Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix Method Research Articles

Environmental impact assessment with rapid impact assessment matrix method: during disaster conditions

In the last several decades, Iran’s ecosystem has suffered due to the careless usage of natural resources. Cities have grown in an uneven and non-normative way, and poor project management has been a major issue, particularly in large cities. An even greater number of environmental factors and engineering regulations are not relevant to projects. Because of this, in order to ascertain a project’s environmental impact, an environmental impact assessment (EIA), is required. Using the rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) is one method of applying it to EIA. Reducing subjectivity brings objectivity and transparency. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a thorough EIA was carried out for the Tehran project utilizing the RIAM and other possibilities. This research is the first to combine the methodology that was discussed during the incident. Through the use of the RIAM technique, the environmental impact of COVID-19 was to be quantified in this inquiry. The research examined lockdown procedures and the COVID-19 pandemic to create an EIA indicator. In a real-world case study conducted in Tehran, Iran, the impact of the initiative was evaluated using the RIAM methodology during the COVID-19 epidemic. The results demonstrated that COVID-19 had both beneficial and harmful effects. Decision-makers were effectively informed about the COVID-19 pandemic’s environmental consequences on people and the environment, as well as how to minimize negative effects, according to the EIA technique that used RIAM. This is the first research to integrate the EIA during a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with the RIAM approach.

Assessing the Socio-Economic and Environmental Impact of Koidu Holdings on Local Communities in Tankoro Chiefdom, Kono District, Sierra Leone - Using the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix Method

The study used the RIAM technique to evaluate environmental sustainability using an environmental impact assessment through nine sessions of focus group discussions in the affected mining communities. The system's methodology involves assigning scores to impact component issues based on predetermined criteria, which are then transferred into arrangements that indicate the extent of positive or negative effects. The RIAM analysis reveals that kimberlite diamond mining has predominant negative environmental impacts across all three communities, A, B, and C. However, certain social and economic components reflected positive changes. Nevertheless, the positive impacts on those three communities are just about the same. From the total scores summary for the three communities, it is obvious that the kimberlite mining in the affected communities have negative effects than the positive effects. Based on these findings, recommendations were made for improvement.

Environmental Impact Assessment of Onshore Wind Farms in the Region of Central Greece Using a Modified RIAM Method

Wind energy is one of the most basic forms of renewable energy, which shows an increasing rate of development worldwide and also at the European level. However, this rapid deployment of wind farms makes the need for an impact assessment of this type of projects on the natural and man-made environment imperative. The present paper aims to identify and assess the environmental impacts of wind farm projects in the Region of Central Greece. A modified Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) method is used for this purpose. The methodology includes the identification of the existing onshore wind farm projects in the study area, the appropriate modifications of the RIAM method to respond to the characteristics of the projects and the study area, the qualitative assessment of their potential impacts during construction and operational phases and the computation of the Environmental Performance Grade (EPG) of projects based on the pro-posed modified RIAM method. The results reveal that although there are some slight negative impacts on the natural environment of the study area, the examined wind farms contribute positively both to the atmosphere and to the socio-economic environment of the study. This study extends the potential for using RIAM as a tool in environmental impact assessment studies of renewable energy projects.

Integration of rapid impact assessment matrix method and sustainability modeling for management of municipal solid waste transfer stations in cold regions

Integration of rapid impact assessment matrix method and sustainability modeling for management of municipal solid waste transfer stations in cold regions

Industrial waste management using the rapid impact assessment matrix method for an industrial park

Due to the growth of population and industrialization, a great number of problems associated with producing industrial wastes have been created for both the environment and human beings. The industrial waste management in Brujen industrial park, located in the western part of Iran, has been investigated in this study using the environmental rapid impact assessment matrix technique. For this purpose, the effective activities and components were classified. The determination of the best scenarios with the least impact on the environment was performed by developing the scenarios for possible industrial waste disposal and making calculations by the rapid impact assessment matrix method. The components of the environment were first classified into physical/chemical, economic/operational, biological/ecological, and social/cultural items. Afterward, with respect to the criteria of the rapid impact assessment matrix method, the importance of environmental impacts was determined by standard scoring of the developed scenarios. Ultimately, the environmental score of each component for the scenarios was calculated using the rapid impact assessment matrix method, and the best scenario with the least environmental impacts was selected through a quantitative comparison. According to the results, scenario 3 (pyrolysis) and scenario 1 (recycling) were found to have the most negative impact and the most positive impact on the environment. Scenario 4 (incineration), with its severe air pollution, obtained a high negative score and was excluded from the options. As a result, two systems of recycling (scenario 1) and the sanitary landfill (scenario 2) were identified as complementary to each other and were selected as a solid waste management method.

Avaliação dos impactos ambientais gerados na implantação das pequenas centrais hidrelétricas Canhadão e Tigre no Sudoeste do Paraná, pelo método RIAM

O impacto ambiental está relacionado à alteração realizada no meio ambiente, seja ela negativa ou positiva, portanto, ao estudá-los avalia-se as consequências de ações, para que possa ser preservada a qualidade do ambiente em todas as fases de desenvolvimento do empreendimento. O presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar os impactos ambientais ocasionados pela implantação das Pequenas Centrais Hidrelétricas (PCHs) Canhadão e Tigre através do método da matriz de avaliação de impacto rápido - RIAM. Para realizar tal análise, tendo o intuito de tornar o processo o menos subjetivo possível, procurou-se o auxílio de geotecnologias, levantamento de campo e documentos relacionados com as PCHs. Os resultados dessas matrizes permitiram identificar que os impactos negativos significativos foram: a alteração da vazão a jusante em função do período de enchimento do reservatório e / ou desvio permanente do rio, a inundação da vegetação com perda do patrimônio vegetal, o desmatamento do canteiro de obras, locais que são prejudiciais à produção florestal, assoreamento do reservatório, processos de erosão, degradação das áreas utilizadas para a exploração de material de construção e obras de construção temporárias. Os impactos positivos significativos foram: a melhoria da rede rodoviária local e, no contexto atual, as PCHs, são apresentadas como uma das formas mais sustentáveis de produzir energia elétrica, utilizando o potencial hidráulico da região estudada.

Evaluation of waste management options using rapid impact assessment matrix and Iranian Leopold matrix in Birjand, Iran

Population growth and the corresponding production of more waste as well as considering the lack of appropriate municipal solid waste management strategies in recent years have confronted the city of Birjand with huge waste disposal problem. This study evaluated different waste management options in Birjand, including open dumping, sanitary landfill, composting and recycling. Environmental impact assessment of these options was performed using two methods: rapid impact assessment matrix and Iranian Leopold matrix (modified Leopold matrix). The rapid impact assessment matrix method provides fast and accurate ways of analysis and reanalysis of specified components. Iranian Leopold matrix chiefly is used for the reorganization of the project impacts in both the building and operation stages. Composting option, with final scores of − 0.5 and − 2.34, respectively, in rapid impact assessment matrix and Iranian Leopold Matrix, had the least negative environmental impact. Also, as a result of both methods, open dumping had the most negative environmental impact. The result of sustainability determination for four alternatives showed that the composting, with S-Value equal 0.01 and − 0.162, respectively, in rapid impact assessment matrix and Iranian Leopold matrix, is more sustainable than the other options. Therefore, composting option was introduced as first priority and the most logical strategy for municipal solid waste management in Birjand. Unfortunately, open dumping is currently the most common method of waste management in this city.

The assessment of waste source-separated system in Tehran and comparative analysis between collection systems by RIAM method

This study focuses on municipal solid waste (MSW) source separated collection system in Tehran in 2013. Tehran demonstrates a poor level in MSW source separated collection due to insufficient equipment, mismanagement as well as weak public awareness. To improve the current situation of waste collection system, a comparative assessment of MSW collection is done based on environmental sustainability between conventional collection system and its pneumatic alternative. The technique that we use to assess two approaches is rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) method. The physical-chemical (PC), social-cultural (SC), biological-ecological (BE) and economical-operational (EO) aspects of two methods were evaluated based on the experts' judgment. In pneumatic method both PC and SC indexes, are improved considerably compared to another method, and the improvement of BE and EO indexes are also obvious. According to the results, pneumatic method illustrates the most positive effects and it is recommended as a priority of MSW collection system in Tehran.

Ranking of small scale proposals for water system repair using the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM)

Environmental impacts of small scale projects are often assessed poorly, or not assessed at all. This paper examines the usability of the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) as a tool to prioritize project proposals for small scale water restoration projects in relation to proposals' potential to improve the environment. The RIAM scoring system was used to assess and rank the proposals based on their environmental impacts, the costs of the projects to repair the harmful impacts, and the size of human population living around the sites. A four-member assessment group (The expert panel) gave the RIAM-scores to the proposals.The assumed impacts of the studied projects at the Eastern Finland water systems were divided into the ecological and social impacts. The more detailed assessment categories of the ecological impacts in this study were impacts on landscape, natural state, and limnology. The social impact categories were impacts to recreational use of the area, fishing, industry, population, and economy. These impacts were scored according to their geographical and social significance, their magnitude of change, their character, permanence, reversibility, and cumulativeness.The RIAM method proved to be an appropriate and recommendable method for the small-scale assessment and prioritizing of project proposals. If the assessments are well documented, the RIAM can be a method for easy assessing and comparison of the various kinds of projects. In the studied project proposals there were no big surprises in the results: the best ranks were received by the projects, which were assumed to return watersheds toward their original state.

Applying an improved rapid impact assessment matrix method to strategic environmental assessment of urban planning in China

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has become an increasingly important decision-support tool for providing information on the environmental implications of a policy, plan, or program. The goal is to safeguard the environment and promote sustainable development at the strategic level. Despite major progress in implementing SEA practices internationally, developing countries, such as China, often lag behind in applying SEA methodology. Lack of available data and time constraints arising from tight schedules create problems. The rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) is a potential resource for breaking through such difficulties. Our analysis of RIAM applications suggested that it could become a tool for evaluating strategic alternatives because of its applicability in interdisciplinary settings, its transparency, and its short implementation timeframe. To make it more suitable for the SEA context, we have developed two major improvements to the conventional RIAM process: assignment of weights to assessment indicators and the development of an integrated environmental assessment score (IES). The improved RIAM process was employed in an SEA of the development plan for the Nansha District in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province in China. It was used to assess five alternatives for development in Wanqingsha (WQS), a subunit of Nansha, where important ecological resources are located and where industrial development could impact the air quality in the neighboring Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The evaluation identified WQS-A04 as the preferred alternative. This alternative involved a minimal amount of industrial development – 10% compared with the most intense development alternative – and included important wetland preservation plans. The assessment results have been incorporated into the officially approved development plan for Nansha. The improved RIAM methodology is well adapted to the technical aims of SEA and decision-making structures in China. It offers the potential for delivering timely and quality results to decision-making processes. To achieve the desired efficiency, it is recommended that an SEA procedure take into account findings acquired from an improved RIAM application at an early stage, then, at a later stage, results from more comprehensive assessments conducted using more sophisticated methods should be added, if time and data are available.

Testing the usability of the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) method for comparison of EIA and SEA results

This study examines how the results of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) could be compared using the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) method. There are many tools and techniques that have been developed for use in impact assessment processes, including scoping, checklists, matrices, qualitative and quantitative models, literature reviews, and decision-support systems. While impact assessment processes have become more technically complicated, it is recognized that approaches including simpler applications of available tools and techniques are also appropriate. The Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) is a tool for organizing, analysing and presenting the results of a holistic EIA. RIAM was originally developed to compare the impact of alternative procedures in a single project. In this study, we used RIAM to compare the environmental and social impact of different projects, plans and programs realized within the same geographical area. RIAM scoring is based on five separate criteria. The RIAM criteria were applied to the impact that was considered to be the most significant in the evaluated cases, and scores were given both on environmental and social impact. Our results revealed that the RIAM method could be used for comparison and ranking of separate and distinct projects, plans, programs and policies, based on their negative or positive impact. Our data included 142 cases from the area of Central Finland that is covered by the Regional Council of Central Finland. This sample consisted of various types of projects, ranging from road construction to education programs that applied for EU funding.

Environmental and Exergetic Aspects of Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is already in the form of heat, and from the thermodynamic point of view, work is more useful than heat because not all heat can be converted to work. Therefore, geothermal resources should be classified according to their exergy, which is a measure of their ability to do work. In recent years there has been a remarkable growth of interest in environmental issues—sustainability and improved management of development in harmony with the environment. Environmental impact assessment is one of the most widely used tools in environmental management. In this study, the environmental and exergetic aspects of geothermal energy, namely the rapid impact assessment matrix method, and, specific exergy index, were studied first. They were then applied to the Tuzla geothermal field in Canakkale and Balcova geothermal field in Izmir, Turkey, respectively. Finally, the results obtained are given and discussed.