Chapter 3- Impact and Structure of

Environmental Impact Assessment

Principles guiding EIA for disasters

Impact classification and disaster variation
Direct, Indirect and Cumulative impacts (Cumulative Impact
Assessment as a new tool for Disaster Management)
Main features and stages of EIA process

Dr. Bal B. Parajuli, PhD (Water Env. and Development)

Visiting Professor
Lecture Series, Environment Management, LIAST, 26 Dec 2021

DREM/Ch.3 1
 Definition of EIA

It is a planning and management tool for sustainable

development that seeks to identify the type, magnitude and
probability of environmental and social changes likely to occur
as direct or indirect result of a project or policy and to design
the possible mitigation procedure (Vanclay and Bronstein,
1995; Harvey, 1998; Momtaz et al., 1998; Thomas, 1998).

DREM/Ch.3 2
 IMPACTS OF DISASTERS
Environmental Impact Assessment of DISASTERS, by Dr. Anil Kumar Gupta, Associate
Professor, National Institute of Disaster Management, New Delhi
http://www.hrdp-idrm.in/e6547/e32367/e32713/e32820/index_eng.html

Disaster Event

Physical Environmental

SOCIAL

Economic

• Physical (buildings, structures, physical property, industry, roads, bridges, etc.)

• Environmental (water, land/soil, land-use, landscape, crops, lake/rivers /
estuaries, aquaculture, forests, animals/livestock, wildlife, atmosphere, energy,
etc.)
• Social (life, health, employment, relations, security, peace, etc.)
• Economic (assets, deposits, reserves, income, commerce, production,
guarantee/insurance, etc.) DREM/Ch.3 3
 Likely effects on disaster impacts on
environmental components and assets
Impact Likely environmental effects (tentative list) of disaster event
component

Air Air pollution, toxic release, local-climatic change, global warming

contribution
Water Water pollution, water scarcity, chemical spillage, waste discharge,
loss of aquatic life, eutrophication
Land Soil erosion, soil contamination, acidity/alkalinity/sodicity, aridity,
wetland-loss, land-use conflict, debris/waste
Crops Crop damage, crop failure, pre-crop condition failures, quality loss
Wildlife Loss of habitat, animal death or illness, migration, food scarcity
Livestock Animal death, loss of fodder, illness, breeding troubles, migration
Forests Vegetation damage, structural/functional failures, produce/services
loss
Waste Carcasses, Debris, Damaged goods, e-waste, hazardous/infectious
waste
Aesthetic Loss of natural landscape, ecotourism, recreation, and psycho-
spiritual services DREM/Ch.3 4
 Disaster-Environment Impact Matrix

Air Water Land Crops Wildlife Livestock Forests Waste

Flood S D D D D D D D
Cyclone D D D D D D D D
Drought I D D D D D D I
Earthquake S, C I, C I -- L D -- D

Landslide -- S D -- I -- D D
Chemical D D D D D, C D D, C D
Nuclear D D, S D D, S D D D, L D
Biological S D, C S C C C C D
Civil C C C, I -- -- -- -- C
Transport C C C L -- -- -- D

D=Direct, I=Indirect, S=Secondary,

DREM/Ch.3 L=Less, C=Case specific 5
Disaster cycle Likely environmental impact causes, examples
Pre-disaster • Environmental impacts of structural mitigation
stage:  Land-use alteration
 Environmental impacts and wastes during mock-drills
During Disaster • Structural waste/debris/e-waste/carcasses
(Natural – Earthquake,  Air pollution, contamination, toxic release
Landslide,  Fire and/or explosion, Hazardous wastes exposure
Tsunami, Flood,  Water pollution
Drought, Cyclone;
 Radiation
Man-made –
 Noise
Chemical/
industrial, nuclear,  Land degradation, contamination, soil loss
biological, civil)  Vegetation – crop/ forest, biodiversity damage
 Wetland loss
 Coastal beach/ River bank erosion
Post-disaster • Waste generation from relief operation (food, medical, shelter, packaging)
(Relief-rehab.  Water shortage, Water pollution, loss of fisheries
 Air pollution due to waste/carcasses disposal, transport, etc.
phase)
 Land-use and landscape changes for shelters/ camps etc.
 Environmental impacts due to relief road/bridge making
 Environmental impacts due to other emergency supplies
 Hazardous waste recoveries
 Spoilages of industrial materials and goods
 Local climatic-setting alteration
Post-disaster • Environmental impacts of changed land-use and landscape
(recovery and  Environmental impacts of persistent chemicals release in system
 Biotic pressure of the altered settings of rehabilitated population
later – long
 Environmental impacts due to peoples increased dependence on ecosystem
term) resources because of losses to their crops/livelihoods
 Biodiversity changes and alien species invasion

DREM/Ch.3 6
 Context Differences EIA
Normal and Disaster Assessments
Disaster
Normal • Sudden onset
• Lead Time • Rarely a legal requirement
• Legal Requirement • Reactive
• Deliberate and pro- • May need to be partial in
active coverage
• Will be comprehensive • “No project” not an option
• “No project” an option • Unpredictable location
• Location known • Uncertain duration
• Duration planned • Population dynamic and
• Beneficiary populations heterogeneous
known and static • Saving lives given priority
• Environmental goals can • Activities sometimes hard
be made compatible to reconcile with
with economic ones environmental goals.
DREM/Ch.3 7
 Disaster Focused EIA Tools

• Natural Hazard Environmental Impact Assessment (Pre-

disaster)

• Fast Environmental Assessment Tool

• Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment in Disasters

(REA)

• Framework for Assessing, Monitoring and Evaluating the

Environment in Refugee-related Operations (FRAME)

• Guide to Identifying Critical Environmental Considerations

in Emergency Shelters

• Post Disaster Environmental Impact Assessments

DREM/Ch.3 8
 Role of EIA in Disaster Management

EIA of mitigation measures (dams/dyke, land-use directive, plan/policy

decision, development projects,) ensures choice of effective and
sustainable option
whereas EIA of disasters helps in response measures for recovery of
ecosystem services, livelihoods, environmental quality and sustainability to
minimize future disaster risks.

DREM/Ch.3 9
 Definition of EIA cont…

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?

DREM/Ch.3 10
 EIA is a tool that is applied

 before major decisions are taken and when all

alternatives are still open;
 to inform all stages of decision making, including final
approval and the establishment of conditions for project
implementation;
 with public participation and consultation; and
 to integrate environmental considerations and safeguards
into all phases of project design, construction and
operation

DREM/Ch.3 11
Types of EIA
There are four key types of environmental impact assessment.
These are as follows.
1. Strategic EIA
The strategic EIA (SEIA) is performed early in project planning
when there are still several alternatives open for a project.
2. Regional EIA
The regional EIA, environmental impact assessment, is the most
common. It’s usually done after the main project or policy planning
has taken place.
3. Sectorial EIA
This will typically focus on a specific area of impact, such as air or
water quality. Several sectorial EIAs can be compiled into a full
report.
4. Project Level EIA
A project level EIA has a smaller regional scope.
https://www.airiodion.com/environmental-impact-assessment/

DREM/Ch.3 12
 The Baseline Situation
In characterizing the
Water Quantity, quality, reliability,
baseline situation, many accessibility
environmental
components MAY be of Soils Erosion, crop productivity,
interest fallow periods, salinity,
nutrient concentrations

Fauna Populations, habitat

The components of
interest are those that Env Health Disease vectors, pathogens
are likely to be affected
by your activity—or Flora Composition and density of
upon which your natural vegetation,
productivity, key species
activity depends for its
success Special Key species
ecosystems
DREM/Ch.3 13
 What is an impact?

The baseline
The impact of an activity is a situation is the
deviation (a change) from the existing
baseline situation that is caused environmental
by the activity. 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
concept in EIA. More…

DREM/Ch.3 14
 What is an activity?
We are discussing the impacts of activities.
What are activities?
 An activity is:
a desired
accomplishment
or output Accomplishing an activity
requires a set of actions
E.g.: a road,
ACTIVITY: ACTIONS:
seedling market access Survey, grading, culvert
production, or road construction, compaction,
rehabilitation
river diversion to etc. . .

irrigate land
A project or program may
consist of many activities
15 DREM/Ch.3
 Types of impacts & their attributes
Direct & indirect
The EIA process is concerned
impacts
with all types of impacts and
may describe them in a Short-term & long-
number of ways term impacts
Adverse & beneficial
impacts
Cumulative impacts
 Intensity
 Direction
 Spatial extent
 Duration
 Frequency But all impacts are NOT
 Reversibility treated equally.
 Probability

DREM/Ch.3 16
Methods of Impact Identification

There are five main classes of quantitative impact

identification techniques exist:

•Checklist
•Matrices
•Networks
•Map Overlay
•Ad hoc method

DREM/Ch.3 17
Checklist

Checklists are comprehensive lists of environmental effects

and impact indicators designed to stimulate the analyst to
think broadly about possible consequences of
contemplated actions.

There are four types of check list:

1. Simple
2. Descriptive
3. Questionnaire
4. Threshold concern
5. Scaling Checklist

DREM/Ch.3 18
Matrix
 Matrix are two-dimensional tables which facilitate the
identification of impacts arising from the interaction between
project activities and specific environmental components.
 They are essentially expansions of checklists that
acknowledge the fact that different component of development
project (e.g. Construction, operation, decommissioning,
buildings, access road)
 The entries in the cell of the matrix can be either qualitative or
quantitative estimates of impact.

Types of Matrix
 Simple Matrix
 Time dependent matrix
 Magnitude Matrix
 Quantified Matrix (Leopold Matrix)
 Weighted Matrix

DREM/Ch.3 19
Network

 Network is an alternative for illustrating the secondry

and subsequent effects of action on environmental
elements is to construct a network tracing such effects.
 The advantage of a network approach is that it permits
clear tracing of high-order effects of initial actions;
indeed mitigation and control measures can also be
illustrated.
 One problem encountered in applying the network is that
many higher-order effects can be postulated that are
actually unlikely to occur.

DREM/Ch.3 20
Overlay and GIS

 An effective visual aid

 Useful as documentation of environmental conditions
existing before project implementation
 May describe both biophysical and social aspects of
area under study.

DREM/Ch.3 21
 Advantage and Disadvantage
Checklists
(–simple–ranking and weighting)
•simple to understand and use
•good for site selection and
priority setting
•do not distinguish between
direct and indirect impacts
•do not link action and impact
•the process of incorporating
values can be controversial
Matrices
•link action to impact
•good method for displaying EIA
results
•difficult to distinguish direct and
indirect impacts
•significant potential for double-
counting of impacts
Networks
•link action to impact
•useful in simplified form for checking for
second order impacts
•handles direct and indirect impacts
•can become very complex if used beyond
simplified version
Overlays
•easy to understand
•good display method
•good siting tool
•address only direct impacts
•do not address impact duration or probability
GIS and computer expert systems
•excellent for impact identification and analysis
•good for ‘experimenting’
•heavy reliance on knowledge and data
•often complex and expensive
DREM/Ch.3 22
Main features and stages of EIA process

DREM/Ch.3 23
 Steps in EIA

Step 1: Screening
Step 2: Scoping
Step 3: Impact Analysis
Step 4: Impact Mitigation
Step 5: Reporting
Step 6: Review
Step 7: Decision Making
Step 8: Monitoring

DREM/Ch.3 24
 Proposal
identification

EIArequired Screening No EIA

Initial
Scoping environmental
examination

Impact analysis

Mitigation
and impact
management
*Public involvement
Resubmit EIAreport
*Public involvement typically
occurs at these points.
It may also occur at any
Redesign Review other stage of the EIA Process

Not approved Decision-making

Approved
Information from this process
contributes to effective EIA in the future
Implementation
and post-EIA DREM/Ch.3 25
monitoring
 Step 1: Screening

 This step determines:

• whether or not EIA is required for a particular project
• what level of EIA is required

 Screening Outcomes:
 Full or comprehensive EIA required
 Limited EIA required
 No EIA required

DREM/Ch.3 26
 Tools for Screening

 Project lists:
• Inclusive — listed projects must undergo EIA
• Exclusive — listed projects exempted from EIA

 Case-by-case examinations:
• determine whether projects may have
significant environmental effects
• if so, project should undergo EIA

 Combination of above

DREM/Ch.3 27
Screening Process

Mandatory EIA
Inclusive threshold

Case-by-case
consideration
of requirement Indicative threshold
for EIA

Exclusive threshold
EIA ruled out

DREM/Ch.3 28
 Step 2: Scoping

 begins once screening is completed

 the most important step in EIA
 establishes the content and scope of an EIA report

Outcome:
 identifies key issues and impacts to be considered
 lays the foundation of an effective process, saves time and
money, and reduces conflict

DREM/Ch.3 29
 Types of Scoping

Closed scoping:
wherein the content and scope of an EIA Report is
pre-determined by law and modified through
closed consultations between a developer and the
competent authority
Open or Public scoping:
a transparent process based on public
consultations
Actors
proponent, EIA consultant, supervisory authority for
EIA, other responsible agencies, affected public and
interested public

DREM/Ch.3 30
 The scoping process

 prepare a scope outline

 organise key issues into
 develop the outline impact categories (study
through informal list)
consultation with
environmental and health  amend the outline
authorities accordingly
 make the outline  develop ‘Terms of
available reference’ (ToR) for
 compile an extensive list impact analysis
of concerns monitor progress against

 evaluate relevant the ToR, revising as
concerns to establish key necessary
issues
DREM/Ch.3 31
SCOPING

DREM/Ch.3 32
 EXAMPLE : SCOPING
IMPACT OF A PROPOSED PAPER INDUSTRY
A paper industry is proposed to be established in a
locality and the effluent is propoped to discharge in
adjacent river

Etp will be installed to briing the discharge down to

permissible limit

There are few other industries already established

discharging effluent to the river at allowable limit

People bath in river water and drink after treatment

Significant number of people depend on fishing for

occupation
DREM/Ch.3 33
 MAJOR ISSUES
(SCOPING)

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT

ENVIRONMENT

THE LEVEL OF INCREASE EUTROPHICATION (EFFLUENT

GASEOUS AIR POLLUTANTS CONTAINING N ,P)

POSSIBLE CHANGE IN NOISE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT

LEVEL
FISH KILLS
CHANGE IN DOWNSTREAM DO
DUE TO DISCHARGE OF
AQUEOUS EFFLUENT (ORGANIC
MATTER)

DREM/Ch.3 34
 MAJOR ISSUES
(SCOPING)

THE HUMAN (SOCIAL) THE HUMAN (ECONOMIC)

ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT

AFFECT ON FISHERIES AND POSSIBILTY OF INCREASING

AQUACULTURE AS A LIVLIHOOD DRINKING WATER TREATMENT
FOR THE COMMUNITY COST

URBANIZATION TREND AND PRODUCTIVE HOUR LOSS DUE TO

RELATED PROBLEM ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

SCOPE OF JOB CREATION HEATH TREATMENT COST

DREM/Ch.3 35
 Step 3: Impact Analysis

Type biophysical, social, health or economic

Nature direct or indirect, cumulative, etc.
Magnitude or severity high, moderate, low

Extent local, regional, trans-boundary or global

Timing immediate/long term
Duration temporary/permanent
Uncertainty low likelihood/high probability
Reversibility reversible/irreversible
Significance* unimportant/important

DREM/Ch.3 36
Tools for Impact Analysis
 checklists
 matrices
 networks
 overlays and geographical
information systems (GIS)
 expert systems
 professional judgement

DREM/Ch.3 37
 Step 4: Impact Mitigation

 to avoid, minimise or remedy adverse impacts

 to ensure that residual impacts are within acceptable

levels

 to enhance environmental and social benefits

DREM/Ch.3 38
 Framework for Impact Mitigation

Common (desirable)
Alternative sites or
Avoidance technology to
eliminate habitat loss

Actions during
design, construction and
Mitigation operation to minimise
or eliminate habitat
loss

Used as a last resort

Compensation to offset habitat loss
Rare (undesirable)

DREM/Ch.3 39
 Step 5: Reporting

Different name of EIA reports

 Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA Report)

 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

 Environmental Statement (ES)

 Environmental Assessment Report (EA Report)

 Environmental Effects Statement (EES)

DREM/Ch.3 40
 Contents of the Report
 a description of the project;
• an outline of the main alternatives studied by the developer, and
an indication of the main reasons for this choice,
• a description of the aspects of the environment likely to be
significantly affected by the proposed project;
• a description of the likely significant environmental effects of the
proposed project;
• measures to prevent, reduce and possibly offset adverse
environmental effects;
• a non-technical summary;
• an indication of any difficulties (technical deficiencies or
lack of know-how) encountered while compiling the required
information.

DREM/Ch.3 41
 Step 6: Review

 Review the quality of the EIA report.

 Take public comments into account.
 Determine if the information is sufficient.
 Identify any deficiencies to be corrected.

Who Perform the review?

 environmental agency — Canada (comprehensive studies),
standing commission — Netherlands, inter-agency committee
— USA, planning authority — UK
 independent panel — Canada (public inquiries)
 Public comment and input

DREM/Ch.3 42
 Step 7: Decision Making

 To provide key input to help determine if a

proposal is acceptable

 To help establish environmental terms and

conditions for project implementation

DREM/Ch.3 43
 Step 8: Monitoring

 Ensure the implementation of conditions attached

to a decision.
 Verify that impacts are as predicted or permitted.
 Confirm that mitigation measures are working as
expected.
 Take action to manage any unforeseen changes.

DREM/Ch.3 44
 Key components of Monitoring

 Establish baseline conditions.

 Measure impacts of a project as constructed.

 Verify conformity with established with conditions and

acceptable limits.

 Establish links to environmental management plans.

 Carry out periodic checks and third-party audits.

DREM/Ch.3 45
 Public Involvement in the EIA Steps
Screening
To consult people likely to be affected by proposal.

Scoping To ensure that significant issues are identified; project

related information is gathered, alternatives are considered.
Impact analysis To avoid biases/inaccuracies in analysis; identify local
values/preferences; assist in consideration of mitigation
Mitigation measures; select best alternative.
and impact
management

EIA report

Review
To consider and comment on EIA Report

Decision making

Implementation
To monitor the implementation of EIA Report’s
and monitoring recommendations and decision’s conditions.
DREM/Ch.3 46
Assignment 1
Explain with illustration the following methods of Impact Identification in EIA.

•Checklist
•Matrices
•Networks
•Map Overlay

Instruction: should be
1. hand written with ink, and figures with pencil.
2. on A4 white paper
3. Submitted on or before coming Sunday at

bparajuli@outlook.com

Thanks.

DREM/Ch.3 47
Thanks!!!

DREM/Ch.3 48