Environmental impacts and their assessment

Abstract

EIA is essentially a technique for drawing together, in a systematic way, expert qualitative assessment of a project’s environmental effects, and presenting the results in a way which enables the importance of the predicted effects, and the scope for modifying or mitigating them, to be evaluated by the relevant decisionmaking body before a decision is given. According to these definitions EIA should be used as a planning tool and as a decision-making instrument, but in reality EIA has not been used as a decisionmaking instrument at all. So, the main objective of this document is to provide information and guidance on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) such as Principles, Objectives, Benefits and History. Screening is the most common method used to determine whether or not a project should be subject to an EIA. In this case, a sequenced approach is always appropriate to determine EIA requirement. If EIA is needed then scoping permits to decide which are the most relevant impacts, how to predict them and how to measure them

To identify, measure and predict relevant negative environment impacts there are numerous models and procedures for the assessment of impacts on the environment or any of its factors. Some models are general with pretensions of universality, others are for specific situations or specific aspects; some are qualitative, others operating with large databases or sophisticated calculation tools, with static character, or dynamics, etc. Finally, one thing that can be done in conjunction with identifying significant negative impacts is to consider appropriate mitigation measures to reduce negative impacts within reasonable environmental and economic constraints.