Application Of Environmental Impact Assessment Research Articles

Exploring the application of environmental impact assessment to tourism and recreation in protected areas: a systematic literature review

Exploring the application of environmental impact assessment to tourism and recreation in protected areas: a systematic literature review

Environmental Impact Assessment in the context of armed conflicts

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a legal, procedural tool that allows to identify, predict, evaluate and prevent or mitigate the impacts of a planned project on the environment. An inherent element of this process is public participation that shall be assured at all times.
 EIA is regulated by domestic environmental laws of a given county, but an imminent influence on these regulations is exerted by EU EIA Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU text codified) and international conventions, especially the ESPOO Convention.
 EU legislation and international EIA-focused treaties do not determine if armed conflicts affect the EIA procedures and, if the answer is positive, in which way, especially whether the EIA procedure remains required under these exceptional circumstances or it may be postponed until cease of conflict or even omitted.
 For this reason, it was of high importance to determine whether EIA-related obligations set by EU and international laws are suspended or remain valid and in force during armed conflicts.
 The research revealed that the above-mentioned acts do not have provisions that explicitly regulate the effect of armed conflicts on the obligations relating to the EIA procedures. Furthermore, current jurisprudence and doctrine do not provide clear answer on the scope of application of international environmental law during armed conflict. It is often explained by the fact that environmental law is not yet fully formed in that respect and it is still not commonly agreed how it relates to international humanitarian law.
 Based on findings of the research, some conclusions are proposed that aim at providing advise on the application of EIA during armed conflicts and suggestions to supplement discussed bodies of law.
 This article will discuss the main results of the study conducted on this important and very up-to-date subject.

SEA and EIA: uncertain boundaries in Spain

ABSTRACT Environmental impact assessment (EIA) of projects and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of policies, plans and programmes allow environmental aspects to be incorporated into decision-making. The literature and regulations sometimes present SEA and EIA as isolated silos, but in practice there are intermediate approaches. This paper discusses a number of case studies where the application of EIA and SEA is conceptually unclear, although legally appropriate. The application of SEA or EIA depends in practice on the name of the planning document used, rather than its strategic character, with non-strategic SEAs and strategic EIAs due to a mismatch between planning and EA. The gradual transition between SEA and EIA makes it advisable to establish similar administrative procedures, as well as a common screening stage to determine not only whether or not the proposal should be subject to EA, but also the most appropriate approach. More than one EA process may be necessary throughout the planning cycle, requiring effective tiering. The regulations should define what is considered strategic, and regulate the tiering between SEA and EIA processes.

Çevresel Etki ve Değerlendirme Bağlamında Kalkınma ve Çevresel Değerler Çatışması: Malatya İli Örneği

In the world, where the economic system has been constantly developing and changing from the İndustrial Revolution to today, the volume of production and consumption has increased with the increasing world population, and this has brought new burdens to the ecological system. The increase in the use of fossil fuels for energy needs with the Industrial Revolution, the increase in production on a global scale with the development of international trade, while increasing wealth on the one hand, resulted in an increase in environmental problems on the other. As a result of the thesis that the world states will develop with the motto of capitalism, "more production, more consumption", the ecological system has faced a burden that it cannot bear. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which was first introduced to the world within the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act, which came into force in the USA in 1970, on the necessity of ensuring development without damaging environmental values, is a process in which the significant effects of a certain project or development on the environment are determined. It was implemented as a process. This study aims to reveal how EIA applications are used as an effective mechanism in protecting environmental values in Turkey and in Malatya in particular, and to reveal their deficiencies. In the study, a qualitative method based on literature review and observation was used.

An integrated building information modelling-based environmental impact assessment framework

The application of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies faces many challenges, especially in developing countries. This problem was investigated in the existing literature and via a designed questionnaire among local practitioners. The reasons were mainly attributed to the seclusion of the EIA process across the project’s phases, as well as the complexity of the EIA procedures. Hence, the research argues that Building Information Modelling (BIM) applications can be the key to resolve several associated problems to EIA either directly, or indirectly by streamlining Environmental Management System (EMS). Thus, a keyword-based scientometric analysis was used to define parameters and interrelations and establish network analysis for a proposed BIM-based EIA framework. The proposed framework presents scoring schemes to support three types of assessments: the efficiency of applying BIM techniques for an EIA process (Score A), proper integration of BIM techniques for different EIA steps (Score I) and proper integration of BIM techniques across project phases (Score B). It also shows the interplay of points between the three schemes via a Sankey diagram. The proposed framework was applied to compare three major construction projects in a developing country, the case of Egypt to pinpoint areas of drawbacks. The results pinpointed poor application of advanced BIM models to support sustainability analysis for EIA studies. This is in addition to imbalance of applying BIM applications across different project phases, it was notably less pronounced for the operation and maintenance stage as well as end of life scenarios. Also, poor integration of BIM tools could not support decisions related to the mitigation step. Hence, applying 6-dimensional BIM model shall enable developing mitigation measures and shall support design optimization during building operation and end of life phase. This novel approach presents the required level of verification and quality control procedure needed by decision-makers and environmental engineers to perform EIA studies and pave the way for further related research.Graphical

Legislative amendments and the environmental impact assessment process in Istanbul

ABSTRACT An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a tool that has been used for more than 50 years to assess situations that may have future negative effects on the environment. This study has attempted to address the status of the EIA in Istanbul, a city founded 2500 years ago and, therefore, one of the oldest cities in the world. The study first defines the EIA and then discusses legislative amendments to the Turkish EIA Regulation, which are the most important source of problems in the application of EIAs in Turkey. Twenty amendments have been passed since the first EIA Regulation was entered into force, and these amendments have had significant effects on the application of EIAs. It has been determined that some of these amendments have expanded the scope of EIAs but others have narrowed the scope. In the last part of the study, the effects of these legislative amendments in the case of Istanbul are revealed. Graphics show that when an amendment in passed that narrows the scope of an EIA, the number of projects excluded from review by that EIA increases, and they are projects that could have a negative impact on the environment.

Environmental impact assesment regulation applications and their analysis in Turkey

Abstract Since the 1970s, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been employed as an environmental management tool to minimize or prevent the potential environmental impacts caused. Its use in Turkey was mandated from February 7, 1993. An EIA, which is of particular concern to the mining sector, is implemented in many sectors. In this study, after providing brief information about the EIA regulation, an analysis has been done by determining the status of mining activities in EIA applications. In conclusion, mining has comprised 31% share of EIA-required activities since 1993, when EIA regulation took effect in Turkey. In addition, it was learned that 16% of the applications related to mining activities were unable to get an EIA permit and could not launch their operation.

Environmental impact assessment in Nigeria- A review

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an essential tool used for decision making in a developmental projects as well as a systematic process to identify, predict and evaluate the environmental effects of the proposed actions and projects; the process is applied prior to major decisions and commitments being made. This paper makes a systematic review of the challenges relating to the application of Environmental Impact Assessment in Nigeria, in order to achieve sustainable development. The present review describes the laws, basic principles, procedures, sustainability and impact of EIA on biological aspect, meanwhile the paper also emphases on the constraints of EIA in Nigeria.

English

Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Audit are tools of trade which are available for use by environmental managers around the world. They are applied as early as possible in decision-making throughout the life cycle of proposed development projects and actions that may have potentially significant impacts on biophysical and socio-cultural environments. These instruments provide for individual stakeholder and community participation in screening, scoping, environmental impact identification and evaluation, prior to development of Environmental and Social Management plan. Despite the application of Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Audit techniques in environmental management in Kenya for the past two decades, environmental problems continue to persist as evidenced majorly by incessant flooding, drought conditions, collapsing buildings and dams. There are very high hopes in Kenya for environmental conservation and restoration following the roll out of the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) which entrenches environmental activities on three strands; the environment and its resources, the social environment and the care of environment. Competence Based Curriculum will produce environmental conscious citizens who will contribute towards making the planetary earth a better place to live in. The paper examines Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Audit practice in Kenya and suggests measures for better environmental management. Key words: Environment, impact, assessment, audit, competence based curriculum.

무인항공기 기반의 철도개발 환경영향평가 활용 방안 연구

최근 친환경 교통수단으로 철도사업에 대한 투자 비중이 증대되고 있으며, 철도망이 전국적으로 확대되고 있는 추세이다. 철도사업은 전략환경영향평가 및 환경영향평가 대상사업으로써 「환경친화적 철도건설지침」에서는 중점 평가항목과 방법에 대해 선언적으로 제시하고 있다. 특히, 주요 평가 항목 중, 동식물상, 자연환경자산 등은 평가 내용이 중복되거나 구체적인 평가 방법이 미비한 것으로 나타났다. 또한, 국토 및 환경계획에서 주로 활용되고 있는 국토환경성평가지도, 생태자연도 등은 철도개발대상지의 환경생태를 평가하기에 적합하지 않은 것으로 나타나며, 기존의 환경영향평가서가 현황파악에 기초한 문서형태만으로 제시되어, 대안노선 비교 및 철도사업의 환경영향평가에 어려움이 따른다. 이에 본 연구에서는 광범위한 지역을 고정밀‧고해상도의 영상을 시계열적으로 취득할 수 있으며, 타 분야에서도 다양하게 활용되고 있는 무인항공기(UAV) 영상을 이용하여 철도개발의 환경영향평가에 적용 가능한 방안을 도출하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 본 연구에서는 경의중앙선 3개 지점을 UAV 영상과 위성영상 등 시각화 자료를 통해 환경성을 평가한 결과, 지속적인 파편화로 인해 유입된 식생의 변화 등이 나타나 해당 항목에 대한 시계열적 변화상을 지속적으로 검토할 필요성을 도출하였다. 이에, UAV 영상을 통해 토지이용에 따른 파편화, 식생변화 등을 철도사업 계획 단계에서 검토할 것을 제안하며, UAV를 활용한 철도환경적 측면의 연구가 미비함에 따라, 이를 활용하여 철도사업의 환경영향평가에 제한된 자료에 따른 한계점을 개선할 수 있을 것이다. 향후, 상기 방법을 이용하여 철도 대안노선 평가 및 철도개발지역의 유지·관리 등에 철도환경영향평가 DB를 구축하여, 대안 노선을 평가할 뿐만 아니라, 철도개발지역의 유지·관리에도 적용할 수 있을 것이다.

Research on Environmental Impact Assessment Application in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

As a decisive management tool to coordinate economic development and environmental protection, the Environmental Impacts Assessment (EIA) of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area should be coordinated. The reality of “one country, two systems” led to conflicts in the EIA application between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Within the framework of “one country, two systems”, an EIA coordination agency should be set up in the Greater Bay Area to coordinate the technical specification and standards, substantive and procedural assessment and legal liability application.

Using human epidemiological analyses to support the assessment of the impacts of coal mining on health.

The potential impacts of coal mining on health have been addressed by the application of impact assessment methodologies that use the results of qualitative and quantitative analyses to support their conclusions and recommendations. Although human epidemiological analyses can provide the most relevant measures of risk of health outcomes in populations exposed to coal mining by-products, this kind of studies are seldom implemented as part of the impact assessment methods. To review the use of human epidemiological analyses in the methods used to assess the impacts of coal mining, a systematic search in the peer review literature was implemented following the PRISMA protocol. A synthesis analysis identified the methods and the measures used in the selected publications to develop a thematic review and discussion. The major methodological approaches to assess the impacts of coal mining are environmental impact assessment (EIA), health impact assessment (HIA), social impact assessment (SIA) and environmental health impact assessment (EHIA). The measures used to assess the impacts of coal mining on health were classified as the estimates from non-human-based studies such as health risk assessment (HRA) and the measures of risk from human epidemiological analyses. The inclusion of human epidemiological estimates of the populations exposed, especially the general populations in the vicinity of the mining activities, is seldom found in impact assessment applications for coal mining. These methods rather incorporate HRA measures or other sources of evidence such as qualitative analyses and surveys. The implementation of impact assessment methods without estimates of the risk of health outcomes relevant to the potentially exposed populations affects their reliability to address the environmental and health impacts of coal mining. This is particularly important for EIA applications because these are incorporated in regulatory frameworks globally. The effective characterization of the impacts of coal mining on health requires quantitative estimates of the risk, including the risk measures from epidemiological analyses of relevant human health data.

Environmental Impact Assessment process for deep-sea mining in ‘the Area’

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is key to the robust environmental management of industrial projects; it is used to anticipate, assess and reduce environmental and social risks of a project. It is instrumental in project planning and execution, and often required for financing and regulatory approval to be granted. The International Seabed Authority currently requires an EIA for deep-sea mining (DSM) in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the Area), but the existing regulations present only a portion of a robust EIA process. This article presents an ideal EIA process for DSM, drawing upon the application of EIA from allied industries. It contains screening, scoping and assessment phases, along with the development of an environmental management plan. It also includes external review by experts, stakeholder consultation, and regulatory review. Lessons learned from application of EIA elsewhere are discussed in relation to DSM, including the integration of EIA into UK domestic law, and the reception of EIAs prepared for seabed ore extraction in the Exclusive Economic Zones of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Finally, four main challenges of implementing the EIA process to DSM in the Area are presented: 1) EIA process for DSM needs to incorporate mechanisms to address uncertainty; 2) detailed requirements for the EIA process phases should be made clear; 3) mechanisms are needed to ensure that the EIA influences decision making; and, 4) the EIA process requires substantial input and involvement from the regulator.

Comparative Evaluation of the EIA Systems in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Angola, and the European Union

This article provides a comparative overview of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Angola, and the European Union (EU). EIA “systemic measure” and “foundation measure” criteria are used to evaluate and compare the performance of each system. In contrast to the EU, EIA must be carried out by registered experts in the African countries. In Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa public consultation is mandatory during scoping. In Kenya and Tanzania the EIA study should contain measures to prevent health hazards, to ensure employee safety, and for emergency management. EIA system monitoring is required in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and in the EU, but not in South Africa and Angola. Financial issues, insufficient qualified personnel, and an increasing number of EIA applications undermine the capacity of competent authorities to adequately monitor these EIA systems. Consequently, training programmes increase effectiveness of EIA implementation is a common request. The African countries reviewed here have adopted EIA and integrated EIA systems into public policy despite the constraints they face. As they continue to gain experience in EIA and to revise their EIA systems, they are moving towards a more flexible system with greater public involvement and robust arrangements and practices.

AN ANALYSIS ON THE APPLICATION OF EIA PROCESS IN MALAYSIA

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been introduced in Malaysia as an interactive planning tool since 1976 through the Environment Quality Act (EQA) 1975. The implementation of the EIA process in Malaysia has played a significant role in cultivating environmental protection and sustainable development practice in Malaysia. This paper focuses on the EIA process that is being implemented in Malaysia in ensuring effective application of EIA. The purpose of this paper is to present the research findings that have contributed in the analysis of the existing EIA process that is currently implemented in Malaysia. An application of qualitative research was incorporated which utilises in-depth semi-structured interviews in the data collection process. The research findings on the EIA guidelines, policies and the current EIA process are presented to provide a thorough understanding of this study.

Addressing environmental impact assessment challenges in Pacific island countries for effective management of deep sea minerals activities

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important instrument for management of deep sea minerals (DSM) activities in the Pacific islands region. However, effective EIA application is likely to be impeded by four challenges common among Pacific island countries: (1) human resource shortfalls; (2) insufficient quality control exercised over EIA reports; (3) weak compliance monitoring and enforcement; and (4) low levels of public engagement and participation in EIA. This paper identifies options for addressing the challenges, to improve EIA implementation and to ensure DSM activities are subject to appropriate regulation and oversight. Risks may be faced if the challenges are not addressed, including, failure to meet environmental management and governance obligations; loss of confidence in the regulatory system; environmental harm; and discouragement of sustainable development and investment. Pacific island countries that choose to engage with the DSM sector must apply EIA rigorously and continually work at improving their EIA systems, if they seek to maximise positive development outcomes and to minimise adverse effects on other marine users and values.

Carbon footprint in green public procurement: Policy evaluation from a case study in the food sector

Several projects across Europe are focused on improving sustainability of public procurements; however, few of them are measuring the environmental savings achieved by specific policies through the application of environmental impact assessment indicators.In this paper, we calculate environmental savings by applying a carbon footprint analysis to three food policies implemented by the City of Turin (Italy) in the school catering service (school years 2012/13 and 2013/14). The policies are focused on (I) the production of food (with the requirement of integrated or organic products), (II) the geographical origin of the food (with the requirement of regional food provisioning) and (III) the improvement of urban distribution (with the requirement of shifting to natural gas vehicles). The climate change potential of five of the most consumed foods were studied according to three main phases of the supply chain: production (including all processes in a cradle-to-gate perspective), provisioning (focusing on the transportation from production sites to the peripheral food hubs of the city), and distribution (focusing on the transportation from the city hubs to schools).The results of this study highlight the different climate impacts of the three phases of the supply chain, in particular 61–70% of the greenhouse gases are emitted in the production phase, 6–11% in the provisioning phase and 24–28% in urban distribution. As a consequence, policies that affect production practices have the greatest potential for reducing the carbon footprint of the catering service. Other policies (such as those on transportation) can have controversial effects. Therefore, to improve planning of sustainability policies, the greenhouse gas emission savings achieved by each policy must be analysed in-depth.

English

Hydropower development in the Lower Mekong Basin is occurring at a rapid pace. With partial funding from international financial institutions has come pressure on the riparian governments to ensure that the potential environmental and social impacts of hydropower projects are properly considered. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is one of the primary environmental management tools being proposed to fulfill these obligations. This article highlights some of the challenges that are inherent in applying EIA in the Mekong context through critical analysis of both its conceptual and institutional aspects. The main argument of the article is that while EIA application indicates a certain degree of environmental consideration, it is not necessarily sufficient to ensure good environmental practices. Lending institutions such as the World Bank have identified lack of implementation capacity as the biggest constraint to effective EIAs. Focusing on Laos, we show how EIA application should be equipped with necessary institutional arrangements and a transparent public participation process. This will ultimately require a shift within the region to allow environmental and social issues to be given significant weight. Keywords: Environmental assessment, Hydropower development, Public participation, Mekong

A Comparative Study on EIA process in Malaysia, West Australia, New Zealand and Canada

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has become an essential tool in promoting sustainable development and environmental protection since it was formally introduced by National Environmental Policy (NEPA) in 1969. The acceptance and application of EIA as a key tool in ensuring green development was overwhelming and has reflected positive feedbacks since its first introduction to the world community. The implementation of the EIA in various countries differs from one another as each country customised their own EIA process to cater their local development. This paper highlights the essentials of Environmental Impact Assessment and the EIA processes that have been adapted in four countries namely, Malaysia, West Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The three developed countries have been chosen because they share the same legal system as Malaysia which is the common law. The objective of this paper is to analyse the differences and the similarities between the EIA processes in the four chosen countries. The analysis was carried out by utilising a comparative study which was achieved via literature review. The comparative study reveals the similarities and differences of each EIA process implemented in the four countries. Conclusively, the four countries possessed few similarities such as each country has their own legal instrument, a governing body responsible in administering their local EIA process and incorporates public participation in the EIA process. However, the Canadian EIA process has a more notable EIA process between the four EIA processes, whereby, it possesses the most elaborate process which involves public participation at every level and takes up to 365 days for the EIA assessment.

Application of Gis in Environmental Impact Assessment

This paper Based on the composition, types, functions and applications in the field of geographic information systems, analyzes the advantages of GIS technology in environmental impact assessment. From the project environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the limitations of departure, outlining the current status of the EIA study, while an overview of the geographic information system (GIS) functionality and applications, focusing on the status of the application of environmental impact assessment in the field of geographic information systems Necessity and Prospect. And use some of the existing management and analysis of environmental monitoring information system based on GIS examples further illustrate the application of GIS in Environmental Monitoring Data Management Analysis, give full play to the advantages of GIS spatial information processing and comprehensive analysis of expression, making the environmental monitoring data more effective.