Environmental Impact Assessment components and process

Patrick White and Nelly Isyagi

Environmental regulationsThere are many related and sometimes confusing

acronyms. • EIA: Environmental Impact Assessment• ESIA: Environmental and Social Impact Assessment• SIA: Social Impact Assessment• SEA: Strategic Environmental Assessment• EAA: Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture• ESMP: Environmental and Social Management Plan• ESD: Environmentally Sustainable Development

Environmental regulations• They all recognize the interlinked way that any new

activity can produce impacts on the environment and social system sometimes in unexpected ways.

• They recognise that some of the key impacts of developments are found away from the project site • either elsewhere in the ecosystem• outside in the community • linked to parallel developments in the supply chain.

Environmental Impact AssessmentEIA is;

“The process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made”

EIA serves two main purposes: • to inform a consenting or licensing decision; and • to identify mitigation measures which will minimise any

possible environmental impacts.

EIA and Aquaculture• Requirements for EIA and aquaculture vary

• Technology and systems applied – intensive production that has the potential to cause large impacts

• Most, but not all countries require EIA for aquaculture

• Scope of EIA• Mostly covers individual projects of large size or area

• Administration• EIA procedures mostly in Environment Administration/Ageny,

with responsibilities in Aquaculture and Fisheries Agencies for technical evaluation of the project

ImplementationAdministration may take place at different levels

• Central Government• Regional government• Local Government• Other, such as Development Organisations

• EIA requirements generally include Environmental Management Plans but follow up is limited in some countries

• Public participation widely required

Environmental Aspects and Legal Procedures

REGULATION

Licensing

Monitoring

Pre-Licensing

ProjectProposal

ProjectApprovalEIA

WaterQuality

Environmental Impact Assessment – Fish cages

Physical data

• Temperature

• Wind & Current: speed & direction

• Bathymetry

• Granulometry

• Turbidity*

Biological Data

• Phytoplankton biomass & diversity

• Benthic community biomass & diversity

• Sea grass distribution

Carrying Capacity Models and Index of impact

Study of the oceanographic

conditions

• Hydrodynamic measurements• Currents• Waves• Hydrodynamic modeling

Chemical Data

• Organic Carbon• Suspended Solid• Total Nitrogen• Total phosphate• Chlorophill-a• Dissolved oxygen

EIAEIA is most commonly applied to intensive marine fin-fish

culture (especially salmon culture) and to proposals for large scale shrimp farm developments.

However, some countries with significant large scale aquaculture industries (including Japan, Thailand and parts of Europe) do not apply EIA to aquaculture development, but rather rely on a range of alternative environmental management procedures.

EIAFull EIA is not applied to the bulk of global aquaculture

production. This is because most production is small scale, and in many

cases is a traditional activity. EIA is not generally applied to agriculture for similar

reasons. There are less rigorous forms of environmental assessment

(environmental declarations; initial environmental assessment etc.) which are increasingly applied as part of the permitting or licensing procedure for small scale aquaculture developments.

Typical EIA process

ScreeningInitial Environmental

Examination (IEE)

EIA NotRequired

EIARequired

MonitoringEIA Audit and

Evaluation

IEEReview

Scoping/Terms of

Reference

Full ScaleEIA

EvaluateOptions

EIA NotApproved

EIAReview

DecisionMaking

EIAApproved

ScreeningThe first stage is usually screening stage at which

applications are filtered by the environmental authority and a decision is determined

• if EIA , or what level of EIA, is required • if no EIA is required. Most countries apply thresholds which may include area,

production level, intensity, technology, or species. In some cases EIA is triggered by specific characteristics,

such as introduction of alien species.

Screening• A project can also be rejected at this point as

environmentally unsustainable. • It is an important stage, and in the context of

aquaculture there are choices to be considered over the liability of small-scale farmers, farm intensification and the risks of eventual impacts.

• The decisions taken can be important for the future of a proposal • Whether the project can go ahead or not• cost to undertake the study to the investor• should further more detailed studies be required by the agency.

Scale• The applications which carry the most risk (large scale,

most intensive culture methods or location in a sensitive area) are usually liable to undertake a full in-depth EIA.

• The small pond farms are usually exempted• Medium scale enterprises may have to undergo a limited

assessment before being given environmental approval. • The aim of this option is to verify that the applicant has

already made an effort in the project planning to integrate environmental concerns into the siting and methods to be used.

ScopingIf screening identifies the need for EIA, most national

procedures undertake the second phase – scoping to determine the issues likely to be of most importance during the EIA and eliminates those that are of little concern

The use of risk assessment at this stage is required to allow the EIA to focus on the impacts that might have the highest risk.

In this way, EIA studies are focused on the significant effects so that time and money are not wasted on unnecessary attention to minor impacts.

ScopingOnce the scoping is completed, terms of reference for the

EIA studies are agreed upon, public consultation can be planned and initiated at this stage so that the concerns and priorities of the local communities are taken on board as early as possible.

However public consultation is not always usual in practice.

EIA studiesInvestigations and evaluation of potential impacts identified in

the terms of reference • This stage forms the heart of the EIA process and involves a

detailed assessment and analysis of all the important potential impacts identified during the scoping stage.

• The studies are normally the responsibility of the farmer/promoter and he may often hire specialists especially for the larger projects.

• The end product is an EIA report (or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which forms the basis for institutional review and the decisions on the final approval for the project.

Environmental baseline• Identification and prediction of the magnitude of

eventual impacts needs to be undertaken against an environmental baseline

• Where this baseline information does not already exist, the necessary data must be obtained as part of the EIA.

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Acceptable limits• It is necessary to determine the acceptable level of

impact of the new activity. • For technical parameters these can be published by the

national agency e.g• Water quality criteria or standards (e.g. Biological

Oxygen Demand (BOD) in water effluent, chemical pollutant concentrations)

• Water consumption levels. • These standards have yet to be determined in many

African countries.

Consideration of alternatives • A comprehensive EIA is required to assess the relative

environmental costs and benefits in making choices between say aquaculture, and other alternative uses of resources.

• Consideration should be given to alternative aquaculture methods and technologies to be used by the project, and/or alternative sites, with a view to identifying those which can mitigate some of the potential impact.

• Local community preferences will play a part in some of these decisions and as a consequence are likely to be subject to various social and political influences.

Who can undertake the EIAIt requires skill, knowledge, and neutrality of the EIA

practitioner. However in many cases the person undertaking the EIA is

the developer or someone hired by the developer, Quality control of this stage is crucial. Some countries address this through registers of approved

EIA consultants; others through training or standard review procedures.

SignificanceAssessment of significance of the possible impacts lies at

the heart of EIA• Impacts for which there are published standard criteria,

regulations or for which levels of acceptability have been determined.

• Impacts for which the assessment has to be based on the qualitative judgment of various stakeholders

Risk assessment• Risk – The chance of something happening that will have an impact upon

successful commercial production. It is measured in terms of consequence and likelihood;

• Consequence – The outcome or impact of an event expressed quantitatively, ranging from 5. Catastrophic to 1. insignificant or positive;

• Likelihood – Used as a general description of probability or frequency. Can be expressed quantitatively from 5. Almost certain to 1. Rare;

Consequence Likelihood

1. Insignificant 2. Minor 3. Moderate 4. Major 5. Catastrophic

5. Almost Certain 5 = Medium 10 = Medium 15 = High 20 = Extreme 25 = Extreme

4. Likely 4 = Low 8 = Medium 12 = High 16 = High 20 = Extreme

3. Possible 3 = Low 6 = Medium 9 = Medium 12 = High 15 = High

2. Unlikely 2 = Low 4 = Low 6 = Medium 8 = Medium 10 = Medium

1. Rare 1 = Low 2 = Low 3 = Low 4 = Low 5 = Medium

Predicting possible effects• Effective assessment also requires accurate prediction of

possible effects. • Modelling of benthic effects and chemical

dispersal/assimilation is well developed for marine finfish farming and is being used as part of the process.

• Such modelling approaches may be more difficult for complex freshwater and estuarine systems with large numbers of farms, but simple mass balance predictions or box models can give indication of carrying capacity.

Stakeholder consultation• Stakeholder consultation is often a specific requirement of

more comprehensive EIA and is almost universally recommended but is not often implemented in practice.

• This probably reflects the significant costs and political complexity of public involvement, and the lack of decision making procedures which can cope with the range of opinions and interests likely to be expressed.

• Public involvement is to be encouraged – especially in relation to more subjective issues of landscape, cultural and socio-economic impact, and as a form of quality control.

Environmental Management PlansOne of the outputs of the EIA is an Environmental Management

Plan recognising that impacts will inevitably occurThis plan should address

• the design and management of the farm to minimise impacts on the environment and ecosystems

• Mitigation measures that it would take in the case of significant impact

• Contingency planning in the event of a major problem• the scope and timing of the monitoring program it will undertake

Mitigation measures• Mitigation measures and/or an environmental management

plan are often seen as key outputs of an EIA, and may serve as conditions for the issue of a consent or license.

• Generic mitigation measures are increasingly promoted through codes of practice or standard regulations.

• It is important therefore that any mitigation measures identified in an EIA do not simply replicate these standard provisions, but rather focus on much more specific site related issues.

Evaluation• Decision making procedures such as consenting or licensing

vary between countries. • A number of institutions and agencies (Aquaculture, Fisheries,

Environment, etc) can be consulted and final decisions made by technical or representative individuals or committees.

• The degree of stakeholder involvement or participation is often limited.

Final Approval Process• This stage depends on the individual arrangements of each

country system, and usually there are appeals procedures associated with it.

• It needs to be transparent and open to public scrutiny by all stakeholders, public and private.

• The review needs to be conducted by technically competent officers

Monitoring• EIA as a single compliance event is of limited use unless it is

combined with sustained monitoring. • Monitoring of the implementation of mitigation measures or

plans is undertaken to ensure compliance • Monitoring impact to the environment is undertaken to detect

any impacts that occur• Monitoring should be undertaken by the farmer, qualified

technical service providers or appropriate institutions

Monitoring• The extent of monitoring that is undertaken varies between

countries.• Some countries

• conduct random checks on farms that have been through the EIA process

• Require regular environmental surveys to be undertaken and reports sent to the environmental departments.

• There is a need for good analysis of monitoring information, and feedback into better farm and sector management

MonitoringMonitoring refers to the conduct of procedures to assess

the state of the [environment] system after development

Monitoring may apply to• the practical implementation of conditions or plans arising

from an EIA; • the state of the environment in the vicinity of a farm which

has been subject to EIA (by the farmer, or by the authorities);• the state of the environment more widely, which may be

influenced by one or many farms and other activities (cumulative effect)

Environmental Monitoring Defined• Environmental monitoring is undertaken to assess the

potential or actual impact on the environment and ecosystems and detect improvements or degradation in environmental quality

• In the context of EIA, monitoring provides an understanding of pre-development conditions and feedback on the actual environmental impacts of a development project or activity and the effectiveness of mitigation measures applied

Monitoring Program Objectives• Document baseline conditions• Predict potential impacts• Ensure that the Environmental Management Plan is being

followed and it is being effective• Monitor compliance with agreed conditions• Identify trends in impacts• Assess the effectiveness of environmental protection

measures• Review activities and/or mitigation measures

Implementing EIAs• Enacting the legislation is only the beginning for the national

bodies responsible for the environment. • Overseeing the EIA system requires substantial competent

staff resources to successfully review the different documents produced throughout the process, critically interpret the technical data in the EIA, take appropriate note of public concerns and finally take an important decision on based complicated evidence.

• Building the national capacities required for this is recognized as a priority.

Impacts from aquaculture in Africa• The most widely registered impact has been the use of exotic

species that have escaped from aquaculture installations and become established in the wild outside of their natural range, sometimes with disastrous consequences on local species and habitat (Moehl et al., 2006).

• However there is not sufficient background research into the consequences of these introductions to apprehend their overall impact on biodiversity, although in some cases the introduced species now contribute to economic capture fisheries

Legislation in Africa relating to EIA and aquaculture • Nugent (2006) undertook a survey of the legislation of 54

countries in Africa covering environmental management and more specifically EIA:

• 48 (89 %) countries have already enacted framework environmental laws;

• 40 (75 %) countries have enacted detailed EIA regulations; • these EIA regulations are relatively recent and 31 (78 % of EIA

regulations) have been passed in the past ten years, and 21 (53 %) in only the past five years;

Legislation in Africa relating to EIA and aquaculture • 20 (50 %) of these EIA regulations make explicit reference to

the requirements for aquaculture; this increases to 28 (70 %) if references to related infrastructure are included (e.g. reservoirs, canals);

• 16 countries with EIA regulations specifically mention the introduction of alien species as requiring EIA (40 %); • at least 24 countries have published detailed guidelines for

implementing EIA (60 percent of EIA regulations); • four countries have produced specific guidelines for aquaculture;

.

Legislation in Africa relating to EIA and aquaculture • 11 (20 %) countries have included Strategic

Environmental Assessment (SEA) in either the framework or the EIA regulations.

EIA regulations in Africa• Specific EIA enabling regulations have also been created in the

majority of African states although they are not so widespread and take various legal forms.

• Some framework laws go as far as including detailed articles concerning EIA in the main law, whereas in most instances provision is made in the law for subsidiary legislation to define the detailed obligations and procedures for EIA.

EIA regulations in Africa• These vary greatly in content: some do not specifically

mention aquaculture, which would be included in a general category as an “activity” requiring EIA if it is expected to have a significant impact on the environment

• Others specifically mention aquaculture, and if not requiring EIA for all projects, go on to define exactly the size threshold of aquaculture projects that must carry out the full process.

Implementation in Africa• The progressive introduction of EIA regulations in Africa over

the past 15 years has not yet resulted in a large number of EIAs being carried out in aquaculture.

• This is to do with the low level of growth of aquaculture at present and this can be expected to change.

• However there are already precedents in aquaculture in a few African countries where EIA is becoming an active part of the decision-making processes.

Implementation of EIAs in AfricaThere are some other reasons why EIA is not more widely used

in aquaculture: • aquaculture is not often perceived as “high risk” so is not a

priority to environmental authorities;• there have been few, if any, obvious negative impacts from

aquaculture in many countries; • the small-scale of most aquaculture in Africa; • a reluctance to put obstacles in the way of local investors

when local policies are focussed towards increasing food production and economic expansion;

Implementation of EIAs in Africa• the laws are new and untested and there are insufficient

trained staff in environmental and fisheries departments; • aquaculture is a low priority for under-resourced

environmental institutions.

Many of the EIAs that have been carried out tend to be for large commercial aquaculture projects that have often received investment from private sources overseas or support from international agencies or banks.

EIA processes to the small-scale farmer • Individual small scale farms have a low risk of impacting

the environment.• However clusters of small farms can cumulatively create

environmental impact.

Solutions• Environmental Impact statements• Programmatic environmental impact

Thank you

EuropeanUnion

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Co-implemented byFunded by