ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

ASSESSMENT (EIA)
 What is the need?
… Human activities - industrial development
 Impacts on land resources
 Impacts on water resources
 Forest
 Wildlife
 Biodiversity
… Assess the impact/s for better management
 Eight principles
… Participation: have an accessible process so that all
parties can participate
… Transparent: assessment decisions and basis should

be transparent
… Certainty: process and timings should be pre-

decided
… Accountability: Decision makers to make sure that all

participants do their job

 … Credibility: Take responsibility and carry out the
process with professionalism
… Cost-effectiveness: Environmental Protection at the

least cost to the society

… Flexibility

… Practicality: Decisions taken should be practical

enough for implementation
 Benefits Flaws/Limitations

… Systematic way of … Time consuming

assessment … Costly

… Estimation of cost-effect … Developing nations -

and trade offs possible reliable data collection

and sharing is an
… Effective decision
issue
making
Too scientific
……Follow up of measures
… Allows public
suggested is hardly
participation done
 EIA Project stages/cycle
… Project concept/identification
 What is the nature of proposed project?
 Construction of a dam
Highway
 Industry

 A quick “screening”
 Assess need of a thorough EIA
 Helpful in deciding if the project should be carried out
after EIA or choose alternatives
 … Pre-feasibility stage
 If EIA is carried out, what will be its impacts, limitations,
issues, etc.
 Called as
“Scoping”
 EIA should be carriedstage
… Feasibility out in this stage
 Along with economic, technical and other work
 … Project appraisal and decision
EIA completed
 Report is ready
 Submission to approving authority
 Decision
… Implementation
 Approval
 Project execution
 EIA guidelines
 Completion
 Audit
… EIA study management
Diverse aspects to be covered

 Large audience
 May be a continuous process of monitoring and managing the EIA study