Environmental
Monitoring
Environmental Monitoring
1. Relevance of
Monitoring
2. Types & Scope of
Monitoring
3. Designing a monitoring 3. Designing a monitoring
programme
4. Record keeping and
5. Reporting
What is Environmental
Monitoring?
Environmental monitoring refers to the
systematic collection of environmental
data through a series of repetitive
measurements. measurements.
Environmental monitoring refers to a
process of systematic observation
Environmental monitoring involves
planning (monitoring programme);
collection and analysis of data/samples;
interpretation and; reporting.
Objectives of monitoring
1. To identify oversights during EIA
studies
2. To ensure that mitigation measures
recommended in the EIS are
implementable and cost-effective
3. To ensure compliance with 3. To ensure compliance with
environmental standards
4. To correct and direct the right way(s) of
implementing the project
5. To identify gaps in policies, legislation,
standards and procedures and suggest
necessary adjustments
Types of Environmental
monitoring
1. Impact monitoring: Detects changes in
environmental parameters during project
implementation.
2. Mitigation monitoring: Determines both
effectiveness and suitability of the proposed
mitigation measures. mitigation measures.
3. Compliance monitoring: Periodic sampling
and measurement of environmental
parameters to ensure that specific
conditions or/and standards are met.
4. Baseline monitoring: Determines the nature
and ranges of natural variations and
establishes, where appropriate, the nature
and processes of change.
Monitoring can be used to:
1. establish baseline conditions for future
use in EIA systems
2. determine the accuracy of impact
prediction
3. measure actual impacts and trends
4. facilitate impact management
Use of Monitoring Data(1)
4. facilitate impact management
5. facilitate verification of compliance with
approval conditions, standards, limits etc.
6. review cost-effectiveness of the proposed
mitigations to enhance expected benefits
7. ensure that the anticipated impacts are
kept within the predicted levels, if not
why?
7. ascertain unanticipated impacts and
manage them before they become
problems
8. increase knowledge base of
environmental effects of different
development activities
Use of Monitoring Data(2)
development activities
9. facilitate establishment of environmental
database at different levels
10.provide relevant information to
environmental auditing.
11.suggest direction to various strategic
matters
Designing a Monitoring
Programme: Steps(1)
1. Determine the scope of monitoring
2. Identify aspects or parameters that
require monitoring
3. Set monitoring objective for each
parameter parameter
4. Define sites and boundaries for surveys,
observations and sampling
5. Select the key indicators for direct
measurements and observations
6. Define how data analysis will be carried
out and result presentation will look like
Designing a Monitoring
Programme: Steps(2)
7. Determine the use of each information
collected esp. in decision-making
8. Decide on the level of accuracy required
in the results
9. Make sure that data format and 9. Make sure that data format and
information generated are compatible with
other existing data systems
10. Establish a system for recording and
responding to data provided by other
stakeholders e.g. local communities
11. Set minimum requirements for all
parameters involved in monitoring
Elements of Environmental
Monitoring Programme
1. Factors or parameters need to be monitored in
each phase
2. Frequency of checks for each factor
3. Nature of checks (i.e. sampling, site visits,
surveys, etc) surveys, etc)
4. Duration of monitoring
5. Analysis of monitoring data and interpretation
of the results
6. Reporting schedules
7. Organisation of personnel and other
collaborators involved in monitoring
8. Budget
Effective Monitoring
Programme(1)
A monitoring programme should have:
1. competent personnel
2. a realistic sampling programme
3. sampling methods relevant to source (i.e.
point source, 2 or 3 dimensions) point source, 2 or 3 dimensions)
4. innovations (e.g. automated stations,
contaminant tracing systems, etc.)
5. systems for quality control in
measurements and analyses
6. cost-effective data collection and analysis
methods
Effective Monitoring
Programme(2)
7. multi and inter-disciplinary
interpretation of monitoring results
8. provision for presentations of
monitoring findings in public forums
9. allowance for the inputs from third 9. allowance for the inputs from third
parties
10. effective reporting system for internal
management and external checks
11. appropriate databases where new data
are compatible with existing data
systems
Monitoring Report: Outline
The monitoring report should at least
include the following items:
1. Project profile
2. Purpose for monitoring
3. Phase of the project
4. Parameters/indicators monitored 4. Parameters/indicators monitored
(frequency, measurements and units)
5. Findings and standard levels (norms)
6. Actions taken and challenges
7. Cost implication of monitoring
8. Name(s) and title(s) of persons did
both the monitoring and reporting
