Environmental Impact Assessment Analysis Research Articles

EIA Effectiveness in Sensitive Alpine Areas: A Comparison of Winter Tourism Infrastructure Development in Germany and Austria

The paper analyses the effectiveness of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) in sensitive alpine environments by studying processes and selected case studies in Austria and Germany. The framework used to evaluate the respective effectiveness is based on four dimensions of effectiveness: procedural, substantive, transactive and normative. The study is based on semi-structured interviews, workshops with key stakeholders and textual analysis of EIA documents, as well as the analysis of legal documents. The findings reveal significant differences between the two countries leading to lower transactive and lower normative effectiveness in Austria. The framework demonstrates its high suitability for analysing EIA effectiveness and for developing recommendations. The outcomes also underline the significant influence of the project type.

Enhancing ecological connectivity through biodiversity offsets to mitigate impacts on habitats of large mammals in tropical forest environments

ABSTRACT Habitat loss and fragmentation are ecological impacts of development projects known to have severe effects on mammals’ populations. Here, we study the role of connectivity assessment in Environmental Impact Assessment, focusing on its contribution to determining appropriate mitigation, in particular, biodiversity offsetting. For that purpose, we analysed the dispersal of large mammals in a region potentially influenced by a mine located in the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil and anticipate the long-term outcomes of restoration offsets by modelling a 30-year post-offset scenario. Results show that: (i) offsets enhance ecological connectivity and are used as an alternative habitat for the animals dispersed due to habitat loss and fragmentation; (ii) the location of restoration areas should be carefully planned to maximize their contribution to increase ecological connectivity and enhance habitat quality. The reviewed case suggests that best practices to incorporate connectivity analysis in environmental impact assessment include: (i) monitoring biodiversity to quantify losses and gains; (ii) modelling offset areas alternatives for both protection and restoration; and (iii) conducting rigorous analysis of project alternatives, aiming at impact avoidance.

A comparative study on environmental impact analysis of synthetic and ESR flux used for refining of steel

Synthetic fluxes used in the steel industry are used for the refining of liquid steel to remove sulfur, phosphorus, and non-metallic inclusions so as to improve the mechanical property and performance of steel during critical applications. Similarly, Electro Slag Remelting (ESR) fluxes are used during the remelting of steel ingots in the ESR process for refining purpose. These fluxes have been manufactured by mixing the various slag components or fusing them at a high temperature. Both of these manufacturing methods have pros and cons during refining of steel. This investigation focuses on the life cycle assessment of different manufacturing processes of fluxes for steel refining. The major objective of this investigation is to perform an analysis of environmental impact assessment of the processes. A detailed comparison of the environmental impact has been carried out and discussed relative to the contribution of different unit steps involved in the manufacturing stage for the cradle-to-gate analysis. The results indicate that energy consumption as well as environmental impact is significant for the mixer and furnace heating step during production of refining fluxes for the steel industry.

Case Analysis of Environmental Impact Assessment for Ideological and Political Education

The section of importance and rules of environmental impact assessment is chosen to analyse ideological and political education, and the three aims are analysed. It involves teaching aims, teaching target analysis, teaching content and data, teaching process and measures, and teaching results. It is concluded that most of the students, after learning of this section, have a relatively good grasp of the 2nd aim, i.e. a good grasp of importance of environmental impact assessment on environment protection and economic development. However, they need more time to set up consciousness of social responsibility and the sense of professional ethics.

Stable isotope analysis in environmental impact assessment of radioactivity releases from nuclear power plants

The potential use of stable fission products from the decay of radioactive contaminants in recreating the impact assessment of radioactivity releases from nuclear power stations is examined. With the advances in mass spectrometry, Minimum Detectable Limits (MDLs) comparable to radioactive measurements have been achieved in the case of stable isotopes as well. The applications of stable fission products in safeguards and environmental surveillance by the author are mentioned. The limited application of stable fission products in the analysis of Fukushima environmental samples is reviewed. The article examines the possible candidates for such analysis and points out the enormous possibilities. This is a neglected field in environmental impact assessment till now and calls for standardizing measurement procedures and analysis methodologies. The stable fission product signatures can also be used to study the uptake and transport of radionuclides in the environment.

Environmental Impact Assessment Analysis in the Kahak’s Wind Farm

The relationship between the environment and green projects has become an important issue since the 1970s. This issue is of particular importance for Iran, which seeks to solve the problem of environmental pollution caused by the consumption of fossil fuels and also seeks to increase the participation of green energy in the economy through the development of green projects. This study aims to investigate the environmental impact of the Kahak wind farm project in the Qazvin province of Iran. In this regard, the opinions of 10 green project experts and the Riam matrix method were used as a flexible and acceptable method in calculating the environmental impact of economic projects in this paper. The results revealed that this wind farm project positively impacts air quality and climate, social welfare, and hydraulic resource. At the same time, patrimony, fauna, and vegetation are affected negatively by this project. As the practical policy implications, the paper recommends strategies to increase private sector participation, combined location of green projects based on feasibility and environmental impacts, and establishment of Regional Green Development Projects (RGDP).

Application of data envelopment analysis in environmental impact assessment of a coal washing plant: A new sustainable approach

The main problem of traditional methods of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is that in most of the existing algorithms and methods, such as Leopold, Folchi and RIAM, the main attention is to the destructive effects of the proposed plan, and the advantages of the industrial project are less noticeable. This has led to a permanent challenge between environmental organizations and industrial stakeholders. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a new approach of assessing the industrial units. Besides, it considers the positive economic and social impacts of the project and provides a comprehensive assessment of the industrial unit. With this approach, the environmental impacts of an industrial unit have been considered as “inputs” and its positive economic and social impacts considered as the “outputs” of the DEA models. Therefore, the problem of impact assessment changes into a DEA model. In the present study, the Alborz Sharghi Coal washing plant in northern Iran has been considered as a case study for implementing the DEA-EIA approach, and 19 plant activities and 11 environmental components have been used to evaluate the environmental effects of the plant. To solve the EIA problem, two commonly used DEA approaches, called CRS (constant returns to scale) and VRS (variable returns to scale), have been used. The DEA results identified the critical environmental components of the plant that should be considered seriously. Also, drawing the “potential improvement” diagram in the DEA method is an effective tool for determining the high risk activities of the factory and applying them in development plans. Besides, using the VRS model with maximize-output approach showed that some of the plant activities had the most differences with optimal mode and these components should be considered in future development plans. Finally, it can be concluded that, assessing the environmental impacts of the mineral industries with VRS maximize-output approach, is closer to the concept of sustainable development and cost-benefit analysis.

A qualitative content analysis of environmental impact assessment in Indonesia: a case study of nickel smelter processing

ABSTRACTEnvironmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in Indonesia has been established for over 36 years. During this time, the EIA system has evolved to reflect both political and bureaucracy changes. However, the current implementation and effectiveness of the EIA process have not yet to be fully understood. This study aims to review the current implementation of EIA, to assess the effectiveness of EIA process procedurally, and to provide recommendations. In order to examine the effectiveness of EIA, we evaluate and compare the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) of nickel smelters against criteria. The results indicate that the screening and scoping process encountered problems in terms of scientific database availability, cost, and time of the study. Public participation was not effective due to the constraints of information channeling and weaknesses of the discussion process. We found insufficient synchronization between the evaluation and monitoring processes. EIA reporting indicated redundancy, inconsistency, and ambiguity. We recommend the political reinforcement of the will of the government to establish sustainable policy in terms of budgeting, human resources, and procedure of decision-making process in EIA.

Perspectives from 2037—Can Environmental Impact Assessment be the Solution for an Early Consideration of Climate Change-related Impacts?

Consideration of climate change in environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a rather novel topic, which became partly mandatory through the revised EU Directive on EIA. Through a mixed-methods approach involving key-actors from EIA practice, decision making and climate adaptation planning, this study presents a transdisciplinary point of view on barriers and opportunities to tackle climate change adaptation in the environmental assessment of large-scale projects. It is based on both a retrospective ex-post evaluation of existing practices in Austria and Germany as well as prescriptive examination and development of outcomes for practice through the development of a climate-fit toolkit that supports the incorporation of climate change impacts into EIAs. The scenario analysis applied with a backcasting approach provided the opportunity to look beyond limitations related to legal compliance and partly lack of data identified by previous research. Three scenario narratives were elaborated based on nine key impact factors based on literature review, content analysis of EIA documents and interviews with EIA actors. The groups of actors carried out a prioritization of actions towards consideration of climate change in EIA. Finally, the actors were involved in co-production of an online tool-kit for Austrian and German EIA practice.

Environmental Impact Assessment & Management: Need of the Hour

Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is must for suitable development. It provides a guideline for planning and management of environmental related projects, which possess a big challenge to the scientists, engineers, policy and and decision makers. In this paper an effort has been made to describe the need of EIA,when and why it is used, its various components and tools such as EIS, GIS, Scoping and Mitigation etc. The paper outlines structure, model format and methodology for analysis of Environmental Impact Assessment, environmental Quality Management (EQM) & environmental Impact Remedies (EIR). It also highlights the role of public in EIA. Most of the environmental impact can be minimized or even completely avoided by adequate and proper pre-planning through use of EIA. EIA has come to be a permanent part of any decision making for a responsible Government or Industry.

Is EIA part of the wind power planning problem?

This research evaluates the importance and effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) within wind farm planning debates, drawing on insights from case studies in Scotland. Despite general public support for renewable energy on the grounds that it is needed to tackle climate change and implement sustainable development, many proposed wind farms encounter significant resistance. The importance of planning issues and (EIA) processes has arguably been overlooked within recent wind farm social acceptability discourse. Through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and textual analysis of EIA documents, the characteristics of EIA are assessed in terms of its perceived purpose and performance. The data show that whilst respondents perceive EIA to be important, they express concerns about bias and about the inability of EIA to address climate change and wind farm decommissioning issues adequately. Furthermore, the research identifies key issues which impede the effectiveness of EIA, and reveals differences between theoretical and practical framings of EIA. The paper questions the assumption that EIA is a universally applicable tool, and argues that its effectiveness should be analysed in the context of specific development sectors. The article concludes by reviewing whether the recently amended EIA Directive (2014/52/EU) could resolve identified problems within national EIA practice.

A Regulatory Multilevel and Multidisciplinary Contextual Analysis of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) relevant to Greenland: Offshore Oil Drilling and the Imperfect Equation

A Regulatory Multilevel and Multidisciplinary Contextual Analysis of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) relevant to Greenland: Offshore Oil Drilling and the Imperfect Equation

A análise dos impactos socioeconômicos na estruturação do EIA/RIMA: a importância da Abordagem Humanista para a Sustentabilidade

The present work deals with the defense of the humanistic approach in structuring the analysis of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and its Environmental Impact Report (RIMA) in relation to socioeconomic impacts addressed to realize that the conventional approach does not account social demands, as only this new approach will in fact the sustainable nature of the EIA / RIMA.

Analysis of environmental impact assessment (EIA) system in Turkey

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System, which embodies the "prevention principle" of the environmental law, is an important tool for environmental protection. This tool has a private importance for Turkey since it is a developing country, and it entered the Turkish law in 1983 with the Environmental Law. Besides, the EIA Regulation, which shows the application principles, became effective in 1993. Because Turkey is a candidate for European Union (EU), the EIA Regulation has been changed due to the EU compliance procedure, and its latest version became valid in 2008. This study aims to emphasize The EIA system in Turkey to supervise the efficiency of this procedure and point the success level. In the introduction part, general EIA concept, its importance, and some notations are mentioned. Following that, the legislation, which builds the EIA system, has been analyzed starting from the 1982 Turkish Constitution. Then, the legislation rules are explained due to the basic steps of the EIA procedure. In order to shed light upon the application, the EIA final decisions given until today, the results, and their distributions to the industries are assessed. In the final part of the study, a SWOT analysis is made to mention the weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and threats of the EIA system in Turkey.

Environmental impact assessment using the evidential reasoning approach

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) problems are often characterised by a large number of identified environmental factors that are qualitative in nature and can only be assessed on the basis of human judgments, which inevitably involve various types of uncertainties such as ignorance and fuzziness. So, EIA problems need to be modelled and analysed using methods that can handle uncertainties. The evidential reasoning (ER) approach provides such a modelling framework and analysis method. In this paper the ER approach will be applied to conduct EIA analysis for the first time. The environmental impact consequences are characterized by a set of assessment grades that are assumed to be collectively exhaustive and mutually exclusive. All assessment information, quantitative or qualitative, complete or incomplete, and precise or imprecise, is modelled using a unified framework of a belief structure. The original ER approach with a recursive ER algorithm will be introduced and a new analytical ER algorithm will be investigated which provides a means for using the ER approach in decision situations where an explicit ER aggregation function is needed such as in optimisation problems. The ER approach will be used to aggregate multiple environmental factors, resulting in an aggregated distributed assessment for each alternative policy. A numerical example and its modified version are studied to illustrate the detailed implementation process of the ER approach and demonstrate its potential applications in EIA.

Environmental Assessment of Sewage Disposal Systems Using 2D Electrical-Resistivity Imaging and Geochemical Analysis: A Case Study from Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria

A case study is presented of integrated use of 2D electrical-resistivity imaging and geochemical analysis in environmental impact assessment of sewage disposal systems. This involved geoenvironmental studies around a septic tank in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria. The area is underlain by quartzites and quartz schists, whereas the weathered profile consists of sandy and silty clay with some gravel. Twenty-two multi-electrode resistivity profiling lines were taken using the Wenner array. The electrode spacing ranged from 1 to 8 m with a station interval of 1 m. Resistivity data analysis involved inversion using a rapid least-square technique and construction of iso-apparent resistivity contour maps. Four pits were dug, with two of the pits located on points of resistivity lows and the other two pits on points of high resistivity values. The pits were dug to a total depth of 2 m and soil samples collected from each pit at 0.5-, 1.0-, 1.5-, and 2.0-m depths. The samples were analyzed for conductivity and for Pb, Fe, Cu, Cr, and nitrate concentrations. The resistivity survey yielded low resistivity values at locations close to the septic tank and higher values farther from it. This agreed with the electrical conductivities measured for soil samples. Statistical analyses of the conductivity variation with distance from the septic tank yielded a negative correlation coefficient of between −0.92 and −0.52, indicating an inverse relationship between the two quantities. Similar relationships were established for analyzed chemical constituents. The environment is impacted by the septic system as shown by soil sampling and geophysical results. The results demonstrate that pollution mapping in a basement complex environment can be carried out using the approach described in this paper.

Institutional Challenges for EIA Implementation in China: A Case Study of Development Versus Environmental Protection

This paper provides a complete case study analysis of environmental impact assessment (EIA) implementation in China from planning to legal challenge, which is typical but rarely reported. The analysis takes an historical perspective on the regulatory and institutional structures through which EIA has been implemented in China, in order to evaluate the extent to which EIA has matured over the last 10 years. The case study relates to a proposed recreation/tourist development at Dianshan Lake, a protected water resource for Shanghai. Legal and administrative challenge began in 1993, when the case was initiated with a letter from the public, and concluded in 1996, when the case was decided in a court judgment. More recent follow-up research indicates that many issues have continued to be problems for EIA implementation in China. Policy implications in terms of regulatory structure, institutional arrangement, EIA procedure, EIA practitioners, and public participation can be drawn, and lessons learned for both the government and the developers. The study emphasizes the problem of relying on reorientation of existing institutions to promote new (environmental) priorities.

On the use of multi‐criteria analysis in environmental impact assessment in The Netherlands

AbstractMulti‐criteria analysis (MCA) is a popular tool in Dutch environmental impact assessment (EIA). This paper provides an overview of the type and complexity of decision problems supported, and the MCA approach selected to analyse these problems. Furthermore, the role of MCA in the decision process is analysed, and a special case where the MCA results were challenged in court is presented. The paper concludes with some lessons learned from the use of MCA in the Netherlands. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

On the use of multi‐criteria analysis in environmental impact assessment in The Netherlands

Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) is a popular tool in Dutch environmental impact assessment (EIA). This paper provides an overview of the type and complexity of decision problems supported, and the MCA approach selected to analyse these problems. Furthermore, the role of MCA in the decision process is analysed, and a special case where the MCA results were challenged in court is presented. The paper concludes with some lessons learned from the use of MCA in the Netherlands. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fuzzy clustering analysis in environmental impact assessment ? A complement tool to environmental quality index

In spite of rapid progress achieved in the methodological research underlying environmental impact assessment (EIA), the problem of weighting various parameters has not yet been solved. This paper presents a new approach, fuzzy clustering analysis, which is illustrated with an EIA case study on Baoshan-Wusong District in Shanghai, China. Fuzzy clustering analysis may be used whenever a composite classification of environmental quality/impact incorporates multiple parameters. In such cases the technique may be used as a complement or an alternative to comprehensive assessment. In fuzzy clustering analysis, the classification is determined by a fuzzy relation. After a fuzzy similarity matrix has been established and the fuzzy relation stabilized, a dynamic clustering chart can be developed. Given a suitable threshold, the appropriate classification can be accomplished. The methodology is relatively simple and the results can be interpreted to provide valuable information to support decision making and improve management of the environment.