Environmental impact

Assesment
Name : Rimsha
Reg No : BCH120202017
Environmental Impact Assesment
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process of
evaluating the environmental impacts of a proposed
project or development, taking into account inter-
related socio-economic, cultural and human-health
impacts, both beneficial and adverse.

 United Nations of Environmental Protection (UNEP) defines

EIA as a tool used to identify the environmental, social and
economic impacts of a project prior to decision-making.

 It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage

in project planning and design, find ways and means to
reduce adverse impact .
Main purpose of EIA
 The main goal of EIA is to conserve the
environment and bring out the best
combination of economic and
environmental costs and benefits.
Stages of Environmental Impact
Assesment
Stage # 1.
Identification:
 The first step is to define a project and study

all the likely activities involved in its process

so as to understand the range and reach of
the project. This helps in deciding the
possible zones of environmental impacts.
Stage # 2
Screening:
  In this stage the projects or developments
which require a full or partial impact
assessment study are determined. This
entails the application of EIA to those projects
that may have significant environmental
impacts.
 The screening is done partly by the EIA

regulations, operating in a country at the

time of assessment
Stage # 3.
Scoping 

 Scoping is the procedure of identifying the key

environmental issues and is possibly the most
important step in an EIA. Scoping means the
scope or range of the EIA report.

 It undertakes the project’s effect on the air, water,

soil, noise level, air quality and physical impact.
Stage :4
Collection of Baseline Data
 Baseline details are the environmental status of the
study area under the EIA.

Stage : 5
Impact Prediction
 Predicting and establishing negative & positive,

reversible & irreversible, and temporary & permanent

effects are needed which presupposes a good
understanding of the project by the assessment
agency. To predict and identify the likely
environmental impacts of a proposed project or
development scheme, including the detailed
elaboration of alternatives.
Stage # 6
Mitigation:

 This stage includes recommended actions that

can offset the adverse impacts of the project.
This is done with the idea of lessening the
negative effects and improving the scope for
project benefits.
 Mitigating measures may be:
 (i) Preventive: public awareness programmes
 (ii) Compensatory: to reduce potential reactions
 (iii) Corrective: putting into place devices and

installations
Stage : 7
Decision-making: 
 At this stage, decisions are made by the

relevant authority of the EIS (including

consultation responses) together with other
material considerations as to whether to
accept, or reject the project and if approved,
under what conditions it is approved are
specified.
Types of Environmental Impact Assessment

1. Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment

     SEA is methodical to systematic approach

analysis of the environmental hazard &

effects of development policies, plans,
programmed, and other proposed strategic
actions. SEA gives a proactive approach to
integrating environmental considerations
into the higher levels of decision-making–
beyond the project level when major
alternatives are still open.
2. Regional Environmental Impact
Assesment
Regional
environmental assessment is referred to as the
economic-environmental development planning.

It fulfills the requirements for macro-level environmental

integration, which the project-oriented EIA is unable to
address effectively.

Regional EIA establishes the environmental impacts of

regional development plans and thus, the context for
project-level EIA of the subsequent projects, within the
region.
3. Sectoral Environmental Impact
Assessment

As an alternative to project-level-EIA, an EIA

should take place in the context of regional
and sectoral level planning.
 Sectoral EIA will come to the aid in

addressing specific environmental problems

that may be encountered in planning and
implementing sectoral development projects.
4. Project Level Environmental Impact
Assessment
 In many countries in the world where EIA is in
place, developmental projects such as the
construction of highways and expressways,
ports and harbors, hydropower projects,
manufacturing industries, mining projects, etc.,
undergo an environmental examination before
being given clearance to establish and operate.
 The EIA study then recommends appropriate
mitigation measures or monitoring and
management plans in the project itself. 
Importance Of EIA
Followings are the importance of EIA,
1. EIA links the environment with development for
environmentally safe and sustainable development.
2. EIA gives a cost-effective method to eliminate or
reduce the adverse impact of developmental projects
and schemes.
3. It is the government policy that any industrial
projects have to obtain EIA clearance from the
Ministry of Environmental before approval by the
planning commission.
4. EIA is potentially a necessary component of good
environmental management & prediction of it.
5. EIA enables the decision-makers to analyze the
effects of developmental activities on the environment
well before the developmental project is implemented.
6. EIA encourages the adaption of mitigation strategies
in the developmental plan.
7. EIA makes ensures that the development plan is
environmentally good and within the limits of the
capacity of assimilation and regeneration of the
ecosystem.
8. EIA is a tool to anticipate the possible damage to the
environment caused by development projects and
schemes.