PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT TOOLS: TOPIC 3GE: 340 (Notes)

TOPIC 3

PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT TOOLS

3:1 Environmental Impacts Assessment of water projects

3:2 Water resources management models

3:3 Cost and benefit analysis of water projects

3:1 Environmental Impacts Assessment of water projects

§  Definition of  EIA

§  Importance of EIA

§  Original and evolution of EIA

§  Who are involved in EIA

·        Definition of EIA

 An environmental impact assessment is an evaluation of the possible impacts that a proposed project may have on the environmental, social and economic aspects.

It is concerned with identifying, predicting and evaluating the foreseeable impacts, both benefits and loss, of proposed development projects and alternatives.

The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers consider the environmental impacts when deciding whether or not to proceed with a project.

The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines an EIA as “The process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the environmental, economical, social,  effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made."

Importance of EIA

-         It helps to avoid mistakes that can be expensive and damaging in environmental, social and economic terms.

-          It ensures that potential negative impacts are foreseen and addressed at the early stage in the planning process.

-          It identifies and enhances the positive impacts of the proposed development projects

-         It promotes socio-economic equity and empowerment of people at a grass root level to participate in decision making.

Original and evolution of EIA

EIA originated from the introduction of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of the United States, in 1969.

NEPA required that all development project proposals be accompanied by a Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)= A clear description of how any adverse impacts could be avoided or mitigated, and an evaluation of alternatives to the proposed project.

Over half the countries in the world today have formal EIA. The application of EIA varies greatly from one country to another for instance some have: Mandatory regulations or acts enforced by requiring the preparation of adequate EIS before permission is given for a project to proceed

EIA guidelines which are not enforceable but generally impose obligations on the administering agency;

EIAs which are prepared in an ad hoc manner, often because they are required by funding agencies as part of the funding approval process etc. Ad hoc manner= done for particular purpose: done or set up solely in response to a specific situation or problem, without considering wider or longer-term issues

-         Despite the absence of EIA legislation and institutional framework, impact assessment has been applied in Tanzania largely on ad-hoc basis for over 20 years. Since the first EIA in 1980s, several have been undertaken in different projects ( Mwalyosi at al, 1999). Example

1992 Madibira Rice Project. National Agricultural and Food Corporation.

1995 Singida - Nzega Road. Ministry of Works

Who is involved in the EIA process?

Ø -Project proponents

Ø -EIA practitioners or service providers

Ø -Reviewers

Ø -Decision-makers

Ø -The public

Ø -Interest groups

Project owners/proponents

These are responsible for commissioning and paying for the EIA process.

They include government ministries and departments, private sector companies and development agencies (NGOs, local and international development agencies)

EIA practitioners or service providers

They undertake or provide inputs to the EIA process.

They include individuals; organizations; research and academic institutes; NGOs; and both local and international consulting companies.

Reviewers

They are responsible for 'quality control'. They are responsible for determining the level of environmental assessment required, and ensuring that the EIA process proceeds according to agreement, clear and comprehensive terms of reference.

They also review the EIA process and communicate their findings to decision-makers and other stakeholders

Decision-makers

 Are responsible for making decisions on project development once an environmental impact statement (EIS) has been submitted.

 They may include central government, local authorities and development agencies.

The public

 They are the most important stakeholders. The public can contribute ideas and information that can help to avoid unforeseen problems, improve project design and contribute to monitoring.

 Experience also shows that development projects imposed on local communities often fail or under-perform because they lack a sense of local ownership and public support. They can also result in conflict.

The interest group

These are groups that might not be directly affected by a developed proposal, but which have interests in particular aspects of the environment, such as conservation organizations, and NGOs.

 Many of these groups can make valuable contributions to EIAs.

1. Registration.

-         This is a simple administrative stage which requires project proponents to register officially their intention to undertake a development project.

-          This process allows new projects to be screened for their potential impacts by the appropriate authority

2. Screening:

-         -To determine if the project need the EIA.

-         - Not all types of projects require EIA

-          -Some types of projects have the potential to cause significant impacts and therefore need a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment

3. Scoping:

-         -Determining the scope of the information to be gathered during the EIA and to be covered in the Environmental Statement.

-         -Information from scoping is also used to prepare the terms of reference (ToR/ project charter).

-         Terms of reference describe the purpose and structure of a project, committee, meeting, negotiation, or any similar collection of people who have agreed to work together to accomplish a shared goal.

THE T.O.F FORMAT

-Short background of the project for justification.

-An overall objective of the project.

-Description of the activities to be performed during the study.

-Description of the location and duration of the study.

4. Impact Assessment

-The Consultant uses the ToR to conduct the actual EIA study.

- The crucial task is to identify likely impacts, assess and evaluate their severity and magnitude and propose mitigation measures to minimize potential negative impacts.

The output of this stage is an EIA report/ Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

- This includes an Environmental Management plan (EMP) as well as a Monitoring Plan (MP) that outline management and monitoring of anticipated impacts, including those, which affect local communities in the project area.

-Public consultation is mandatory when conducting an EIA and the proponent (through his consultant) must meet key stakeholders to get their views.

5. Review

-Once the proponent has submitted an EIA report (EIS), reviews/NEMC conducts site verification visit. The site visit is conducted to verify information provided in the EIS report.

  

6. Decision-making

Approval/disapproval of EIS is done by the decision makers /minister responsible for environment. 

  QUESTION 10

10. Discuss the Terms of Reference as applied in project Your discussion have to base on meaning, format and importance of ToR (Innocent & Golden groups).