firm and the project proponent for review. ToR must be approved by NEMC

Why ToR?Provide formal guidance for practitioners on

issues that must be addressed in the EIA process

Clarify to the proponent “what is expected of them”

Provide the reviewing agency with a tool for compliance.

5. Organizing the EIA studyInvolves acquisation of relevant

environmental standards and guidelines, knowledge of relevant policies, laws and institutional arrangements.

Timing: EIA should commence before project design details have been finalised and well before project implementation commences

6.Undertaking the full EIA study-In this stage EIA predicts which impacts will occur as a result of the project and their likely significance.They also identify measures to mitigate or avoid these impacts, or optimise the benefits of the project.-The key components of a full EIA study are impact identification, examination of alternatives, evaluation and assessment of impacts, development of mitigation options and information dissemination and documentation

7.Environmental Impact statement;-Is the way to communicate the findings of the EIA studies. This is the unique document that is different from regular academic or consultancy work.-It is made to influence and guide decision making. Contrary to other reports it is more than just generating knowledge.-The report has to be non-technical, readily accessible to the public and be made available in local languages

EIA statement

NEMC (review)

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT(minister

responsible for env. approves)

8.EIA reviewIt provides an impartial mechanism for assessing the quality of the EIA and its adequacy for decision making.The reviewer would be interested to see whether some important questions have been addressed in the report.NEMC has a role of secretariat in this.All the affected stakeholders should be provided with the report copies by NEMC

Key issues to consider during EIA reviewSufficiency of information providedSufficient attention to EIA processReliability of analysis or interpretation Utility for decision making

9.ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT & MONITORING;Monitoring assess the effect of the project on natural and cultural environment. Environmental monitoring provides feedback about the actual environmental impacts of a projectHelps judge the success of mitigation measures in protecting the environment

10.EIA FINAL DECISION MAKING & AUDITINGDecision on the project is made by the planning

authority. Decision can be made into either of the following categories.

Proposal approvedProposal approved with conditionsProposal on hold pending further studyProposal returned for revision and resubmissionProposal rejectedNo decision taken until EIA report considered

Auditing NEMC will undertake periodic and

independent re-assessment of any project, whereby the negative and positive impacts of the undertaking are identified at each stage of the project operations. This allows for gaining lessons and experience from the practices

CASE STUDYEnvironmental evaluation for ASWAN dam (HAD)Highest dam in the world with the biggest man made reservoirs built in 1956 by the EGYPTIAN government.Aswan was a famous example of poorly conceived civil engineering projects.Claire sterling critiques in “the great environmental catastrophe of mankind” & “more damn than dam”EIA was not conducted before the dam construction.

Letter on sterling's prognostication were coming true after construction as well as other effects.Several environmental impact studies have been conducted to areas surrounding the Aswan dam. Though EIA was conducted in a scattered matter i.e.. There were no integration of all impacts to produce auditing for the project.

The EIA study revealed the following impacts:Schistomiasis had became an endemic disease in

Egypt.Storage capacity of lake Nasser and Nubia would

be compromised due to rapid sediment fill.There was a threat of reservoir induced seismicity

(Aswan was situated on a natural fault zone)High ground water level was suspected to

deteriorate the ancient Egyptian monuments.Water loss due to high evaporation leading to down

stream salinization in the dam. (10-16 bill cubic meter/year)

Coastal erosion.

High water level near the Egyptian monuments

Active sediment deposition Source. Landsat 8, June 2014

Coastal erosion in Damietta pennisula1990-2014 Source , Landsat 8

Location of proposed by pass canalSource ,Landsat

Location of rafat and Abu Sembel meteorological stationSource , Landsat

The canal would reduce evaporation by 327mill, meter cubic saving 1450 cubic meters per year.

Coastal protection device at Ras El Barr.Source , Landsat

The budget for the EIA should be 1% of the entire project budget but this is not the rule of thumb, it can change depending on certain circumstances.When EIA is skipped at early stage of the project, the cost of conducting EIA later after the project establishment would be greater than the required cost.

conclusion

References:Glasson J Therivel ,R. Chadwick A, Introduction to EIA,

(2005)Flora Stephano, Environmental conservation and

management, (2006)Prof. Sandeep Hedge, EIA pptAhmed Moussa,Moustafa Soliman, Medhat Aziz,

Environmental evaluation for HAD since its construction until present,(2001)

Hesham Abd-El Monsef,Scot E Smith, Kamal Darwish, Impacts of HAD after 50 years,(2015)

Raphael Mwalyosi, Ross Hughes and David Howlett, Introduction Course on

Environmental Impact Assessment in Tanzania,(1999)