Environmental Impact Assessment Legislation Research Articles

Evaluation of Environmental Impact Assessment legislation in Pakistan

ABSTRACT Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was introduced in Pakistan in 1997 with the enactment of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act followed by EIA regulations in 2000 both of which remained in use for over two decades. The legislation has recently been updated by two provinces which the study aimed to evaluate using the Next Generation Framework (NGF). NGF is based on good practice criteria which is used for the evaluation of legislation. Strengths of the legislation are that it has exclusive lists of projects requiring either a preliminary or a detailed EIA, clear timelines for review and decision-making, requirements for EIA follow-up, and penalties in case of non-compliance. However, the legislation has multiple shortcomings; for instance, there are no requirements to do scoping, consider alternatives, and make EIA reports public. The framework is helpful to evaluate the quality of legislation and explore reasons for weaknesses in EIA practice. The good practices in the framework may also be used to formulate guidance documents. The results hold importance not just for Pakistan, but the international policymakers may also learn from the strengths and weaknesses identified in this study and revise their respective legislation accordingly.

Access to Environmental Justice in Canadian environmental impact assessment

Contemporaneous reforms to Canada and British Columbia's environmental impact assessment legislation have the potential to advance Access to Environmental Justice. Access to Environmental Justice is the ability of individuals and communities who are disproportionately and negatively impacted by environmental decisions to access legal and regulatory processes and to have their concerns heard and addressed through environmental decision-making and dispute resolution. Access to Environmental Justice connects concepts of environmental justice, public participation, the rule of law, and access to justice to provide a framework for evaluating the implementation of environmental impact assessment laws. We conducted a preliminary analysis of early implementation of legislative reforms in Canada and British Columbia. Our analysis indicates that a number of factors influence who is seeking to access environmental justice through environmental impact assessment, including geography, project type, and the availability of a legislative mechanism that allows anyone to request an assessment. Whether Canada and British Columbia's reforms are advancing Access to Environmental Justice requires continued analysis as projects continue to be assessed under the new laws.

Preparing for a Mid-Life Crisis: Section 92A at 40

Section 92A, the resources amendment, was added to Canada’s foundational constitutionaldocument in 1982 at the same time as Canada patriated its Constitution from Westminster and adopted the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The provision was designed to confirm and enhance the legislative and executive authority of provincial governments. As we approach the fortieth anniversary of section 92A, Canada appears destined for another federation-defining conflict over resource-related issues including the construction of new pipelines, legislative and policy responses to greenhouse gas emissions, and the reach of federal environmental impact assessment legislation. This article begins by examining the events that led to the adoption of section 92A and next assesses both how litigants have invoked section 92A and how Canadian courts have interpreted its text in the 40 years since its adoption. Earlier decisions relied on section 92A to confirm the validity of provincial or municipal legislation, but, in more recent cases, section 92A has been invoked to question the validity or applicability of federal legislation. Section 92A arose out of conflict with respect to trade in resources and the right to appropriate the economic rent associated with developing those resources. The current conflicts focus on the power to make laws with respect to the development and exploitation of those resources.

Challenges in Implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment Among Islamic Countries

Environmental destruction caused by development activities has become a major concern among the global community. To overcome the problem, environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been introduced as a tool that can help manage the environment in the development activities. EIA has been implemented in more than 100 countries around the world including Islamic countries. However, the implementation of EIA among Islamic countries has not been comprehensively understood. The objective of this study is to identify the implementation of EIA among Islamic countries and identify the challenges faced in implementing EIA. This study looks at the implementation of EIA from the point of EIA policy and legislation. As well as challenges from an enforcement perspective, the quality of EIA reports, awareness related to EIA and the adequacy of experts in the field of EIA. This study uses scoping literature review approach to evaluate past and recent studies in the implementation of EIA. The results of the study found that Islamic countries, which are categorized as high and middle income, already have laws, policies and regulations related to EIA. The study found that there are four main challenges faced in the implementation of EIA among Islamic countries, there are weaknesses in terms of enforcement of EIA-related laws, low quality of EIA reports, low awareness of project proponents on EIA and lack of Islamic experts in perform EIA-related studies. This study has identified the gaps on the EIA implementation in Islamic countries. To overcome the challenges cooperation among Islamic countries to share experiences and enhance mutual capabilities is urgently needed.

Benefits and drawbacks of EIA decentralisation in Pakistan

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) was decentralised in Pakistan in 2010. The literature mentions compromised EIA effectiveness in the country, but no previous study tried to investigate how decentralisation of environmental governance has influenced EIA effectiveness. This study is the first of its kind which explores the opinions of key EIA stakeholders regarding the benefits and drawbacks of EIA decentralisation. Thirty-seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with officials from environmental protection agencies (EPAs), Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) and former Ministry of Environment officials and EIA consultants. Interview data was categorised into themes related to pros and cons of decentralisation. The biggest benefit offered by decentralisation to the EPAs was to make their own customised EIA laws and regulations. However, to date, four EPAs have somewhat modified the 1997 Pakistan Environmental Protection Act and two have updated the 2000 Initial Environmental Examination/EIA regulations. Limited coordination between EPAs and MoCC, political influence and lack of accountability of EPAs were highlighted as the drawbacks of decentralisation. Some EPA officials, however, mentioned that the environmental condition of their areas has improved due to the autonomy of EPAs. Decentralisation is a good idea if provinces use their right to legislate effectively and some sort of accountability mechanisms for EPAs are introduced. The study holds significance because it fills an important knowledge gap. The experience of key EIA stakeholders from the entire country regarding a decentralised EIA system provides insight not just for Pakistan but to policymakers worldwide who may want to decentralise or recentralise EIA in their countries. Future studies may be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of EIA legislation updated by some EPAs.

A critique of the EIA Report selected from the East African region, taking into consideration what is required in an ideal of EIA Report

At present, every country strives to realize development for its people. Therefore, to achieve this requires the construction of various projects for the realization of a country's socio-economic and political development. However, the development of the projects is associated with various ecological challenges that can have an impact on society as a whole and the environment. Therefore, there is a need to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA), a tool that can be used to determine the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project before making a decision. The EIA process is linked to the detailed report containing all possible environmental, social and health impacts after, during and after the project. Therefore, this paper aims to deliver the critique of one of the EIA reports in the East African region. To achieve this, EIA legislation and guidelines for preparing and verifying EIA reports in the East African region will be examined. The critique contains the issues that include the advisory team (environmental and social impact assessment team), an executive or non-technical summary, a description of the proposed project, a description of the development, the local environment and initial conditions, the political, legal and administrative framework, and public participation/stakeholder analysis in the EIA process.

The mitigation hierarchy in environmental impact assessment and related legislation as a tool for species conservation: A case study of western chimpanzees and mining development

Global biodiversity loss is occurring at an alarming rate, with a growing consensus that we are entering a sixth mass extinction. Rapid human development and associated habitat loss, principally through agriculture, infrastructure and extractive industries, is a significant contributor. The critically endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) is at the nexus of the development-habitat loss conflict with 83% of the subspecies occurring outside protected areas. To protect its habitat, robust regulation of large-scale development, in particular through Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures that adequately incorporate the Mitigation Hierarchy Principles (MHPs), is required. We developed a framework to review EIA and related legislation in all eight western chimpanzee range countries and assessed how well they incorporate MHPs, focusing specifically on mining activity. Costa Rica was selected as a benchmark of good practice, based on the recognised quality of its biodiversity laws. Overall performance of the eight countries fell substantially below that of Costa Rica. Whilst isolated good examples were identified, the overall approach legislates for broad concepts but fails to deliver on detailed provisions. As recommended by the current regional action plan for the conservation of western chimpanzees, all countries would benefit from urgent legislative reform to better incorporate MHPs within EIA procedures. This study provides recommendations in that regard together with a replicable tool for assessing EIA legislation in other jurisdictions.

How can the effects of EIA procedures and legislation foreseen for the mining operation activities to mining change positively in Turkey?

Environmental criteria have an impact on the decisions made whether to realize mining operating activities or not alongside with criteria for production and investment such as reserve, cut off grade, sales price, cost. In this direction, according to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), it is determined whether mining projects will be carried out or not. Necessary arrangements have been made in the EIA Regulations since the first time they came into force in Turkey. And environmentally sensitive EIA reports were prepared to carry out mining activities. Additionally, the participation of local community to the EIA process is ensured and mining enterprises also contribute economically to the mining region. Turkey has adopted legislation similar to EU legislation and carried out its applications in EIA and other environmental legislation in compliance with EU legislation for the European Union (EU) membership. Thus, in Turkey, being sensitive to the environment, EIA for mining is carried out under a tighter audit and more controlled way compared to EU countries locally and no mining projects that do not comply with the environment are approved and current activities are halted. However, bureaucracy has increased in EIA assessments, permitting processes have been prolonged, and mining investments have become difficult. This situation can be observed with the decline of Turkey in the worldwide rank regarding the mining investment attractiveness index (IAI) category and the other categories determining it, or with the fact that Turkey doesn't have a steady progress when compared to the EU member states. For the solution of the problems in Turkey, it was suggested that legislation which would enable projects with EIA Positive decisions to be carried out by being subjected to only one law and being obtained from one institution was made. Also, it is beneficial to take account of the suggestion which says each mineral group shall be subject to different processes in terms of EIA due to the fact that each may have a significantly different environmental effect. According to the survey conducted, majority of mining sector agrees with this view.

The environmental impact assessment in Chile: Overview, improvements, and comparisons

In this study, we carried out a comparative analysis of the Chilean Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system using evaluation criteria compared against three countries to allow for an objective evaluation within the growing demand of society for a more creditable and trustable EIA system.A total of 18 evaluation criteria were selected from the literature, and four new criteria for comparing EIA systems were proposed. The Chilean EIA system was compared to that of Brazil, Spain, and Canada using the following four evaluation criteria categories: EIA Legislation (four criteria), EIA Administration (four criteria), EIA Process (eleven criteria), and After EIA (three criteria). A Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster Analysis for assessing similarity among the EIA systems of Chile, Canada, and Spain was performed: the similarity being 88%. A Principal Component Analysis shows that only 13 of the selected 22 criteria contribute to the variability of the selected EIA systems. The main strengths of the Chilean EIA system are the existence of Specialized Environmental Courts for the resolution of disputes and Appeal options before execution. The identified weaknesses are an EIA system with high centralization at the national level, the absence of consideration of project alternatives, no requirement for scoping, and that the process of Strategic Environmental Assessment is not binding.Modifications to the Environmental Impact Assessment System Regulation are proposed by authors as feasible improvements particularly in relation to, Decentralization of the EIA system, Alternatives for design, Scoping incorporation, Register of reviewers of baseline information, and the public information process and post-evaluation.The method used seeks out to serve as guidance for countries with similar environmental and social contexts, as well as environmental legislation improvement needs.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ASSESSMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN MALAYSIA, CANADA AND NEW ZEALAND

In 1975, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was promulgated in Malaysia after the enactment of Environmental Quality Act (EQA) in 1974. Although the EIA is integrated for nearly five decades, the effective public participation application for EIA remained scant in the Malaysian environment. This paper provides a comparative study on public participation application for EIA in Malaysia, Canada and New Zealand. This study is administered by analysing the current EIA process and EIA legislation pertaining to the public participation for EIA in the three countries via literature review. This paper examines the similarities and differences between the three countries on their application of public participation for EIA. It is paramount to examine the current application of public participation administered for EIA in the Malaysian environment with other developed countries to induce effective public participation for EIA in Malaysia.

A Case Study Of The Environmental Impact Assessment Legislations In Sarawak, Malaysia

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a planning tool used to identify, predict, evaluate and mitigate the environmental effects of development projects. In Sarawak, EIA is governed by the both the State and the Federal EIA Orders. This leads to ambivalence in determining the legislation under which a prescribed activity demanding an EIA falls. This case study aims to investigate the implications associated with the coexistence of both EIA Orders in the state of Sarawak from the viewpoints of practicing environmental consultants. The case study reviews the EIA legislations governing EIA practices in the State and includes a qualitative survey involving practicing EIA consultants to gather feedback on the implications associated with the EIA practices and recommendations to resolve the problems identified. The study shows that even though a prescribed activity is defined by the EIA legislations, different stages of the prescribed activity eventually become prescribed activities on their own, which demand fulfillment of different EIA legislation. Unclear demarcation of EIA jurisdiction and different requirements on the scope of an EIA particularly for earthworks also contribute to doubts among environmental consultants interviewed. Consultation, involvement and effective communication with environmental protection as priority are crucial to minimize any uncertainty resulted from co-implementation of both the EIA legislations. Future study can look into comparing perceptions on the effectiveness of the State and the Federal EIA legislations. The case study delves into a crucial issue related to EIA practices in Sarawak, Malaysia which has persisted without being formally addressed in any previous studies.

A comparative evaluation of the environmental impact assessment legislation of South Africa and Zambia

This study evaluates the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) legislation of South Africa and Zambia against the modified criteria developed by Wood (1995) to determine the extent to which they follow “good practices” and incorporate emerging environmental issues into EIA. We modified the criteria of Wood due to new environmental issues that have emerged since their formulation. Some of these issues are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). National Environmental Acts and EIA Regulations for the two countries were reviewed to evaluate the current legislation. We also used telephone interviews to gather additional information that was not in the documents. As a fundamental component of the EIA system, the legislation needs to be clear, concise and inclusive of all the major environmental issues that affect the performance of the EIA system. Literature reveals that the performance of the Zambian EIA system is generally low compared with that of some African countries such as South Africa and Ghana; especially in terms of the quality of EIA reports and substantive environmental protection. Therefore, we hypothesised that the Zambian legislation does not follow the good practice hence the low EIA system performance. Results, however, showed that the two countries are almost on a par in terms of meeting the criteria used in this study. Hence there is more to be done to improve the quality of both countries' EIA legislation. Nevertheless, compared with the previous evaluations by Wood (1999) and Harrison (2005), the results show that there is considerable improvement in the quality of the South African EIA legislation following a series of amendments.

Public participation in China's EIA process and the regulation of environmental disputes

This article reconsiders the role that public participation in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process plays in China. Whilst some commentators have found that public participation has largely failed to make an impact in China, this article argues that it has been an important focal point during environmental disputes over siting decisions. The principles of transparency and public participation embodied in EIA legislation have been prominent frames used to legitimize public action against locally-unwanted-land-uses when decisions are taken unilaterally without sufficient public input or notification. In this sense, the EIA becomes a lightning rod for citizen claims-making in relation to siting disputes. At the same time, these principles help depoliticize contention by channeling it within state-approved discourses, enabling officials to buy time and defuse tension. Here, EIA serves as a shock absorber, helping contribute to social stability when disputes break out. By showing how public participation regulations are closely intertwined with contentious politics, this article highlights the paradoxical and contradictory nature of public participation in China.

Reformed Environmental Impact Assessment in China: An Evaluation of Its Effectiveness

Since 2015, a “reform storm” of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) opened up in China. This study tries to answer the question of whether these reforms improve the effectiveness of EIA. First, we elaborate on the reforms along with three well-acknowledged components, including EIA legislation, administration, and process. Then, evaluate the reformed EIA system against revised Ahmad and Wood’s criteria. The results demonstrate that the revised laws and regulations are more stringent than the old versions. The EIA process is simplified, and its coordination with the pollutant discharge permit system is promoted. The interim and post-event supervision is currently more robust and the penalties are more severe than before. However, the hierarchical position of the Environmental Protection Law is not high enough and the coordination of different government departments is still challenging. In summary, despite the problems occurring at the initial phase of reforms, the effectiveness of the EIA system has largely been improved.

A Case Study Of The Environmental Impact Assessment Legislations In Sarawak, Malaysia

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a planning tool used to identify, predict, evaluate and mitigate the environmental effects of development projects. In Sarawak, EIA is governed by the both the State and the Federal EIA Orders. This leads to ambivalence in determining the legislation under which a prescribed activity demanding an EIA falls. This case study aims to investigate the implications associated with the coexistence of both EIA Orders in the state of Sarawak from the viewpoints of practicing environmental consultants. The case study reviews the EIA legislations governing EIA practices in the State and includes a qualitative survey involving practicing EIA consultants to gather feedback on the implications associated with the EIA practices and recommendations to resolve the problems identified. The study shows that even though a prescribed activity is defined by the EIA legislations, different stages of the prescribed activity eventually become prescribed activities on their own, which demand fulfillment of different EIA legislation. Unclear demarcation of EIA jurisdiction and different requirements on the scope of an EIA particularly for earthworks also contribute to doubts among environmental consultants interviewed. Consultation, involvement and effective communication with environmental protection as priority are crucial to minimize any uncertainty resulted from co-implementation of both the EIA legislations. Future study can look into comparing perceptions on the effectiveness of the State and the Federal EIA legislations. The case study delves into a crucial issue related to EIA practices in Sarawak, Malaysia which has persisted without being formally addressed in any previous studies.

The Race to the Water for Offshore Renewable Energy: Assessing Cumulative and In-combination Impacts for Offshore Renewable Energy Developments

Abstract Wind, wave and tidal energy are widely regarded as being the ‘good guys’ in energy production for their carbon neutral qualities. However, lurking in the shadow of this good reputation is the uncertainty about the impacts that this new technology will have on the marine environment. It could cause a potential conflict between carbon-neutral energy production and the protection of habitats, and the prevention of biodiversity loss. This article presents empirical data collected from three case studies in England and Scotland. This research indicates that the disjointed nature of the consenting processes for offshore renewables does not encourage full assessment of the cumulative impacts of offshore renewable developments as required by European Union environmental impact assessment legislation. The article identifies elements of the consenting processes, which fail to provide a full assessment of cumulative and in-combination impacts, and recommends changes to these processes in England and Scotland.

Improved SIA through DRA integration: lessons from a South African legislative comparison

ABSTRACTSocial Impact Assessment (SIA) and Disaster Risk Assessment (DRA) are two distinct fields, with broadly similar aims relating to sustainable communities, but usually regulated by differing regulatory systems. In South Africa, SIA is an integral but often neglected component of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), while DRA informs Disaster Risk Management (DRM). The potential integration of SIA and DRA is a new trend internationally. This study examines South African EIA and DRM legislative and statutory provisions, searching for commonalities that could support potential integration between SIA and DRA – a phenomenon not yet reported on in South African literature or elsewhere. The EIA legislation was found to have a strong biophysical focus with limited provision for social issues, whereas DRM legislation more explicitly places people at the forefront of risk reduction. Despite the observed differences, commonalities were observed in SIA and DRA’s shared purpose to reduce risks, increase community resilience and achieve sustainable development. These findings suggest areas which offer opportunities for meaningful collaboration between SIA and DRA, leading to improved SIA status and practice in South Africa and valuable lessons for other countries with an SIA-DRA dichotomy.

Enhancing EIA systems in developing countries: A focus on capacity development in the case of Iran

Sensitivity to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system's context is a precondition for being able to suggest recommendation to improving that system. Most recommendations for developing countries take inspiration from developed countries and fall short in their efforts to adapt to the needs of a specific country. In this paper, the authors aim to assess the feasibility of implementing suggested recommendations to enhance Iran's EIA effectiveness. One of the main drawbacks of the Iranian EIA system is deficiency of EIA legislation. However, based on the findings of a review of the literature and semi-structured interviews, it is suggested that by considering contextual factors it is not feasible to overhaul Iran's EIA legislative framework in the short term. Instead, the focus must shift towards increasing environmental awareness and human-capacity development so as to improve the EIA system over time and strengthen EIA legislation.

The role of environmental assessment (EA) in Iranian water management

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we reflect on the effectiveness of environmental assessment (EA for e.g. projects, policies, plans and programmes) in Iranian water management. Urmia Lake Basin (ULB) is used as a case study area and the extent to which EA appears to be delivering environmental protection objectives is established. Data were collected using document analyses, semi-structured interviews with local experts and site visits. It is established that activities are restricted to project level EIA (environmental impact assessment) and that EA is not able to address and mitigate the negative effects of extensive water exploitation through dam- and well building. Strengthening EIA legislation as well as introducing SEA is suggested as a possible way to address shortcomings, in particular with regard to addressing cumulative and wider basin effects.

Social impact assessment in the Russian Federation: does it meet the key values of democracy and civil society?

ABSTRACTContemporary social impact assessment (SIA) is rooted in the concepts of civil society and democracy. We analyse whether SIA as practiced in the Russian Federation as part of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is consistent with the key values of civil society and democracy. We consider whether the Russian EIA requirements enable preparation of meaningful assessments that effectively contribute to the decision-making processes that affect people’s lives. We review the Rsussian EIA legislation and its requirements for SIA and social baseline, and consider the EIA/SIA practice undertaken in response to these requirements. We specifically analyse the Karmen coal mining project in South Yakutia. We compare the EIA documents completed according to national requirements against the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) documents prepared to be consistent with international standards, as defined by the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards. We conclude that the national requirements for SIA in Russia and the way they are implemented do not encourage the development of meaningful SIAs that comply with the key concepts and social values of SIA, civil society and democracy.