GENERAL ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLE

Here you will be looking only at environmental impact assessment (EIA). However, it is important
to know that there is a general principle of assessment that applies to EIA, and to other
assessment processes. There are numerous other processes that relate closely to the review of
environmental impacts that may result from a proposed project. The following are but a few and
well recognized processes:

 Social Impact Assessment

 Risk Assessment
 Occupational/Workplace Assessment
 Life Cycle Analysis
 Energy Analysis
 Health Impact Assessment
 Regulatory Impact Assessment
 Species Impact Assessment
 Technology Assessment
 Economic Assessment
 Cumulative Impact Assessment
 Strategic Environmental Assessment
 Integrated Impact Assessment, etc.

For instance, some like Energy Analysis, focus on a particular part of the environment. Others,
like Life Cycle Analysis, enable the consideration of all those parts of the environment that are
relevant to the assessment. Furthermore, depending on how the terms, like health, are defined
for the study you may find that it is covering most of the issues that would be found in an EIA.
For example a Technology Assessment could include review of the impacts on ecosystems, air
quality and so on. Equally, if the definition of “environment” is taken broadly for an EIA, then the
EIA may cover the issues of the other assessment processes; for example:

 social aspects (such as impacts on employment, community interaction);

 risks (such as threats to native animals, water supplies);
 life cycle (such as the impacts at each stage of the project design through to operation
and closure); and
 energy (such as use of non-renewable energy sources, Greenhouse gas emissions), etc.

Hence, there is the potential for a lot of connections between the different forms of assessment.
The essential difference between them is how the terms, or scope of assessment, are defined
narrowly, or broadly. Otherwise they all follow the same general principle.

Principle of Assessment

Considering all the assessment approaches above, they are designed to identify potential impacts
of a development, action or project. To do this the assessor needs to use personal experience
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and the experiences of others (including available knowledge and resources) to think broadly
about potential changes, and whether those impacts will be positively or negatively felt.

Particular approaches emphasis specific types of impacts (i.e., on health, on social groups, on
natural reserves and resources). All have basically the same approach, although each may have
its own individual language and detailed techniques.

Most of the assessment processes also include a second step. After identifying the impacts, they
also consider what may be needed to avoid or reduce adverse impacts/effects.

Formal and Informal Assessments

In some situations you will find yourself involved or working on EIA processes that are required
by governments, or by organizations that provides funds for projects such as the Work Bank. An
EIA conducted under these processes can be thought of as a formal EIA, as it is required by formal
legislation or other agreement.

However, in addition there are many possibilities of conducting informal EIAs. This is especially
the case where assessment is incorporated in internal processes of corporations. Informal EIA,
such as the environment assessment associated with an Environmental Management Systems,
requires identification and documentation of potential impacts, plus the reporting of how those
impacts would be managed.

Nevertheless, irrespective of whether the assessment process is formal or informal, or what

terms are used, the same principle (above) is involved.

Social and political nature of EIA

While EIA has been viewed as a technical process, it is inherently a political process. EIA evolved
from the politics surrounding the impacts that development projects were having on the
environment. Once established it became dominated by technocratic approaches, which may
lead to people ignoring social, political and economic conditions. However, EIA is political in terms
of the way in which governments legislate for EIA, and the ways in which value judgments and
political decisions, at the level of the individual, permeate virtually every element of EIA. A
significant political issue is the choice of proposals to which EIA is applied (screening). This can
be a value judgement where one type of project requires an EIA, while others do not. Other value
judgements come into decisions about what environmental issues should be covered in the EIA
(scoping), which pieces of information are included in the EIA Report, and how the information
is presented to the decision-makers.

There are checks and balances in the EIA process to moderate some of these influences,
especially where the public has the chance to be involved. However, there are few opportunities
through the stages in the EIA process for the public to be involved. Even when they have the

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opportunity, the public’s ability to be involved in the EIA process has been limited by the
resources available especially with respect to time and expertise.

Purpose and Aims of EIA

Simply defined, EIA is a systematic process to identify, predict and evaluate the environmental
effects of proposed actions and projects. This process is applied prior to major decisions and
commitments being made. A broad definition of environment is adopted. Whenever appropriate
social, cultural and health effects are considered as an integral part of EIA. Particular attention is
given in EIA practice to preventing, mitigating and offsetting the significant adverse effects of
proposed undertakings.

The purpose of EIA is to:

 provide information for decision-making on the environmental consequences of

proposed actions; and
 promote environmentally sound and sustainable development through the identification
of appropriate enhancement and mitigation measures.

Sustainable Development through EIA

Sustainable development is a key concept that has gained increasing international acceptance
during the last two decades. A milestone in this process was the Brundtland report, which defined
sustainable development as development that meets the needs of today’s generation without
compromising those of future generations. Five years later, the UN Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED), the Earth Summit, established a number of international
agreements, declarations and commitments (as presented in Table 1). Agenda 21, the global
action plan for sustainable development, emphasises the importance of integrated environment
and development decision-making and promotes the use of EIA and other policy instruments for
this purpose.

Perspectives on Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is an evolving concept, which is continually being redefined and

reinterpreted. The starting point for most people is the Brundtland definition (described above),
which also can be formally stated as twin principles of intra- and inter-generational equity. In
practice, these principles mean improving the welfare of the world’s poor and maintaining the
development opportunities for the generations that follow.

The challenge of sustainable development may be summarised by comparing three overriding

indicators:

 First, human activity is estimated to currently consume or pre-empt 40% of net primary
productivity on land.

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  Second, 60% of the world’s population live close to or under the poverty line.
 Third, the world’s population is projected to double by mid-century.

Without major policy and technology changes, UNEP and other institutions have concluded that
such trends threaten the stability of the world community and the global environment.

Table 1: Four cornerstones of the Earth Summit

Cornerstone Summary

The Rio Declaration on

A set of principles which provide guidance on achieving sustainable
Environment and
development.
Development

Framework Convention An international treaty to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations

on Climate Change in the atmosphere.

An international convention with three objectives: the conservation

Convention on
of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the
Biological Diversity
equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources.

A global programme of action for achieving sustainable

Agenda 21 development to which countries are politically committed rather
than legally obligated.

The Importance EIA

Reducing the burden of environmental impacts is necessary if development is to become
sustainable. These impacts are more complex, larger in scale and further reaching in their
potential consequences than thirty years ago when EIA was first introduced. As a result, EIA has
become of ever increasing importance as a tool for development decision-making.

This role is formally recognized in Principle 17 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development:

Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed

activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject
to a decision of a competent national authority.

In practice, EIA is applied primarily to prevent or minimise the adverse effects of major
development proposals, such as power stations, dams and reservoirs, industrial complexes, etc.

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It is also used as a planning tool to promote sustainable development by integrating
environmental considerations into a wide range of proposed actions. Most notably, strategic
environmental assessment (SEA) of policies and plans focuses on the highest levels of decision
making, when better account can be taken of the environment in considering development
alternatives and options. More limited forms of EIA can be used to ensure that smaller scale
projects, conform to appropriate environmental standards or site and design criteria. Such
projects include dredging activities, road realignment and upgrading, and housing subdivisions.

The Aims and Objectives of EIA

The aims and objectives of EIA can be divided into two categories. The immediate aim of EIA is
to inform the process of decision-making by identifying the potentially significant environmental
effects and risks of development proposals. The ultimate (long term) aim of EIA is to promote
sustainable development by ensuring that development proposals do not undermine critical
resource and ecological functions or the wellbeing, lifestyle and livelihood of the communities
and peoples who depend on them.

Immediate objectives of EIA are to:

 improve the environmental design of the proposal;

 ensure that resources are used appropriately and efficiently;
 identify appropriate measures for mitigating the potential impacts of the proposal; and
 facilitate informed decision making, including setting the environmental terms and
conditions for implementing the proposal.

Ultimate/Long term objectives of EIA are to:

 protect human health and safety;

 avoid irreversible changes and serious damage to the environment;
 safeguard valued resources, natural areas and ecosystem components; and
 enhance the social aspects of the proposal.

The Limitations of EIA

EIA is also a way of ensuring that environmental factors are considered in decision-making
process along with the traditional economic and technical factors. Importantly EIA requires the
scientific (technical) and value issues to be dealt with in a single assessment process. This helps
in the proper consideration of all advantages and disadvantages of a proposal. Environmental
considerations may, therefore, be set aside in favour of what are felt to be more important
considerations. Alternatively, predicted adverse effects on the environment might lead to strict
conditions being imposed to avoid these effects or remedy any adverse effects, or perhaps lead
to the complete abandonment of a proposal.

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However, it is most important to recognise that EIA cannot be regarded as a means of introducing
an environmental “veto” power into administrative decision-making processes. Decisions that
are unsatisfactory from an environmental point of view can still be made, but with full knowledge
of the environmental consequences. The final decision about a proposal depends upon the likely
severity of the adverse effects, balanced against other expected benefits.

In other words, EIA is an administrative process that identifies the potential environmental
effects of undertaking a proposal, and presents these environmental effects alongside the other
advantages and disadvantages of the proposal to the decision-makers. In the vast majority of EIA
procedures this means that the outcome of the EIA process provides advice to the decision-
makers it does not provide a final decision. So, by itself, the EIA procedures cannot be expected
to stop a proposal although this is an outcome that some members of the general community
and environment groups may expect.

In summary then:

 only a very small fraction of proposals are halted, permanently or temporarily, as a direct
result of EIA at the end of the review process;
 pre-emption or early withdrawal of unsound proposals has been reported though it has
proved difficult to document;
 EIA has been useful in developing support for and confirmation of positive
environmentally sound proposals;
 the greening or environmental improvement of proposed activities is frequently seen;
and
 particular indirect effects of EIA are both instrumental (such as where policy or
institutional adjustments are made as a result of EIA experience) and educational where
participation in the EIA process leads to positive changes in environmental attitudes and
behaviour.

With regard to the last point there is considerable advantage to the general community where
those people involved with the proposal, as well as decision-makers, are required to think about
the environmental effects (and thence avoid negative effects), and the public can be made aware
of the details of the proposal.

The limited power of EIA may seem to greatly reduce its value. However, as you have seen there
are many benefits that come from using EIA.

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REFERENCES

International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) and the Institute of Environmental
Management and Assessment (IEMA) (1999) Principles of EIA Best Practice. IAIA, Fargo, North
Dakota. (http:/www.iaia.org/publications).

Sadler B (1996) Environmental Assessment in a Changing World: Evaluating Practice to Improve

Performance. (Final Report of the International Study of the Effectiveness of Environmental
Assessment). Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and International Association for
Impact Assessment, Ottawa, Canada.

UNEP, US National Agency for Space Aeronautics and World Bank (1999) Protecting Our Planet,
Securing Our Future. UNEP, Nairobi.

World Bank (1999) Environment Matters. (Annual Review on the Environment). Environment
Department, World Bank, Washington D.C.

World Health Organisation (2001) Guidance to Incorporate Health Considerations into

Environmental Impact Assessment. Draft, WHO Europe, Copenhagen.

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