Addis Ababa University

Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction &

City Development (EiABC)

Course: Environmental Planning

Program: B.Sc in COTM

Lecture-3
 Presentation Contents
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Introduction
EIA

Procedures in EIA
EIA and Construction
 Brain Storming
o What do you understand from EIA or any experience to share?
o What is the linkage between Construction and EIA?
o What is the significance of EIA in construction industry?

o What do you expect to gain from EIA?

. INTRODUCTION
Bear in mind that:
Whenever any:
program
Policy
construction activity or
site development is introduced in to a country, society or specific area,
Two new things will be injected in to the Environment and the Society.
1. Positive +ve = Encourage them
2. Negative -ve = Mitigate them with appropriate measures

e.g. Road Construction: -----------------Discussion??

In the light of this all the fore-coming discussions under this part will spin
around on such issues
• Economic development in developing countries has been focused:
 On immediate economic gains

 Environmental protection has not been a priority in these countries;

 because the economic losses from environmental degradation often

occur long after the economic benefits of development have been
realized

• The past failure of development planning processes to take adequate account of

the detrimental impacts of economic development activities led to:
 The advent of environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes
• EIA was first employed by industrialized countries in the early 1970s

• Since that time, most countries have adopted EIA processes to examine the
social and environmental consequences of projects prior to their execution

• The purpose of these processes is to provide information to decision

makers and the public about the environmental implications of proposed
actions before decisions are made
 Development and Environment

Agriculture expansion, urbanization and infrastructure development are the

major causes of environmental degradation

For example;

with Agriculture expansion: Deforestation, pollution (water, Air and

Land) occurs

with Urbanization: Deforestation, pollution (waste generation) occurs

 Pollution is widespread.
Existing air pollution is being aggravated by increases in the use of low
quality petroleum and coal for transportation and energy.
The amount of toxic and hazardous material discharged into the
ambient environment is also rapidly increasing.
Urban populations are being exposed to un-quantified or qualified levels
of toxic pollutants because of industrial growth

 All these are the bad faces of development.

 It is these negative impacts on the environment that calls EIA to be considered
before any project, program or policy is enacted.
 Aims and objectives of EIA
EIA can:
Modify and improve design
Ensure efficient resource use
Enhance social aspects
Identify key impacts and measures for mitigating them
Inform decision-making and condition-setting
Avoid serious and irreversible damage to the environment
Protect human health and safety
 The EIA process should be

Purposive – meeting its aims and objectives

Focused – concentrating on the effects that matter
Adaptive – responding to issues and realities
Participative – fully involving the public
Transparent – clear and easily understood
Rigorous – employing ‘best practicable’ methodology
Practical – establishing mitigation measures that work
Credible – carried out with objectivity and professionalism
Efficient – imposing least cost burden on proponents
 Key operating principles of good EIA practice

EIA should:
Be applied to all proposals with significant impacts

Begin early in the project cycle

Address relevant environmental, social and health impacts

Identify and take account of public views

Result in a statement of impacts and mitigation measures

Facilitate informed decision making and condition setting

 EIA and Development Planning
• EIA has an important role to play in resolving the aforementioned environmental
problems through its ability to:
 contribute to environmentally sound and sustainable development.

EIA Inputs to the Project Cycle

• Increasingly, countries are enacting laws requiring EIAs for all major projects.
 Stages of project cycle
A generalized project cycle can be described in terms of six main
stages:
1) project concept
2) prefeasibility
3) feasibility
4) design and engineering
5) implementation; and

6) monitoring and evaluation

 EIA has a role to play at each stage in the cycle,
 Outputs of the EIA Process
The main goal of EIA is:

 To influence development decision-making by providing sound information on

environmental impacts and the means for preventing or reducing those impacts
 Analysis of Environmental Effects
• EIA analysis has three sequential phases:
 Identification

 Prediction, and

 Assessment

• Identification involves characterizing the existing physical, social, economic,

and ecological environment and identifying components of a development
project which are likely to impact that environment
 For example Results of an analysis of the environmental
effects of a highway project may include:

1. Noise: The planned highway may to pass through residential areas

which will disturb the surrounding residents.
2. Social Impacts: Social impacts includes the interference of the
highway with pedestrian traffic routes.
3. Water Resources Impacts: The flood which will be discharged in to
the nearby water resources will degrade the water quality.
 While the impervious highway surface would increase run-off during
and after rain, the steep gradients of the small watercourses which
drain the highway would make significant flooding.
4. Air Impacts: Air pollution from vehicle exhaust will pollute the air resource.

5. Traffic Impacts: The impact on traffic during the construction phase is expected
to increase congestion, particularly at the entry and exit points, and the presence
of maintenance vehicles, machinery and staff on the road.

6. Erosion and Slope Stability Impacts: Erosion is expected to continue through

the construction phases on embankments & cut slopes, especially where
vegetation cover was incomplete.
 Environmental Management Plan

 Environmental protection measures are taken to:

• Mitigate environmental impacts

• Provide in-kind compensation for lost environmental resources; or
• Enhance environmental resources

 One of the goals of the EIA processes is to develop an implementable

set of environmental protection measures

• These measures are normally set out in an environmental management

plan
 Environmental Monitoring Program
 Environmental monitoring involves the systematic collection of data to
determine:
• The actual environmental effects of a project;
• The compliance of the project with regulatory standards; or
• The degree of implementation of environmental protection measures and
success of the environmental protection measures.

 The information generated by monitoring programs provides the

feedback necessary to:
• ensure that environmental protection measures have been effective in helping
achieve an environmentally sound project.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• It refers to the need “to identify & predict the impact on:
the environment and

on man’s health and

well-being of legislative proposals, policies, programs, projects &

operational procedures, and to interpret & communicate information about
the impacts”,

• “The term ‘environmental assessment’ describes:

a technique and a process by which information about the environmental

effects of a project is collected, both:
 by the developer and from other sources, and
 taken into account by the planning authority in forming their judgments
on whether the development should go ahead.”
 Benefits of EIA include
Environmentally sound and sustainable design

Better compliance with standards

Savings in capital and operating costs

Reduced time and costs for approvals

Increased project acceptance

Better protection of the environment and human health
 

ACTORS INVOLVED IN THE EIA PROCESS

Project Proponent 
Consultant
 Interested and affected parties
 Decision Maker (e.g. EPA)
 EIA PROCESS
Prescreening

Screening

Scoping

Reviewing
  
Monitoring

Note: Each will be discussed in next slides

 The EIA process comprises
Screening - to decide if and at what level EIA should be applied
Scoping - to identify the important issues and prepare terms of
reference

Impact analysis - to predict the effects of a proposal and

evaluate their significance
Mitigation - to establish measures to prevent, reduce or
compensate for impacts
 Reporting - to prepare the information necessary for decision-making

Review - to check the quality of the EIA report

Decision-making - to approve (or reject) the proposal and set

conditions

Follow up – to monitor, manage and audit the impacts of project

implementation

Public involvement - to inform and consult with stakeholders

 Generalized EIA Process Flowchart
Proposal
identification

EIA required Screening No EIA

Initial
Scoping environmental
examination

Impact analysis

Mitigation
and impact
management
*Public involvement
Resubmit EIA report
*Public involvement typically
occurs at these points.
It may also occur at any
Redesign Review other stage of the EIA Process

Not approved Decision-making

Approved
Information from this process
contributes to effective EIA in the future
Implementation
and post-EIA
monitoring
SCREENING
 What is screening?

 The screening process determines:

 Whether or not EIA is required for a

particular project

 What level of EIA is required

 Not required
 Partial or
 Full
 Screening outcomes

 Full or comprehensive EIA required

 Limited EIA required

 No EIA required
 Screening tools (methods)

 Legal/policy definition

 Project lists:

 Inclusive — listed projects must undergo EIA

 Exclusive — listed projects exempted from EIA

 Case-by-case examinations:

 Determine whether projects may have significant environmental

effects

 If so, project should undergo EIA

 Combination of above
 Typical proposals requiring a full EIA

 Dams and reservoirs

 Resettlement and urban development

 Infrastructure (e.g. transport and sanitation)

 Industrial facilities (e.g. manufacturing plants)

 Energy and minerals extraction (e.g. oil & gas, coal)

 Waste management and disposal of hazardous and toxic

materials

 Energy development (power stations, transmission lines,

pipelines)
An Initial Environmental Examination (IEE)
Describes the proposal

Considers alternatives

Addresses the concerns of the community

Identifies potential environmental effects

Establishes mitigation measures

Includes monitoring and follow up (as necessary)

Recommended elements for effective screening in Ethiopia
 Mandatory application of EIA should be based on the list
established in Annex I of the EIA Guideline Document

 Case-by-case screening should be applied, based on criteria

defined in the Procedural EIA Guideline

(Get the doc and keep it for your future use)

Lecture-4