Environmental Impact Assessment Reports Research Articles

Quantifying the impacts of oil sands development on wildlife: perspectives from impact assessments

Anthropogenic landscape disturbances, including industrial development, can have significant impacts on wildlife populations. In Canada, federal, territorial, and provincial laws require major industrial development projects to submit detailed environmental impact assessments (EIA) reports as part of the project application process. These assessments are meant to establish baseline habitat conditions and predict which landscape components will be altered by the project and to what degree. Based on these changes, indirect predictions for wildlife impacts are made using a variety of models, which can vary in validation adequacy and often rely heavily on expert opinion. In the oil sands region of Canada, wildlife species and habitat types used to make predictions are not comprehensive nor standardized between EIAs, despite a high degree of landscape similarity between projects. We extracted habitat model parameters, projected impacts, and anticipated mitigation effectiveness from 30 project EIAs. Despite all these projects occurring in the same natural region, we found very little agreement in the species used to assess wildlife impacts as well as the parameters used to model impacts on those species. Relative to unvalidated habitat models, we found that models receiving independent validation required half the habitat amount for proponents to conclude that the project will have an adverse effect. Our analyses have exposed many areas where policy could improve the efficiency of the EIA process as well as the scientific rigour underlying regulatory decisions.

The quality of environmental impact reports for projects with the potential of affecting wetlands in South Africa

In South Africa certain development activities, which may have a substantial detrimental effect on the environment, require an environmental impact assessment (EIA), including projects with the potential of affecting wetlands. A key element of the EIA process is the submission of an environmental impact report (EIR) for review in order to determine whether the report is adequate and / or whether a greater quantity of information is required before the project can be authorised. The information available to decision-makers in the EIR is a major determinant in the outcome of wetland protection and / or destruction. The quality of 4 environmental impact reports of large projects with the potential of impacting on wetlands was assessed using an EIA report quality review checklist. It is concluded that the quality of the 4 reports was generally satisfactory but certain areas were found to be poorly performed, i.e. identification and evaluation of impacts to the potential detriment of the wetlands for which the EIAs were performed. To improve the quality of the reports for projects with the potential of affecting wetlands it is recommended that a quality review checklist be used by EIA practitioners and authorities as an additional tool to the EIA regulations and the integrated environmental management series. This should assist in ensuring that key aspects are addressed before submission to the relevant authority, and will also contribute to establishing a baseline of EIR quality for evaluation of wetlands EIA practice under the new regulations promulgated in 2006.

Investigating the Utility Potential of Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the Temporal Monitoring of a Landfill

The collection of solid waste is a challenging issue, especially in highly urbanized areas. In developing countries, landfilling is currently the preferred method for disposing of solid waste, but each landfill has a limited lifecycle. Therefore, changes in the amount of stored waste should be monitored for the sustainable management of such areas. In this study, volumetric changes in a landfill were examined using a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Aerial photographs obtained from five different flights, covering approximately two years, were used in the volume calculations. Values representing the amount of remaining space between the solid waste and a reference plane were determined using digital elevation models, which were produced based on the structure from motion (SfM) approach. The obtained results and potential of UAVs in the photogrammetric survey of a landfill were further evaluated and interpreted by considering other possible techniques, ongoing progress, and the information existing in an environmental impact assessment report. As a result of the study, it was proved that SfM carried out using a low-cost UAV has a high potential for use in the reconstruction of a landfill. Outcomes were obtained over a short period, without the need for direct contact with the solid waste, making the UAV preferable for use in planning and decision-making studies.

Administrative approaches adopted for Independent Environment Checker in a Hong Kong construction site

Background: environmental permits (EPs) issued by Environmental Protection Department (EPD) require an independent Environmental Checker (IEC) to have reviews and audits. Environmental protection measures mentioned in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and other mandatory obligations should be conducted by the Environmental Team (ET) and other relevant parties in construction site. The purposes: objective of the study explores then formulates ideal approaches via theoretical and overseas empirical cases for IEC reviewing and auditing environmental protections measures done by ET and other parties in Hong Kong construction site. Methodology: Desktop research is preliminarily adopted. Language for relevant documents and related information are English from source of documents review and case studies. Content analysis identifies the essential issues. Findings: The appearance frequencies of implementation schedule of the mitigation measures totally are 2 times in EIA report and Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) manual respectively. Searching good cases studies are for imitations. Results from findings and discussions in relation to objective of this study and formulation of administrative approaches are used for the IEC. Contributions: This study inspires readers’ more comprehensive thought for auditing the environmental works in a construction site and inspirations get from oversea environmental protections mitigation measures for our imitations.

Index System Research on Environmental Impact Assessment of Ecological Project in Xishui River

The problems were analyzed about the environmental impact in the construction projects of water conservancy in China. Some relevant data and relevant guidelines were combined with the actual work which were referred to several environmental impact assessment reports. An index system was proposed about environmental impact assessment of ecological improvement project in Xishui River.

A crack in the Swedish welfare façade? A review of assessing social impacts in transport infrastructure planning

A comparison of social impact categorisation in strategic planning across European Union Member States shows that Sweden neither categorises nor breaks down categories of social impact in areas such as transport infrastructure development. This is surprising because Sweden is known as a country concerned about social issues and having a high standard of welfare. This article accordingly studies how social issues are handled during transport infrastructure planning. An analysis of different source materials will answer four research questions: 1) To what extent are social impacts integrated into environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports? 2) Are social impacts sufficiently integrated and/or does this treatment simply amount to ‘good practice’? 3) Can any trend be detected over time in terms of addressing social issues in impact assessments? 4) What key measures could increase the influence of social impact issues on transport infrastructure planning practice? The study involved a content analysis of six EIA handbooks and EIA statements (EISs) for 18 large transport infrastructure projects. The concepts searched for in these documents largely apply to issues of vulnerability, health, social problems, perceived safety, and alienation. Our data were interpreted through the theoretical lens of institutional interplay. We found that though social aspects are not new considerations in EIA research, they are included in only a small proportion of the 18 Swedish EISs, mostly in connection with health and accessibility. We believe that this does not suffice. We also found that the more recent documents allotted less space to social issues. It is unlikely that most individuals in the organisations that order EISs, or the consultancies that write them, are unaware of the broader interpretation of ‘human beings’ which includes social aspects. Based on increasing interest in social issues in planning and due to the lack of national goals and guidelines in this area, some municipalities and consultants have begun to create their own methods of measuring and assessing social impacts. This has resulted in multiple local-level practitioners who want to develop social issues within impact assessment, and possibly also to introduce a social impact assessment framework, but with no management or coordination among them. The conclusion is that in the absence of a government initiative to clarify how social impacts can be addressed in transport infrastructure planning, there is a need for an external network for organisations involved in transport infrastructure EISs.

Development of environmental management program in environmental impact assessment reports and evaluation of its robustness: an Indian case study

ABSTRACTThe degree of robustness of environmental management program in the EIA reports of 56 green-field and 28 brown-field environmentally approved projects was found to be low, revealing that it is not considered seriously by the EIA consultants and the decision-makers. EMPg, akin to EIA follow-up, specific to a project at a given location, is the most important output of the EIA process especially for the developing countries where priority is on the economic development by way of development projects and the EIA process has inherent weaknesses. A meticulously prepared, implemented, operationalized, monitored, periodically audited and continually improved EMPg in different life-cycle phases of a project could possibly offset limitations of the EIA process. Considering lack of guidelines available on the development of EMPg, elaborate guidelines are proposed. EMPg could be prepared as a separate document to facilitate development of project manual. TOR for brown-field projects need a totally different approach. Amending the currently followed EIA process and introducing an additional stage of mandatory approval of EMPg, and third party audit would improve its robustness.

How Robust is Executive Summary in an Environmental Impact Assessment Report for Decision-making: An Indian case-study

Executive summary part of an environmental impact assessment report has not received the attention of EIA researchers and professionals even though it is the only part that is often read by most of the stakeholders including decision makers in place of the main report. It is very important that the executive summary is written in a simple non-technical language highlighting key issues and findings from the detailed EIA study while being crisp especially in the developing countries where a large number of development projects are proposed for the economic development and the decision makers are under pressure of time. Executive summaries of 34 EIA reports of different project sectors and prepared by different consultants were evaluated. It is found that these have low robustness, are long, incomplete, and do not justify the term ‘executive’. Guidelines are proposed for comprehensive, effective and objective executive summary to aid decision making.

Land use change in Kelantan: Review of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports

Abstract Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an essential process in minimizing the adverse environmental impact and to ensure sustainable land use. In Malaysia, under Section 34A, Environmental Quality Act 1974, the EIA was made compulsory for any project that can be a threat to the environment. All EIA reports require approval from the Department of Environment prior to the project commencement. This study argues that land use change for agriculture and logging in Kelantan has a direct connection on the approved EIA. The objectives of this study is to identify a list of EIA reports that have been previously approved in Kelantan since 2000 to 2015; and to analyze the EIA reports embracing the trends of approval, the type of project, territory involved, the consultant involved, the time of approval, potential impacts and mitigation measures. This study had been reviewed 192 EIA report in DOE Kelantan and covered year 2000 to 2015. The review process to look at the type of project, territory involved, the consultant involved, the time of approval, potential impacts and mitigation measures. It’s covered three district of Tanah Merah, Kuala Krai and Gua Musang. To date, a total of 222 EIA reports have been approved in Kelantan. The results showed a notable increment in the approval trend of EIA reports. A total of 149 conducted EIA projects are fall within the territory of Gua Musang. Majority of the approvals are granted to agriculture and logging projects. Majority projects have passed over the area of secondary forest, oil palm and rubber plantations, permanent reserve forest and the watershed of tributaries of Sungai Kelantan. Land-clearing activities for agriculture and logging on a large scale have a significant impact to environmental change in Kelantan. Keywords : agriculture, deforestation, environment impact assessment, Environmental Quality Act 1974, floods risk, land use change

Quality of the guidelines for preparation and review of environmental impact assessment reports in Pakistan

ABSTRACTEnvironmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important tool for making informed decisions about development projects to avoid or mitigate potential adverse impacts on the environment. Guidelines are prepared all over the world to facilitate consultants and stakeholders to meet the objectives of EIA and to prepare quality EIA reports. The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency prepared environmental impact assessment guidelines for this purpose in 1997. However, the major issue is that, even after two decades, the guidelines have not been reviewed. This paper presents the outcome of research conducted on the contents and quality of the guidelines for the preparation of EIA reports. The methodology encompasses an extensive review of the literature as well as available guidelines and interviews with the selected consultants, using semi-structured interview schedules. Although the quality of current guidelines overall is found to be good, the likelihood they are followed is connected with them being updated regularly, taking on board opinion of EIA consultants and other stakeholders.

Towards the decriminalisation of artisanal gold mining in Eastern Zimbabwe

This paper will look at recent move by the government of Zimbabwe to decriminalise artisanal gold mining. Focus will be on ASM activities in Penhalonga, Eastern Zimbabwe where I carried out ethnographic fieldwork through interviewing makorokozas (small scale miners). Results of this research will show the complex nature of formalising ASM largely because of contradictions in policy implementation by the government over time. In the wake of periodic clampdown operations on ASM by the government - the paper will anlyse the relationship between the police and makorokozas. I will demonstrate that although thier relationship was sometimes fraught they were many moments when they negotiated mutually beneficial settlements in the interest of economic benefits accrued from the mining. However, lately, the government of Zimbabwe has introduced new measures that seek to promote the growth of ASM and its decriminalisation. Mining permit application fees have been reduced, environmental impact assessment reports have been scrapped and makorozas are now free to sell their gold without fear of police persecution.

Effect characterization in social impact assessment: a scan of current practice

ABSTRACTGood-practice guidance for impact assessment (IA) consistently recommends that IA practitioners characterize impacts using parameters such as magnitude, likelihood and geographic extent. In practice, however, this guidance is not always followed. In order to identify the extent to which impacts are characterized for social topics, this paper reviewed of the social assessment sections of 57 environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports from 12 countries. The review found that 61% attempted to characterize impacts for social topics, while 39% did not. Of the 61% that characterized impacts, just over half (54%) provided transparent definitions for effect levels (e.g. low, medium and high). The research results shine a light on the lack of consistency in thoroughly, appropriately and transparently characterizing social effects. Advancing this discussion amongst SIA professionals is important, as it will benefit the quality of SIAs and mitigation approaches in the future. Finally, this paper puts forward a proposed model for social effect characterization parameters that can be used and adapted for future assessments.Abbreviation: EIA: environmental impact assessment; IA: impact assessment; SIA: socio-economic impact assessment.

Characteristics and Practices of Ecological Flow in Rivers with Flow Reductions Due to Water Storage and Hydropower Projects in China

Water and flow reductions in the channels downstream of water storage and hydropower projects have significant impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Understanding and analyzing the ecosystem status is of great significance to facilitate the protection of riverine ecosystems. A database was established based on the 2000–2017 environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports on water storage and hydropower projects in China, and corresponding analysis software was built based on an ArcGIS spatial analysis platform. The projects in China are mainly found in the Yangtze and Pearl River basins and in south-western China. The hydropower projects have a larger influence than the water storage projects on the flow of downstream rivers sections, and most of the hydropower projects, especially the water diversion projects, cause flow reductions in the downstream rivers. An ecological flow management mechanism in China implemented in 2006 provided a promising method to alleviate river flow reductions. However, there is still only one kind of ecological flow calculation method and few ecological flow regulation measures in use. Based on the advantages and problems of the existing ecological flow management system, this paper proposes a management scheme based on a regional-engineering calculation method. The results can facilitate decision making in ecological flow management.

The mitigation hierarchy upside down – a study of nature protection measures in Danish infrastructure projects

This paper presents a Danish study of mitigation directed at nature protection in environmental impact assessment (EIA) of infrastructure projects. The study is based on a document analysis of EIA reports, a workshop held with EIA professionals, and a study of two cases. The paper takes a point of departure in the mitigation hierarchy as a central conceptual framework, identifies which mitigation measures have been suggested in the EIA reports, and compares this to the mitigation hierarchy. Further, the paper explores the dynamics behind which mitigation measures are chosen and later implemented. The findings point to a discrepancy between the prevention principle embedded in the mitigation hierarchy and the actual EIA practice with increased use of nature compensation. Further, the research reveals significant variation in the design of mitigation measures, e.g. in the level of detail used in describing them and the level of clarity as to aims and actions.

Openness, transparency and public participation in the governance of uranium mining in Greenland: a legal and political track record

ABSTRACTThis article examines the implementation of the principles of openness, transparency and public participation in the decision-making regarding the conditions for uranium mining in Greenland from a legal and political perspective. The time frame covers the period from the exploration for minerals before World War II to 2016–2017 when the current Greenlandic authorities prepared a licence for a project of extraction of rare earth elements and uranium in Kvanefjeld. It is shown that the issue of openness, transparency and public participation in Greenland is a longstanding issue and that the current governance does not permit public access to a draft environmental impact assessment report, impairing public participation in decision-making, and preventing the environmental consequences of these activities from being considered as a public concern. It is argued that sovereignty–its consolidation and the accession to it–has impacted the design of governance in Greenland and that the constraints put on the full implementation of the legal principles of openness, transparency and public participation in the governance of uranium mining in Greenland, amongst other factors, point to a current hybrid political and legal order in the context of a political agenda of independence.

Land take and the effectiveness of project screening in Environmental Impact Assessment: Findings from an empirical study

Land take is emerging as a global environmental concern, and is particularly critical in intensively developed and land-scarce regions. This paper seeks to understand the effectiveness of the screening stage of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in addressing land take. Screening is the stage where a decision is made as to whether an EIA is required for a project. In many jurisdictions, screening results in three pathways: full EIA directly, preliminary EIA only, or preliminary EIA followed by full EIA. We compared the land take of 217 projects triggering the different pathways in a study region in Italy over a 15-year time interval. Land take was quantified by overlaying the footprint of the projects with a land cover map.The results show that while more attention was given to projects with larger land take impacts overall, the cumulative land take from smaller projects not triggering full EIA was considerable (40% of overall land take). The case-by-case examination conducted through the preliminary EIA was found to work better for some project types (ski areas and small urban development), than for others (quarries). Our findings lead us to advocate improvements in current screening procedures to ensure that the land take impacts are quantified and made explicit in preliminary EIA reports. Our evidence-based approach to determining land take in EIA provides a compelling basis for understanding ways to improve EIA policies, guidance and practice.

Practice on ecological flow and adaptive management of hydropower engineering projects in China from 2001 to 2015

AbstractIn this study, 96 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports of hydropower projects from 2001 to 2015 have been collected, and four parts of the contents including the project status, hydrological characteristics, downstream fish status and ecological flow have been analyzed by statistical methods. Thus, we built the ecological flow database of hydropower projects in China, and analyzed the differences of ecological flow release before and after the implementation of the 2006 guideline, based on spatial and temporal characteristics analysis in ArcGIS platform. We also analyzed differences between the calculation methods, release types, safeguard measures and monitoring measures of ecological flow. Meanwhile, we analyzed the ecological benefits of insurance for endangered fish protection. We focused on the effectiveness of ecological flow guarantee and shortages after the 2006 guideline. Therefore, ecological flow practices on hydropower projects in China have been summarized, and we suggested 17% of annual average flow as the ecological flow constraint red line, combined with the flow process demand. Then we put forward the prospect of ecological flow research and practice in China, by strengthening the research of calculation principles, cascade reservoir operation and ecosystem recovery and rehabitation.

Reflections on the Environmental Impact Assessment Processes in Turkey

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is a procedure that the environmental impacts of decisions on people, fauna and flora, soil, weather, climate, land, cultural heritage, etc. are taken into account before the decisions are made. Moreover, the EIA process has gradually been evolved to cover social aspects. However, Turkish legislation and implementation of EIA process seem to have significant problems when it comes to assessment of decisions on social aspects. This article will offer a critical account on the EIA process in Turkey with regard to the analysis of social impacts. The study will especially focus on whether the EIA reports in Turkey deal with the medium and long-term social impacts of the decisions in real terms and whether these reports have practical benefits in decision making processes. Moreover, the author will specifically ask whether EIA reports in Turkey assess the investments in terms of usefulness and sustainability. The main argument in this study is that those significant merits of the EIA process directly depend on the strength, efficiency and applicability of democratic participation mechanisms.

The Quality on Public Participation in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Reports in Thailand

This study evaluates the public participation section of environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports in Thailand by using a grading system and the principal component analysis (PCA) method. The aim is to identify the key factors that influence quality in the topic of public participation in EIA reports. Of the EIA reports, 82 were analysed according to date and project type in the transportation sector in Thailand. The results indicated that 84.6% of total EIA reports in the period between 1992 and 2005 are of low quality with respect to the topic of public participation. In contrast, in the period after 2005 the quality of this topic received grades of A and B, which accounted for 76.7% of the total EIA reports in this period. The PCA method demonstrates the process of development in public participation in Thailand. Key factors are shown to be the methods of public participation and public information accessibility.

Mainstreaming environmental impact assessment as a tool for environmental management in Ethiopia: Current challenges and directions for future improvements

AbstractThe Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was first entered into force in the United States of America in 1969 through the National Environmental Policy Act. Since then, the EIA was implemented in many other countries. In Ethiopia, EIA was formally introduced in 2002 by Proclamation No. 299/2002 after the establishment of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in 1995 and the formulation of the Environmental Policy of Ethiopia (EPE) in 1997. This study, which is based on a document review, interviews, and the application of a survey questionnaire, analyzes the procedures and practices of the Ethiopian EIA system, seeks to clarify fundamental information regarding the EIA system and characteristics of the key elements of EIA processes, and finally, offers suggestions that could improve EIA practices in the country. The overall result of this study shows that Ethiopia adopted EIA procedures that are similar to western models; however, despite approximately 15 years of experience, its implementation is still poor to the point that the use of EIA as an instrument of environmental management could be questioned. The challenges identified by this study include institutional, organizational, and professional capacity gaps, which, in turn, have resulted in constraints ranging from improper screening, scoping, and production of EIA reports to ineffective review, monitoring, and post‐project evaluation. Additional challenges to the system include poor governance and corruption, rapid economic growth, and the mushrooming of micro‐ and small‐scale enterprises that cause pollution and environmental degradation. This article also provides comprehensive suggestions to improve EIA practices in Ethiopia.