EIA

Environmental impact assessment Description of the technique Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process by which the likely significant effects of a project or development on the environment are identified, assessed and then taken into account by the competent authority in the decision-making process. It is a systematic process that examines in advance the environmental impacts of proposed development actions and therefore can contribute to better projects from an environmental perspective. The purpose of the technique Early work on an EIA initiative in Europe began in 1975 with the European Commission stating that an EIA procedure should be drawn up and adopted under the second action programme. Since those days EIA has moved away from being only a defensive tool to protect the environment to a tool that contributes to environmental sustainability in a more holistic manner with feedback loops to and from Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA). SEA evaluates the environmental impacts of policies, plans and programmes on a higher tier of the decision-making hierarchy (see chapter 2.4.8). EIA also provides the framework to consider location, design and environmental issues in parallel, potentially leading to improved relationship between the developer, the planning authority and the local community. The statutory requirements of the EIA process, such as the EU's EIA Directive, are generally designed in such away that they can be adapted to different situations and circumstances. Consequently the EIA is a tool that constantly develops within countries' institutional structures and the decisions made reflect their prevailing environmental politics. Circumstances in which it is applied The EIA Directive serves as a good example of the circumstances in which an EIA is required. This Directive has categorised projects that are likely to have a significant effect on the environment, and requiring an EIA, by distinguishing projects (Annex I, see Box 1 Annex I of project classes that always require an EIA ) where the EIA is mandatory from projects (Annex II, see Box 2 Annex II lists classes of project under 13 headings) where the EIA is discretionary. For the discretionary Annex II projects Member States must decide on a case by case examination, and/or by reference to thresholds or criteria, whether a project should be subject to an assessment or not. Annex III of the Directive sets out the selection criteria that Member States must consider when screening Annex II projects. These screening selection criteria are:

Characteristics of Projects (size of the project, cumulative impacts, use of natural resources, the production of waste, pollution and nuisance and the risk of accidents) Location of Projects (environmental sensitivity of geographical areas affected by projects, having regard to existing land use, the nature of the natural resources and absorption capacity of the environment) Characteristics of the potential impact (the extent of the impact, the transfrontier nature of the impact, the magnitude and complexity of the impact, the probability of the impact, the duration, frequency and reversibility of the impact

EIA In some cases Member States have set the thresholds for Annex II projects so high that in practice a large number of projects with a considerable environmental impact do not require an EIA. For example the European Court of Justice found Ireland's thresholds for reforestation, land reclamation and peat extraction to be too high (Commission of the European Communities, 2002). In some cases an EIA is required, not only based on the type of project, but on the environmentally sensitive location of the project. For example the EIA Directive requires an EIA for all projects that are likely to have a significant effect on Natura 2000 sites.
Box 1: Annex I of project classes that always require an EIA
Oil refineries; large thermal power stations and nuclear power stations and reactors; installations for storage or disposal of radioactive waste; iron and steel works; installations for extracting and processing asbestos; integrated chemical installations; construction of motorways, express roads, railway lines and airports; trading ports and inland waterways; installations for incineration, treatment or landfill of hazardous waste. incineration or chemical treatment of non hazardous waste; groundwater abstraction exceeding 10 million cu. metres per annum; works for transferring water between river basins; waste water treatment plants; extraction of oil and gas;dams;pipelines for gas, oil and chemicals; installations for intensive rearing of poultry or pigs; pulp and paper plants; quarries; overhead power lines; and storage of petroleum and chemicals.

Source: The classes are described in more detail in the Directive (Official Journal, 1997).

Box 2: Annex II lists classes of project under 13 headings

Agriculture; extractive industry; energy industry; processing of metals; manufacture of glass; chemical industry; food industry; textile, leather, wood and paper industries; rubber industry; infrastructure projects; other projects; tourism and leisure; and modifications to projects included in Annex I. Source: The classes are described in more detail in the Directive (Official Journal, 1997)

The main steps involved Box 3 Main steps in the EIA process shows the main steps in the EIA process. It is important to note that the EIA is a cyclical process with feed-back loops between stages as well as links to other evaluation tools, such as SEA. As a consequence the order of the stages are not set in stone.

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Box 3: Main steps in the EIA process

Step 1. Projects

Screening

of

During the screening process the developer has to evaluate whether a formal EIA is required for the project. It is the responsibility of the competent authority to decide whether an EIA is required and then make the decision public. The developer can also decide to voluntarily undertake an EIA without the formal screening decision from the competent authority. Volunteering to undertake an EIA can save time and costs later in the process. Step 2. Scoping The scoping stage sets the coverage and detail of the EIA process. Scoping evaluates which impacts and issues to consider and ensures that the impact evaluation provides all the relevant information. Generally scoping takes place between the developer and the competent authority. During the scoping stage those to be consulted, such as communities, local authorities and statutory agencies, are identified. The scoping ought to specify the project in such detail that potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts can be identified at a later stage. Description of the project/development action includes information about the purpose and rationale of the project and an understanding of its various characteristics, such as development location and processes. Description of the environmental baseline should include present and the possible future state of the environment, assuming that the project is not undertaken. The time span should be the same as for the project. Baseline data project description and mitigation measures should be developed with monitoring implications in mind. Evaluation of alternatives brings into consideration alternative means of carrying out the project, including technical and technological alternatives. Most of the possible alternatives that arise will be rejected by the developer on economic, technical or regulatory grounds. In the case of unforeseen difficulties during construction or operation of a project re-examination of these alternatives may help to produce rapid and cost-effective solutions. Step 3. Impact Analysis and Mitigation
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EIA During this stage issues identified through scoping are analysed and the impacts are defined. The prediction of impacts aims to identify the magnitude and other dimensions of identified change in the environment with or without the project, based on the baseline information gathered during the scoping stage. The significance of impacts could also cast new light on the scoping exercise. Box 4 Types of impacts to be considered during the prediction of impacts shows the types of impacts that ought to be taken into consideration.

Box 4: Types of impacts to be considered during the prediction of impacts

Physical and socio-economic Direct, indirect and cumulative Short and long run Local and strategic Adverse and beneficial Reversible and irreversible Quantitative and qualitative Distribution by group and/or area Actual and perceived Relative to other developments

Assessment of impacts assigns relative significance to predicted impacts associated with the project, and to determine the order in which impacts are to be avoided, mitigated or compensated. Mitigation consists of measures to avoid, reduce and if possible to remedy significant environmental effects. At one extreme, prediction and evaluation of impacts can lead to such adverse effects that the only sensible mitigation measure is to abandon the project. Like many elements in the EIA process, mitigation is not limited to one point of assessment. Step 4. Production and Review of EIS The environmental information acquired during the assessment is submitted to the Competent Authority by the developer together with the application for development consent. The environmental information is presented in the form of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS is made available to environmental authorities and the public for their information and to obtain their comments. For the qualities of a good EIS see the European Commission's guidance document The review involves a systematic appraisal of the quality of the EIS. In some Member States there is a formal requirement for independent review of the adequacy of the environmental information before it is considered by the Competent Authority. Step 5. Decision-making The competent authority takes all relevant information (including the EIS and the consultation findings) into account in reaching a decision on the proposed project. Step 6. Post-decision Monitoring and Audit
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EIA Monitoring should include both baseline monitoring (before the project) and impact monitoring (after the project). Post-auditing again involves comparing the impacts predicted in the EIS with those actually occurring after implementation based on the monitoring. This enables an assessment of the quality of predictions and of the effectiveness of mitigation measures. The main purpose of post-auditing is to provide feedback to the EIA process and apply the lessons learned to be implemented in future EIAs. Strengths and limitations of the approach The EIA process results in greater environmental awareness among the stakeholders and ideally the decisions ought to reflect this. However, EIA is only an aid to the decision-making process, making it more transparent and informed, but it is not a decision making tool in itself and does not guarantee environmentally sustainable outcomes. The EIA process can only lead to a decision beneficial for the environment if the required environmental policy and criteria are in place elsewhere. Decision-making remains an inherently political process and no techniques of rational assessment can balance away conflicts, which arise from the incompatible objectives of different interest groups. Rather the transparency and public openness enabled by EIA makes decision-making more political, not less. (Rees 1985, Sheate 1994) EIA is intended for the less strategic project level of the decision-making hierarchy. Consequently EIAs impact on Structural Funds Programmes, higher on the decision-making hierarchy, can only be indirect, relying on feedback loops from the project-specific level to the programme level of SEA. This is especially important in terms of achieving better monitoring and review of Structural Funds Programmes. The strengths of the EIA are closely linked to the quality of the assessment as well as to the developer's attitude towards the process. For example potential cost savings could go unnoticed if the EIS is perceived by the developer as a meaningless statutory add on. An example of EIAs potential as a cost saving exercise is shown in Box 5 Example: The EIA of Billund Airport (Denmark) and the strengths and limitations of EIA are highlighted in Box 6 Strengths & limitations of EIA. Box 7: Use of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in Denmark

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Box 5: Example: The EIA of Billund Airport (Denmark)

In order to reduce the number of homes exposed to noise, the airport proposed the construction of a new runway to the north of the existing runway amongst other measures things. Through the requirements resulting from the work with the EIA, it became clear that the same reduction in noise levels could be obtained by changes in the take-off procedure. This solution, which has been incorporated as a condition in the environmental permit, meant that the construction of a new runway was not necessary. The EIA had the following outcomes: A reduction of 1000 homes exposed to noise above the recommended thresholds A doubling of the flying capacity A saving of 350 ha. of farm land The preservation of an old Danish forest A saving of 40.4 million in the cost of construction Less environmental impact from the airport's operations Environmental approval of the airport - without complaints The airport has become a member of the environmental network of Ribe Amt Source: The European Commission's, Environment, EIA website

Box 6: Strengths & limitations of EIA

Strengths Improved public participation and co-operation Decision-making becomes more transparent Universal applicability (many positive outcomes in developing countries) Tool for innovations and cost-saving alterations Increases environmental awareness Tool for sustainability Extends into SEA as an integrated part of decision making Introduces a cyclical learning process into a linear planning process Takes into account transboundary impacts

Limitations Ignores politics and models of decision making Uncertainty an intrinsic factor The inadequate understanding of the behaviour of the environment To a great extent a commitment dependent tool Susceptible to bias and personal interests (developer as well as pressure groups) Quality of data (out of date or the level of detail may be insufficient)

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Box 7: Use of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in Denmark

During 2001-2003, the Danish Ministry of Environment commissioned an evaluation study on the effects of the EIA rules in Denmark. The study showed that there are important environmental impacts linked to the nature of the EIA rules and procedures. The study showed that changes were made to more than 45% of infrastructure projects for which an application was made to the authorities. Whilst the main aim of screening is undertake an initial assessment of the projects potential impact on the environment, it is also used to ensure that projects can, if possible, be adapted and revised to avoid a complete EIA. The fact that almost half of all projects were changed as a result of the screening could be seen as evidence that this exercise is achieving its overall aim and that environmental issues are increasingly taken into consideration by project developers. Amongst the projects subsequently submitted for a full EIA, changes were made to over 90%. In three-quarters of the cases, (minor) changes were made with a view to reduce the impact on the environment. Major, or even radical, changes were made to 6 of the 36EIA cases analysed. Amongst these were: a. b. Route changes made to four road projects during the EIA process. One project was implemented in such a way that it was no longer necessary to establish a gasstorage facility. The building of the gas-storage facility was very unpopular locally, and it was accepted during the EIA process that a change could be made which would render it unnecessary to build one. Radical changes were also made to the most recent of these projects, the Billund Airport, as a result of the EIA process. The change made to the project meant that it was possible to avoid building a new runway. It also saved DKr 350 million in addition to minimising the project's impact on the environment.

c.

On the basis of the surveys carried out, it was possible to conclude that applicants' knowledge of EIA rules resulted in projects which were less harmful in environmental terms. EIA resulted in projects with a reduced environmental impact mostly by means of traditional mitigating measures. Changes come about through dialogue with the authorities and from the input of various stakeholders during the public consultation stages. Improvements are achieved both before projects are submitted to the authorities and during the EIA procedure itself. Source: Per Christensen, Lone Krnv and Eskild Holm Nielsen for the Danish Ministry of Environment /Aalborg University (2003): The Outcome of EIA in Denmark. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/pdf/eia_outcome.pdf

Environmental Impact Assessment Principles and Process

EIA

Figure 1: EIA concept and eight guiding principles The eight guiding principles... There are eight guiding principles that govern the entire process of EIA and they are as follows: Participation: An appropriate and timely access to the process for all interested parties. Transparency: All assessment decisions and their basis should be open and accessible. Certainty: The process and timing of the assessment should be agreed in advanced and followed by all participants. Accountability: The decision-makers are responsible to all parties for their action and decisions under the assessment process. Credibility: Assessment is undertaken with professionalism and objectivity. Cost-effectiveness: The assessment process and its outcomes will ensure environmental protection at the least cost to the society. Flexibility: The assessment process should be able to adapt to deal efficiently with any proposal and decision making situation. Practicality: The information and outputs provided by the assessment process are readily usable in decision making and planning. Applying EIA...
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EIA EIA is considered as a project management tool for collecting and analyzing information on the environmental effects of a project. As such, it is used to: identify potential environmental impacts, examine the significance of environmental implications, assess whether impacts can be mitigated, recommend preventive and corrective mitigating measures, inform decision makers and concerned parties about the environmental implications, and advise whether development should go ahead. EIA Process... In EIA systems there are sequence of activities implemented in project in a logical sequence and are termed as EIA process. They are given in Figure 2.

Figure 2: The EIA processes in sequences of application

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EIA Project screening Not all development projects require EIA. Project screening will help identify the ones that actually do. Here in this section describes the various screening criteria. Scoping The process of scoping helps determine the coverage or 'scope' of the EIA. The methods of scoping is elaborated in this section. Baseline data collection A brief explanation on the concept of baseline data collection and its purposes. Identification of environmental impacts Described here are the various types of environmental impacts of development projects both beneficial and adverse. Impact prediction comparison of alternatives and determination of significance This sections covers the considerations for impact prediction, uncertainties in impact prediction and comparison of alternatives for impact prediction. Mitigation measures Described briefly under this section are the concept and objectives, types and interesting points, of mitigation measures. Public consultation and participation Public participation is a necessary component of the EIA. "Who are the public?", "How to involve them?", and "What are the benefits/disbenefits?" The answers can be found under this section. Environmental monitoring As one of the most important aspects of EIA, "Environmental Monitoring" is defined here along with explanations on monitoring principles, types and institutional aspects. Environmental auditing You will find under this section, the various types of Environmental Auditing and when it should be carried out during the EIA. EIA Benefits and Flaws EIA generates huge benefits in selection of project location, process, design, development actions, and decision-making, however, in the current practice of EIA there are a number of flaws, shortcomings and deficiencies. The table below, summarizes apparent benefits and flaws of the EIA.

Table 1: EIA benefits and flaws

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Benefits Provides systematic methods of impact assessment Estimates the cost/benefit trade-off of alternative actions Facilitates the public participation

Flaws Time-consuming

Costly

Little public participation in actual implementation Unavailability for reliable data (mostly in developing countries)

Provides an effective mechanism for

coordination environmental integration negotiations feed back

Top-level decision making

Too focused on scientific analysis (sometimes) Poor presentation of EIA report (bulky volumes, scientific explanation, difficult to understand) Compliance monitoring after EIA is seldom carried out

Triggers an institutional building

Achieve a balance between the impact of developmental and environmental concern Education and training...

One significant factor that could help improve the EIA process is good education and training. Currently, very few educational and training courses exist in developing countries that properly consider various EIA methodologies available in depth. Information on the legal and regulatory frameworks and institutional arrangements are also necessary. Education and training process are important since the fundamental factors behind all EIA predictions are still the best professional judgment and/or experiences with similar projects implemented elsewhere. Both short-term and long- term courses are necessary. These courses however, must be multidisciplinary, and the focus should be on the practical and operational aspects of EIA based on theoretical implications.

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Environmental Impact Assessment Project Cycle and Project Management

The relevant EIA activities for each stage in the project cycle are A. Project concept/identification At the initial stage of the project, quick environmental overview or preliminary EIA can indicate the environmental implications of any proposed alternatives. B. Pre-feasibility stage This stage identifies issues and impacts for investigation, which is equivalent to 'Scoping' C. Feasibility stage EIA study is carried out during this stage. D. Project appraisal and decision A decision on whether a project is feasible or not will be made at this stage. E. Implementation of the project If the project is feasible, it will be implemented. EIA report will be used as guideline during this phase. F. Management of EIA study Conducting an EIA report that can be understood by all the related stakeholders. A. Project Concept/Identification) At the initial stage of the project planning, information on the detailed project designs will not be available, but the basic nature of the project will be known (for example, whether it is to be a coal, oil or nuclear power station; a highway or a dam/reservoir) power output, and an area of land which is likely to be inundated and the site or sites where the project is being proposed
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EIA to be implemented. At this stage, the project may be subject to "screening" to decide whether a full and comprehensive EIA report must be prepared. If screening recommends that an EIA report is required, then the initial study will begin. At this early stage quick environmental overview/reconnaissance or preliminary EIA can indicate whether any of the alternatives proposed are environmental "disastrous". These can be eliminated from further consideration, and new alternatives can be identified. Major benefits of a "quick and dirty" overview are as follows:

identification of "viable" alternatives (from an environmental viewpoint), and provision of an early indication of likely significant impacts for further EIA work.

B. Pre-feasibility Stage The main EIA activities, at this stage, are identification of issues/impacts for investigation and, formulation of the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the EIA. The term used for this activity is "scoping" C. Feasibility Stage EIA study should be carried out:

during feasibility stage in conjunction with economic, technical and design work, preliminary EIA works such as scoping and preperation of TOR should be carried out during project pre-feasibility stage, if EIA is carried out late in project cycle as an "add on", the process of EIA becomes cumbersome, time consuming and expensive to incorporate the EIA recommendations in the project construction.

D. Project Appraisal and Decision During the project appraisal, a decision is made by the proponent or by the government, and in some case by the lending agencies, as to whether the project is viable. At this stage, EIA results will be put into consideration with feasibility study. An application for authorisation(s) has to be made by the project proponent to a local/central government agency. This decision is the final and determines whether a project is to be implemented. The EIA report also plays an important role in this decision making process. E. Implementation of the Project At this stage, in the project cycle, the EIA report will act as a "reference" guide to the implementation and use of mitigation strategies and monitoring schemes. Thus, the usefulness of an EIA report does not end with the "official" authorisation to proceed. It may form a basis for management plan to assist project implementation and management practice. For example, EIA report recommendations can form a part of contract tender documents. Lastly, after the project is completed, an "audit" can be made to determine how close the EIA's predictions were to the actual impacts of the project. This forms a valuable records for others conducting EIAs on similar projects in the future.

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EIA F. Management of EIA Study EIA differs from other types of project related studies in the scope and breadth of the work and usually include a diversity of topics ranging from archaeological investigations to noise/vibration assessments. EIA is a multi-disciplinary activity and this factor provides one of its major challenges in terms of project management. EIA report, unlike other project related reports, has many audiences. The readers/users of engineering and economic financial feasibility studies are the project proponents and the financial backers or supporters with relatively restricted readership. The situation is quite different with EIA reports. Such reports are read/used by the project proponents, financial backers, experts, authorising agencies and other organisations who deserve a rights to comment on an EIA report and submit their views on the desirability of a project and, of course, the members of the public. Thus, there is a challenge of facilitating open communications and understanding of the main issues. Project Screening Many projects are considered by the public and private agencies every year. Development projects have biophysical as well as social and economic impacts. Sufficient understanding of these factors is necessary for the initial screening decision. It is therefore, important to establish mechanisms by identifying projects which requires EIA, and this process of selection of project is referred to as "Screening".

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EIA Figure 1: The project screening process

Screening process divides the project proposals within the following three categories

project clearly requiring an EIA project not requiring an EIA project for which the need of application of an EIA is not clear

Screening criteria for projects requiring EIA To further assist in the initial screening decision, development projects can be divided into two broad categories...

Threshold criteria
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Impact criteria

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Size Location Output Cost/finance* Environmental effects etc.

Significant but easily identifiable impacts Significant impacts Sensitive area

Threshold Criteria This method of screening establishes the thresholds for key features of a project, or an environmental parameter which exceeded the thresholds, would require an EIA. Such thresholds can range from environmental factors such as the size of agricultural land used for a development project, location, cost, outputs, infrastructure demands, national standards for air, water and noise. Note: * The application of financial threshold criteria sometimes becomes misleading since small scale project with low financial investment may have significant environmental impacts. Alternatively, projects exceeding the financial threshold may not produce any significant impacts. Therefore, relying solely upon financial threshold may result in incorrect decisions. It is therefore recommended that such thresholds criteria be utilised in conjunction with other screening criteria. Impact Criteria These impacts are divided into three broad categories, reflecting various degrees of potential impact on the environment, determined on the basis of past experience with similar forms of development.

Proposal likely to have significant but easily identifiable adverse impacts on the environment and for which mitigation measures can be readily prescribed. Such project requires Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) report. Proposals which are likely to have significant adverse impact on the environment requires an environmental impact assessment report to be prepared Proposals of projects which are proposed to be located within or near environmentally sensitive areas, are required to have an environmental impact assessment report

Scoping Scoping is to determine what should be the coverage or scope of the EIA study for a project proposal as having potentially significant environmental impacts. It also helps in developing and selecting alternatives to the proposed action and in identifying the issues to be considered in an EIA.
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Aim of scoping...

identify concerns and issues for consideration in an EIA ensure a relevant EIA enable those responsible for an EIA study to properly brief the study team on the alternatives and on impacts to be considered at different levels of analysis determine the assessment methods to be used identify all affected interests provide an opportunity for public involvement in determining the factors to be assessed, and facilitate early agreement on contentious issues save time and money establish terms of reference (TOR) for EIA study

Scoping is not an isolated exercise. It may continue well into the project planning and design phase, depending on new issues may arise for consideration.

Figure 1: Methods of Scoping

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EIA

Methods of scoping... These steps are described in details below: (a) Making a plan for public Involvement A public involvement or communication plan is one of the most important internal planning tools for those conducting a scoping exercise. The major purpose of scoping at an early stage of project planning is to clearly define all the communities and agencies which should be allowed to influence decisions relating to the proposal. The plan should identify whom to talk to, as well as when and how to undertake the communication exercise. Consent must be obtained from the authorities and government agencies concerned. The project proponent, relevant experts, local people affected, as well as special interest groups should be considered for inclusion in the list of persons to be covered by the communication plan. Methods for involving affected interests and for collecting information include:

securing written submissions from relevant government agencies and the public, holding community meetings and public hearings, conducting preliminary field study/observation of sites, and conducting workshops/seminars and establishing an intersectoral task force.

(b) Assembling relevant existing Information

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EIA At this stage, information should be collected on the nature of the project, including preparation of a preliminary list of potential environmental impacts and practical alternatives, accompanied by maps, drawings and other aids for a fuller understanding of the project proposal. This key information will help in formulating appropriate mitigation measures and will form the basis of further discussion. (c) Distribution of Information to affected persons The information collected in step (b) should be processed and assembled into an information package and distributed to appropriate individuals and organizations for comment. Government departments and concerned local and regional officials should be contacted. For major projects, it is always advisable to issue a general public notice inviting public comment and to hold public meetings at the project site as well as at the central level to facilitate consultation and interaction. The project proponents should be responsible for obtaining and making information available to the parties concerned. In cases, where the individuals affected by the proposed project should be identified, information should be sent directly to local community groups. For larger projects, however, where the number of affected persons is not known, the information should be disseminated through the media or by sending the information package to the location within the area, where interested individuals may visit. The village communities concerned should be actively involved and made responsible for the collection of all written or verbal reactions to the project proposal from the local people. (d) Identifying major Issues of public concern All the concerns and issues raised by affected interests, should be compiled into a comprehensive list. Each contribution should be categorised and no issue or concern should be ignored or rejected in the compilation of the list. (e) Evaluating the significance of Issues on the basis of available Information Once the issues have been identified and grouped, their scientific validity needs to be carefully evaluated. If certain questions of a technical nature remain unresolved, a discussion panel or workshop can be organised at an appropriate venue to resolve the problem. (f) Establishing priorities for environmental assessment Although grouping of the issues is undertaken in step (d), a more detailed exercise should be conducted at this stage. Issues to which immediate solutions can be provided or issues which have no relevance to the proposed project should be dropped. The key issues remaining should be arranged in order of priority. (g) Developing a strategy for addressing priority issues Issues to which immediate solutions can be provided -- such as suggesting feasible alternatives or mitigation measures that can be implemented at an early stage -- should be removed from the list. For those issues which need further information in order to be resolved, a terms of reference (TOR) should be prepared in order to define guidelines for further study. The extent of information required for a detailed EIA depends upon the type, level, and magnitude of the project concerned.

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EIA Identification of Environmental Impacts: Concepts and Methods Any economic development project, whether it is a simple and small or a large and complex it has some environmental implications. The environmental implications may be beneficial or adverse, but the main objective of impact identification is to specify areas that are likely to be affected by the implementation of a project. Environmental impact, by definition, implies an alternation of environmental conditions or creation of a new set of adverse or beneficial environmental consequences caused by the action under consideration. Impact identification starts at the early stage of scoping when data on both the project and surrounding environment are made available. As the EIA study progresses, more data become available on the environment and socioeconomic conditions. The preliminary identification of impacts from scoping may be confirmed or new impacts may be identified as requiring investigation. Type of Impacts and their Consideration... A. Biological and Physio-chemical Impacts: Impacts in this category relate to effects on biological resources such as vegetation,...(more) B. Social Impact: A study of socio-economic impacts would examine project action that alters the existing social and economical condition...(more) C. Cultural Impacts: Project impacts on cultural heritage include historic sites, religious areas, or traditional practices...(more) D. Health Impact: The links between health and social impacts are apparent. Often, not always, health impacts depend on environmental impacts...(more) E. Economic Impact: The focus in economic impact assessment is the estimation of the change in economic variable caused by...(more) Type of Impacts and their Consideration A. Biological and Physio-chemical Impacts. Impacts in this category relate to effects on biological resources such as vegetation, wildlife, crops, and aquatic life. Impacts affecting soil and land forms, or creation of a propensity for soil erosion, floods and sedimentation, would be considered as physical impacts. Chemical impacts relate to project activities that cause a chemical change in air/water/soil quality. Smoke emitted from a brick factory, for example, may change the amount of sulphur dioxide (SO2) content of ambient air, while untreated effluent discharged directly into a river by a paper factory may change the chemical characteristics of the river. The biological component covers all elements, including different forms plant life, structures, functions and their interaction with other components of an ecosystem. Another component of a biological system is the animal life, which ranges from microscopic protozoans to large animals such as elephants occupying different niches in trophic-dynamic systems. The biological systems interact with physical elements such as air, water, soil, rocks and solar radiation, giving rise to a system known as an ecosystem. The material-cycling, assimilative, and productive roles of an ecosystem are the process that maintains the balance of nature. However, human activities which are intended primarily for self benefit tends to destroy the natural balance, consequently giving rise to man made disasters. Example Nepal: The Impact on the Mountain Ecosystem in Nepal
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EIA In the conclusion, in the process of planning of a economic development project, the consideration of following four major points should be made to avoid or minimize the adverse impacts of biophysical components;

the project activities, which may affect the bio-physical component of the project area, should be carefully analyse and the measures to be adopted to avoid any adverse impacts, should be implemented, the composition, structure, and abundances of flora, is the habitat for keystone animals, may also contains economic plants, endangered, rare, endemic and threatened species, and also constitute a primary components of biodiversity, should be protected and conserve from the damage likely to take place in the implementation of project activities, keystone animals constitute important players in food-chain, and may be endangered, rare, threatened, and endemic species, and form an important component of biodiversity, should not be affected by the project activities. Measures to protect such animals and their habitat from any adverse impacts should be included in the development activity package, and any activities, which affects bio/geo-chemical cycle within an ecosystem should be carefully analysed and efforts should be made to minimise the impacts through the implementation of appropriate measures.

B. Social Impact A study of socio-economic impacts would examine project action that alters the existing social and economical condition of communities within or around the project location. Socioeconomic impacts may prove either adverse or beneficial. For example, an expanded irrigation facility designed to enhance agricultural production would be beneficial; while the project might also result in water-logging that could produce a salinity problem with is adverse consequencies. Social impacts can be subdivided into the following:

demographic impacts - such as displacement and relocation effects; and changes in population characteristics, socio-economic impacts - including income and income multiplier effects, employment rates and patterns, prices of local goods and services, and taxation effects, cultural impacts - traditional patterns of life and work, family structures and authority, religious and tribal factors, archaeological features, social networks and community cohesion, institutional impacts - including demands on the government and social service, NGOs housing, schools, criminal justice, health, welfare and recreation, and

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gender impacts - the implications of development projects on the roles of women in society, income-generating opportunities, access to resources, employment opportunities and equity.

Traditionally, social considerations in EIA were limited to changes, that has occurred in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics because:

the changes can be quite easily quantifiable (such as number of in-migrants and outmigrants, family size, etc.), and the magnitude of changes can be indicated.

A more comprehensive analysis would required to include the following sociocultural parameters:

quality of life, social organisation and structures, cultural life, including language, rituals and general lifestyle. A cultural life makes a social group immediately recognisable as being distinct from other groups, and dispute-resolution institutions and processes; relationships between generations and value systems.

The first step in social impact analysis is the identification to social communities such as:

ethnic/tribal group, occupational groups, socio-economic status, and age and gender.

The analysis also include (the refinement of the actual capacity of the people, to make the major decision, regarding the uses of biophysical resources, upon which they depend for livelihood. The distribution of production is also another important aspects to be analysed. Identification and analysis has to be made on:

the existing local institutions and their systems of operation, for bio-physical resource utilisation conflict resolutions, authority and leadership structures, representation social communities, dominance, and their capability of handling the issues.

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EIA Information on resource availability and utilization, impact of inadequate compensation, if traditional system of resource use is disrupted are extremely useful for formulating environmental mitigation strategy in the process of EIA. Another aspect of social analysis is the consideration of EIA for a project which is being planned for implementation in an ecologically sensitive area, from which the local people are deriving their livelihood. People utilising resources in such an area, can be broadly categorised into three resource user groups:

those who are residents from generation to generation; stable, low-energy and sustained-yield production systems, operated by local people, based on knowledge transmitted through generations; well adapted and compatible with the environment, new settlers, who have comparatively less knowledge of the resource base of the area and of sustainable resource-use practices, and usually devastate the area through excessive use of biophysical resources, and non-resident people, who often visit the area for exploitation of biophysical resources and are potentially more dangerous than either of the above types.

While carrying out EIA, it is important to analyse all three types of resource users. The Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) of category (1) should be enhanced by involving the people in all levels of project implementation. Categories (2) and (3) of resource users have to be linked with local authority, leadership or any other kinds of regulating agencies in order to protect the biophysical resources. Particular attention must be paid to the consideration of indigenous, tribal, low- caste, ethnic and minority groups in implementation of projects; these groups in the society, become most vulnerable to dislocation and changes in socioeconomic status. Otherwise, this might, in turn, create more environmental problems, as they will be forced to adopt inappropriate production systems. However, in some countries, indigenous groups of people are provided resource-use or land use rights through constitutions, policies or regulation; but in many cases, such rights are nullified due to socioeconomic and political status. In some cases, one tribal group dominates and others are ignored, as in Africa; the caste system in South Asia is similar, where the lower castes and "untouchables" become most vulnerable. In such circumstances, as described above, the primary concern of EIA is not to encroach upon the lands and other properties of these vulnerable groups of people. Two important aspects have been recommended while considering social aspects in EIA:

it is always advisable to avoid involuntary resettlement, mostly in cases where vulnerable groups of people are involved, and in cases, where projects require land acquisition from indigenous territories, the people affected should be compensated adequately so that their standard of living is improved or, at the least, is at the similar level.

C. Cultural Impacts Project impacts on cultural heritage should be considered. Areas of study should include historic sites, religious shrines or areas, or traditional practices that may be affected.
24

EIA Cultural resources refer to archaeological, historical, religious, cultural and aesthetic values. Cultural resources are part of the resource base, it is therefore important that the development options, under consideration are screened for potential impact on cultural properties. In the process of conducting EIA, it is essential; to check; whether or not the area contains UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which now number over 300 sites recognised as having outstanding universal value. The national inventories of cultural resources, which can provide important data. Additionally, agencies like museums, universities, departments of archaeology, and other relevant agencies should be consulted. A project that involves a large-scale modification or disturbance of land and is located in an area where there are cultural resources, requires an intensive survey by qualified archaeologists. On the basis of findings of intensive survey the decision-makers have to decide, whether or not the project should go ahead or whether to adopt project alternatives or devise mitigation measures to be adopted, along with institutional training and monitoring requirements, etc. In all these processes, involvement of local communities is necessary. If in the project site, there are some buried materials of archaeological/ historical value, discovered within three meters under the earth's surface, they are called "Archaeological Chance Finds", and the construction contractor should comply with the following rules and national archaeological laws:

notify relevant departments of such findings, request a site inspection, completely halt work until inspection results are received, and decide whether or not to proceed with further work.

If sacred religious shrines needed to be relocate from the project area, the first step is to determined whether the shrines are of national or local significance. This has to be confirmed by consulting a national heritage register. If it is a national treasure, then the concerned departments, NGOs and local people should agree on whether relocation is possible. However, such an intervention should be scientifically sound, locally acceptable and nationally agreeable. If the shrine to be relocated is only of local significance, the local people, community leaders, NGOs and others should reach in consensus and local people should be involved in the process of relocation. Alternatively, if there is a series of shrines of archaeological and historical value, likely to be affected by development activities, then a strategy for restoration, conservation and management should be developed and implemented. D. Health Impact Traditionally, health issues have been given little attention in EIAs. Even when social impacts were being investigated, the effects of a proposal on individual mental and physiological wellbeing (health status and trends) were often omitted or treated in an unsatisfactory manner. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as a state of social and individual wellbeing and not just the absence of disease. If this view is accepted, then the links between health and social impacts are apparent. Often, not always, health impacts depend on environmental impacts, such change in habitat causing increased in vector or the likelihood of contact between the vectors and humans. The direct relationship between biophysical change, and incidence of disease may be one of the important reasons. However, there are disease pathways, which occur solely, within a social context. A common example is an increased

25

EIA incidence of sexually transmitted disease resulting from the influx of a large construction labour force. The following are reasons why the consideration of health impact assessment, should be integrated into the EIA process.

prevention is better than cure, as with other forms of assessment, it is specified in many forms of impact assessment legislation, environmental degradation is linked with health impacts, environmental, social and health outcomes can be improved, systematic consideration of health issues improves the legitimacy of the decisions made and the process through they are taken, and human health issues often prompt a public response and their involvement.

However, following are some difficulties in undertaking health impact assessment:

baseline data - lack of such data on human health in local communities, time scale - while environmental effects can take a long time to show up health effects, synergistic effects - the interaction of different chemicals, etc., can make it difficult to isolate the effects or effects responsible for ill health, variety of human responses to exposures, lack of knowledge on dose-response relationship, and issues of confidentiality.

Some groups of individuals may be more exposed to harmful pollutants and their health status will decline. Also, some groups may suffer a decline in their standards of living and become poor. Such a change in socio-economic status can be accompanied by increased morbidity and mortality due to poor nutrition, unsanitary living conditions and reduced physical and financial access to healthcare facilities. Health impacts also can occur directly from development, particularly from hazardous installations, when an accident occurs, such as the release of a certain amount of a toxic gas or an explosion (Bhopal disaster is an example). Similarly, relocation of individuals and groups to new areas causing disastor development (e.g., a dam flooding a valley, containing several villages) increase in death and illness rates amongst those being relocated. The old and the young have been the most vulnerable to illness and death. Such an example can be cited from the Rara Lake area in Nepal, where a national park was established in 1975. The inhabitants were displaced to the terai region without assessing the social and health impacts of displacement. After several years it was found that 80 per cent of young and old people died because they could not adapt to the new conditions. E. Economic Impact

26

EIA The focus in economic impact assessment is the estimation of the change in economic variable caused by:

project construction and operation workforce requirement and the income earned by workers, materials and other inputs for the project, and capital investment.

It is essential to estimate the size of labourforce, skilled manpower requirement and the duration of their involvement. Requirement of manpower varies at different stages of project implementation; for example, the need for labour peaks at the mid point of construction and then declines gradually. An estimation of capital expenditure on local materials, and services is also required for economic evaluation. A thorough analysis of the labourforce and the local economy requires information on:

the categories of labour available, the categories of labour that are highly demanded and employed, not employed and partly employed, estimation of unemployed labour; proportion of female looking for employment, and the number and type of employment likely to be generated by project implementation.

These data can be manipulated for analysing and predicting economic impacts. The money, that comes into the area in the form of wages is the Initial Income Injection (III) into the local economy. Some part of such money will be spent on buying goods and services, helping to improve the economy of those who sell goods and services. In this way a flow of money in the project area is being maintained with certain changes in the economy at each stage. Thus, the value of economic multiplier will be high. In some cases, the income earned by labours will be remitted outside the project area to their families; in such cases, the value of multiplier would be low. This is the reason why the emphasis on the employment of local people is desirable rather than employing people from outside of the project area. Social effects are the outcomes of economic impacts, and this is particularly true for the project in which immigration of workers from outside is dominant. This does not happen always; however, it happens when the labour market in the local area is insufficient. Migrant labour forces can take up any type of employment and create social problems. The impacts created in the operational stage are more far reaching than at the construction period. In developing countries, with development activities going on, a large number of people are attracted in search of employment. Such massive aggregation of people can place significant additional strains on the local infrastructure, environment and local government resources. When economic impacts are being investigated, the focus is usually on the effects of the nature and behaviour of the local economy. Commonly, the economic consequences for local and other governmental organisations are omitted. These consequences are termed fiscal impacts because they are concerned with changes in the costs and revenues of these organisations. Major projects can cause large increases in local population and, as a result,
27

EIA cause stress on local services (such as health provision), infrastructure (such as roads and sewerage), and local resources. Key factors determining fiscal impacts include:

size of investment and labour force requirements, capacity of existing service delivery and infrastructure systems, local/regional tax or other revenue-raising processes, and likely demographic changes arising from project requirements.

Nepal: Impact identification of Langatang Kohla Hydropower project The following are the impacts likely to be produced by the implementation of Langatang Khola Hydropower Project. Impacts on Physical Environment

micro-climate and air quality topography, land use and stability disturbance on fragile slopes surface erosion disposal of excavated materials hydrology and sedimentation water quality solid waste noise and vibration.

Impacts on Biological Environment

loss of forest cover at access road and intake portion loss of forest biomass increase in felling of trees loss of grazing land exploitation of non-timber forest plants loss of cultivated species invasion by weedy species disturbance to wildlife population habitat encroachment impact on rare, endangered, and threatened species

28

EIA

decrease in frequency of birds and mammals impact on fish migration increase in vegetation cover increased in stability of slope conservation of reparian habitats conservation of NTF species promotion of eco-tourism downstream effects.

Socio-economic and Cultural Environment

Impacts of Land acquisition impacts on women and child labour impacts on culture and religions public health occupational health hazardous and safety project and local people law and order impacts on life style increased pressure on local services project related employment water use boom and bust cycle

Indirect Impact

cumulative impact employment increase in local trade improvement in road condition rural electrification industrialization promotion in eco-tourism decrease in dependence in fuel wood

29

EIA

Public Consultation and Participation Need for stakeholder involvement The involvement of the "public", or often referred to as "stakeholders", is a vital component in successful EIA. Who are the stakeholders?

Local people:

individuals communities/villages traditional authorities e.g. village leaders

Project beneficiaries: not necessarily have to be local NGOs:

those which are active in local area or have interest on natural resources/social welfare

30

EIA

interested parties in the country of any external financing agency

Voluntary organizations:

local community development or users groups kinship societies recreational groups neighborhood associations labor unions gender groups ethnic organizations cooperatives etc

Private sector:

business interest groups trade associations professional societies etc

National/local governments: those with responsibilities for management of natural resources along with people welfare and those likely to be affected by the development project. Scientist/experts: those who focus on technical aspects of the project, such as

land use planning natural resource management social infrastructure etc

Benefits and disbenefits of stakeholder involvement Experience has shown that there are benefits of stakeholder involvement in EIA process. However, there are difficulties and constraints while formulating plans for public involvement. Both are displayed below.
31

EIA Benefits

Disbenefits

improved understanding identification of alternative and mitigation measures clarification of trade-offs for each alternative identification of resolve issues induces of procedures forums to

difficult to identify all affected parties communication difficulty due to linguistic and cultural diversities illiteracy lack of local knowledge on the projects unequal access to consultations (for example, women) time/cost implications

transparent

creation of accountability and sense of local ownership

Methods for stakeholder involvement In participatory decision making, there is no single source of ultimate control or authority. The participating parties must discuss and reach a decision by means of an agreed process. There are numerous methods which can be utilized to involve stakeholders, especially the public, in EIA process 1 Public meetings 2 Advisory panels

open with no restriction as to who may attend group of individuals stakeholders chosen to represent

meet periodically to assess work done/results obtained advise on future works facility in an accessible location contains information on the project members of the public can visit, obtain information and express concerns open-ended interviews with selected community representatives a written, structured series of questions issued to local people assemble concerns/views/ideas a systematic approach to appraisal based on

3 Public centres

information

4 Interviews

5 Questionnairs

6 Participatory
32

EIA Appraisal techniques

group inquiry and analysis with multiple and varied inputs

See also Preparation of public involvement plan Stages of Stakeholder Involvement Cost Involvemnt There is no doubt that stakeholders involvement takes more time and money resource allocation. For a project in remote locality and in multi-cultural context, the costs and other difficulties must be tackled and such provisions should be made in EIA planning and budgeting stages. Cost consideration should include the following: hiring of social scientists with local knowledge and experience to be involved in the process, preparation of information sheets and report summaries in local languages, media publicity (newspapers, radios), travel costs to enable representatives of stakeholders to attend meetings, and accommodation and travel costs for EIA team to 'service' the involvement process.

Environmental Monitoring Environmental monitoring is defined as "an activity undertaken to provide specific information on the characteristics and functions of environmental and social variables in space and time." A serious shortcoming of most environmental impact assessment process is the absence of baseline data and impact monitoring during the construction, and operation of large development projects. Without such data, it is impossible to test impact predictions and the success of mitigative measures. Furthermore, the lack of appropriate ecological monitoring, impedes the scientific progress, in impact prediction and assessment, makes it difficult to learn from experiences. Environmental monitoring is therefore one of the most important components of an EIA which is essential for: ensuring that impacts do not exceed the legal standards, checking the implementation of mitigation measures
33

EIA

in the manner described in the EIA report, and providing early warning of potential environmental damages.

Principles of monitoring Certain principles of EIA monitoring should not be overlooked. If the EIA monitoring process is to generate meaningful information and improve implementation of mitigation measures, it must accomplish the following: Determine the indicators to be used in monitoring activities, Collection of meaningful and relevant information, Application of measurable criteria in relation to chosen indicators, Reviewing objective judgments on the information collected, Draw tangible conclusions based on the processing of information, Making rational decision based on the conclusion drawn, and Recommendation of improved mitigation measures to be undertaken. Types of Monitoring Various types of monitoring activity are currently in practice, and each has some degree of relevance to an EIA study. The main types are briefly described below: Baseline Monitoring a survey should be conducted on basic environmental parameters in the area surrounding the proposed project before construction begins (pre-audit study). Subsequent monitoring can assess the changes in those parameters over time against the baseline.

Impact Monitoring

the biophysical and socio-economical (including public health) parameters within the project area, must be measured during the project construction and operational phases in order to detect environmental changes, which may have occurred as a result of project implementation.

Compliance Monitoring

this form of monitoring employs a periodic sampling method, or continuous recording of specific environmental quality indicators or pollution levels to ensure project compliance with recommended environmental protection standards.

Monitoring should be regular and performed over a long period of duration. Interruptions in monitoring may result in generating insufficient data to draw accurate conclusion concerning project impact.

34

EIA The main aim of EIA monitoring is to provide the information required to ensure that project implementation has the least possible negative environmental impacts on the people and ecology. Example: Nepal: Environmental Monitoring Plan (Example from Hydropower Project from Nepal) The monitoring plan includes the description of types of monitoring, the parameters to be monitored, methods to be used and schedules for operating monitoring activities. (More...) Institutional Aspect Institutional factors determining the effectiveness of monitoring should not be underestimated. There needs to be a firm institutional commitment by the agencies responsible for the monitoring process, particularly in regard to the following: willingness on the part of the institutions involved and organizational personnel to support the monitoring process with the necessary level of resources and authority, maintaining continuity in the monitoring programme, technical capabilities of the personnel involved must be developed, integrity or honesty of the process must be maintained, decisions must be taken based on a thorough review of results, monitoring information must be made available to all agencies concerned, and necessary institutional reforms need to be made within the planning and implementation agencies. EIA monitoring responsibility should be given to monitoring section within the planning divisions of concerned ministries. The costs involved in EIA monitoring should be borned by the project proponent. The reporting structure for EIA monitoring depends upon the nature of the project and the analysis undertaken by the agencies concerned. The information should be organized in a well developed format and presented in regular reports, allowing for easy presentation at decision making and review meetings. The agencies concerned have to oversee enforcement of the decisions taken in the review meeting. If decisions are not implemented by the agencies responsible, legal measures should be initiated to guarantee implementation. Environmental Auditing Auditing refers to the examination and assessment of a certain type of performance. In the case of an EIA, an audit assess the actual environmental impact, the accuracy of prediction, the effectiveness of environmental impact mitigation and enhancement measures, and the functioning of monitoring mechanisms. The audit should be undertaken upon a project run in operation, for some time, and is usually performed once or twice in the entire project cycle. The following types of audit that are recommended to be implemented in different phases of the EIA process: Types of Audit Decision Point Audit examines the effectiveness of EIA as a decision-making tool

35

EIA

Implementation Audit

ensures that approved conditions have been met

Performance Audit

examines the responses of agencies concerned with project management

Project Audit

Impact

examines environmental changes arising from project implementation

Predictive Technique Audit

examines the accuracy and utility of predictive techniques by comparing actual against predicted environmental effects

EIA Audit

Procedures

critically examines the methods and approach adopted during the EIA study

Not all the audit types mentioned above are required to be implemented in EIA process. However, at the project approval stage, both project proponent and authorizing agency should considered whether an application of a particular audit technique is likely to result in new information or an improvement in management practices. Particular attention should be given to the project cost-effectiveness of any proposed audit and to technical difficulties likely to be encountered. Since the EIA concept is a relatively recent, the use of environmental audits will play a significant role in evolving a systematic approach of the application of EIA. Environmental auditing should compare monitoring results with information generated during the pre-project period. Comparisons can be made with similar projects or against standard norms. Relating actual impacts with predicted impacts, help in evaluating the accuracy and adequacy of EIA predictions. Environmental Auditing Plan Environmental Audit should be carried out upon the completion of project construction and after 2 years of project operation in order to obtain information on: the condition of natural/social/economical resources prior to project implementation after the project construction is completed, whether or not, all the mitigation measures implemented are effective to control adverse impact, or enhance beneficial impacts,
36

EIA whether or not mitigation measures implemented are effective to control adverse impact, or enhance beneficial impact, whether or not all degraded landscape due to project implementation have been restored into original condition, what are the impacts of boom-bust scenario among the workforce involved in project implementation and the local economy, and the effect on the local economy of project implementation. Information from monitoring output should also be utilized for carrying out environmental audit: Nepal: Tentative plan for carrying out environmental (An example of Environmental Audit applied in Hydropower project in Nepal) I. Physical Aspects Air Quality Parameters Total Suspended solid particulate Location Methods Sources Indicators Weir and Low-volume Analysis data The amount and types of powerhouse Sampler SSP; sites and pre-project access road during construction

audit

after construction, and their comparison with ambient standards

Dust from Access Road. Visual construction Head works, Inspection activities and Power house sites

Information Dust accumulation from local in house people plants leaves

surroundings

Noise Level and Vibration Parameters Measurement of decibels Location Methods Sources Indicators Weir and Decible meter powerhouse and near by villages Measurement Noise levels; and pre-project information from local during people construction

after construction

37

EIA

their comparison with ambient standards any hearing impairment case

Intensity of construction noise during sites construction Cracks buildings

Questions

Local people

of Crack locations Questions

Local People

Cracks existed in house, and compensation

Water Quality Parameters Location Methods Sources Indicators Temperature, Headworks and Water samples Analytical data Comparison with pH, Turbidity Power house collected from ambient water TSS, DSS, sites different source quality; hardness, pre-project chloride Sodium, oil and during grease construction Coliform, DO, after BOD, COD. construction Disposal of Spoils and Construction Wastes Parameters Location Methods Sources Indicators

Disposal of Designated construction sites spoils

Observation/ Local interview of information local people and observation

initiated erosion affected the aesthetic value affected forest and agriculture initiated land erosion local drainage project

Side casting of Intake, audits Observation/ excavated soils and interview and wastes Powerhouse sites

Local information

38

EIA

Erosion and Slope Stability Parameters Location Methods Sources Local Information Photographs Local Information Local information Indicators Eroded and unstable areas Disturbance to Intake, road Visual natural slope and observation powerhouse sites Slope Protection measures As Visual recommended observation in EIA Photographs

Stabilized disturbed slopes Drainage facilities installed and number of disturbed area due to the lack of drainage

Adequate Powerhouse, Visual drainage Intake, road observation facilities such and mostly in Photographs as catch drains, unstable area. etc. herringbone drains, side drains Plantation Disturbed slopes of Cut slopes and Visual area where observation vegetations Photographs were cleared Visual inspection

Local Information

All disturbed slopes have been revegetated Workforce camps cleared and restored to original condition

Temporary Project area workforce sites cleaned and restored to original condition

Contractors

II. Biological Aspects Forest and Vegetation Parameters Location Methods Sources Local People Indicators No of wooden house increased in project area Number of tea stalls and restaurants increased Number of Roadside Counting, wooden house Project and at visual Constructed in the vicinity of Observation the project site project area Number of tea Project site stalls and restaurants established during construction Fuel
39

Observation and records

Local People

wood Project site

Records

Local

People Volume

of

wood

EIA trade location of timber depots and fire wood sale in the project construction Number of Forest stumps of cut nearby trees in nearby forest available information sold increased

area Examination of Local people forest

Number of cut tree stumps increases

Alternative Project sites Energy for cooking for labour force

Records from Local people the contractors

Kerosene provided

was

Harvesting and Project sites Information Local people trade of and the market form local medicinal people and plants market General Forest near Observation condition of project site forest nearby

Sales of medicinal herbs increased

Information Forest condition and Local deteriorated people

Wildlife and Fauna Composition Parameters Location Methods Sources Indicators Number of animal decreased wild seen Wildlife Forest area Interview with Local people hunting near the project local people trapping and site and poaching by photographs workforce Trading of Project site and Observation Local people wildlife market interview and products dried photographs if meat, leather, any fur Frequency of Project area the birds and mammals seen before and after the project Observation Interview Local people

Sales of animal product increased

Frequency of wild animal and birds seen in project area decreased

Fish and Fisheries Parameters Location Methods Sampling Sources Local Indicators Species of fish in Species of fish Sampling
40

EIA occurrence and stations at the abundance project sites before and after the project Fishing activities workforce Project site of Interview Local people Interview fishermen the river increased / decreased

Local people

Fishing activities increased Use of explosive observed/not observed

Use of Project site explosive, electric rod and net

III. Socio-Economic Aspects Employment Opportunity Parameters Location Methods Analysis records interview Sources Indicators Number of Project Site local labors employed in the project construction Number Women Workforce of Project Sites of Records from Percentage of local Contractors and labours were Local people higher / lower

Records

Local people

Percentage of women workers were higher than 30%

Trade, Commerce and Industry Parameters Location Methods Sources Records and local people Indicators

Number and Road sides and Records types of shops in project sites established during construction and how many of them are existing after the construction Establishment Project sites Records of industry in and the vicinity of surroundings project site
41

Number of shops increased / decreased during construction Majority of shops are still operations/clo sed

Observation New industries and local established/no people establishment

EIA Effects on Local area already existing local and traditional industries Rent of house Local area and land space, before during and after the project Compensation Parameters Location Methods Sources Indicators

Records

Local people

Traditional industries suffered / flourished

Inquiries

Local tenants Rent of house before/ and local during and after people project has increased/decreased

Use of Local area / Questionnaire Local people compensation Out of the area survey and received interview

beneficial use unnecessary use migrated

Price Rise Parameters Location Methods Sources Indicators Rise/decrease in prices during and after the project Rise in the Local Market price in essential commodities in the construction and after construction Interview with Local people Local people and shops

Occupational Safety and Health Parameters Location Methods Records Sources Indicators Types and Project sites numbers of accidents occurred during construction Adequacy of Project sites occupational safety measures provided by the project Facility of First Project site aid emergency Services provided Compensation Project site
42

Records from Number and type of contractors and accident local people

Records

Records from Adequate/ contractors and Inadequate Local people

Records

Records of Provided/ office Local available people Records of Provided/

not

Records

not

EIA to the loss of life or disability contractor, provided office of Project management and local people Records Medical Number of cases of records from communicable local medical diseases center, Interview

Cases of Project sites communicable diseases

Socio-Culturally Undesirable Activities Parameters Prostitution Location Methods Sources Local people Indicators Were there indication prostitution ? any of Project site and Sample at the vicinity interview Interview

Liquor Project site production and consumption Disputes crimes and Project Sites

Local people

Liquor consumption high moderate Cases crime of dispute/

Records from Local people local police and project Management Records

Use of labour

child Project site

Records from Records contractor and labour local people

of

child

Complaints from The Local People Parameters Location Methods Sources Local people Indicators Cases of damages or no cases Types of Project site and Records damages made its vicinities on personal properties Damages to Within the Records local periphery of infrastructure project area such as road and irrigation and suspensions bridges Compensation Project area for maintenance
43

Concerned agencies

Damages on:

bridge irrigation road water supply for

Interview

Concerned Comparison agencies and damage project

EIA and rehabilitation of Irrigation Project Losses causes Project area Records by blasting, and its vicinity vibration and noise and compensation paid Coordination and Communication Parameters Location Methods Sources Indicators Coordination District Head Records among district Quarter, interview administration Project site politicians, project management, contractors and labors Information Local area dissemination to workers, local people about the project implementation and District Coordination or No headquarters coordination government line agencies project management, contractors and labour or management

Local people Compensation and project losses management

for

Means of Local people, Adequate information project staffs, dissemination dissemination labours Inadequate

IV. Overall Socio-Economic Changes Parameters Location Methods area Interview/ Observation area Interview Sources Indicators of Changes in Project land use pattern VDCs Changes in Project local economy VDCs (Standards of living) Farmers and Indication local changes entrepreneurs

Local people Standards of living and business increases/ decreased community in compared to preproject condition

Nepal: Policies, Laws, Guidelines, Standards and International Obligations Related to EIA Implementation EIA Related National Level Policies EIAs have been integrated in major development projects since the early 1980s. In the planning history of Nepal, the Sixth Plan (1980-'85), for the first time, recognized the need for EIA integration for major infrastructure projects. In 1982, an Environmental Impact Study Project was established under the Department of Soil Conservation to develop necessary
44

EIA instruments for the integration of EIA in infrastructure development projects. The government of Nepal enunciated environment conservation related policies in the Seventh Plan (1985-90). In order to enforce this policy, and to make necessary arrangements, a series of guidelines were developed incorporating the elements of environmental factors right from the project formulation stage of development plans and projects and to avoid or minimize adverse effects on the ecological system. In addition, it has also emphasized to conduct EIAs of industry, tourism, water resources, transportation, urbanization, agriculture, forest and other developmental projects. Government of Nepal has endorsed the National Conservation Strategy (NCS) and the Master Plan for Forestry Sector (MPFS) for implementation. An EIA study was also carried out in 1987 to identify the likely environmental impacts of the activities proposed in the forestry Master Plan before its adoption. The NCS also emphasized the need to internalize the EIA system into Nepal's resource management and development planning. Government of Nepal continued its efforts to internalize EA system during the interim period (1990-1991). One of the basic policies of the Interim Government was to carry out EIA prior to the implementation of any major development project and programmes. The Interim Government issued directives to implement EIA in any project, which would have adverse affects on the natural balance. Nepal's Eighth Plan, formulated after the participation in the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, was an important policy document. Eighth plan realized the need of integration of EIA into economic development projects, and emphasized to formulate and implement the projects and programmes with the inclusion of environmental protection measures. The plan has also emphasized to adopt integrated approach and sustainability concept, while formulating the environmental legislation. Furthermore, the plan recommended to establish environmental section or unit in the concerned ministries, develop indicators, set-up standards, and implement working procedures in order to minimize likely environmental impacts of the development activities. The plan has showed strong commitment to prepare EIA Guidelines for big development projects such as road, hydropower, irrigation, industry, housing, drinking water, sewerage etc., and implement projects and programmes only after EIA study. The Eighth Plan period (1992-1997) has made a contribution remarkable and notable in institutionalizing EIA system in Nepal's development planning and administration. During this period, government of Nepal adopted and implemented the National EIA Guidelines, 1993, and two separate EIA Guidelines for Forestry and Industry Sector in 1995 through administrative decisions, and also continued the preparation of the sectoral EIA guidelines. During the Plan period, the Environment Protection Act, 1996 and the Environment Protection Rules, 1997 were enacted and enforced. The current Ninth Plan (1997-2002) has adopted a policy of participatory EIA system and it emphasizes to make necessary procedures for the involvement of local bodies, communities, private sector, NGOs and government agencies. The plan has also focussed the need for conducting EIA study in order to ensure biodiversity conservation while implementing development projects in remote area. The plan has realized the need for human resource development, research and studies, monitoring and evaluation, and environmental auditing, and strengthening of the environmental resource centre and academic institutions in order to cater skilled human resources in environmental management for the country.

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EIA Sectoral Policies Besides these national level policies, sectoral development policies have also emphasized, the need of environmental management, including the adoption of EIA process. The Hydropower Development Policy (1992) has stated to "render assistance in the conservation of environment by supplying clean energy through the development of hydro-electric power". The Irrigation Policy, 1993 (revision 1997) commitments are directed towards the design and implementation of irrigation projects based on the recommendations of the EIA and IEE reports, prepared as per the National EIA Guidelines, 1993. Similarly the sectoral policies of forests, industry, tourism, and solid waste management have accorded high priority to integrate environmental aspects in the respective development projects and programmes. The policy initiatives clearly indicate government's commitment and opens a number of avenues to internalize and institutionalize EIA system in decision-making process. EIA RELATED LAWS Nepal has enacted a number of regulatory measures for the consideration of the environmental aspects in development project and programme. Various sectoral Acts contain "loose" provisions and provide opportunities to frame rules and by-laws to consider an integration of environment at the project level. Review on regulatory measures indicate that almost all the Acts enacted prior to the reinstatement of democracy (1990) have neither included comprehensive provisions nor were they implemented to the desired extent. However, the Acts enacted or amended after 1992 included various provisions to encourage the government to frame and implement rules and guidelines on environment. Such provisions are scattered and are of that the sectoral laws are aiming. Such laws are still unclear in the intention and levels of environmental improvement sector-specific. Also, the legal measures have been developed based on command-and-control philosophy and regulatory measures for marketbased initiatives are yet to be developed. The basic consideration in Nepal's legal regime is to punish the individual if s/he violates the rules and regulations. In case if government activities damage the environment, it is very unclear how the legislation may be enforced. The fact is that, one government agency which has the legal power to enforce regulations may hesitate to punish the violators belonging to another sector. One of the reasons is that the legislation has not been enforced to the desired extent. Another reason may be a lack of inadequate instruments such as guidelines, standards, norms, procedures, etc. to enforce the legislation. Furthermore, sector-specific agency tends to be super in their particular jurisdiction and attempts to encroach other's working area. Environment Protection Laws/ Regulation In the process of internalizing the Environmental Assessment System in development proposals, government of Nepal enacted the Environment Protection Act (EPA) 1996 and the Environment Protection Rules (EPR), 1997, which makes the integration of IEE and EIA legally binding to the prescribed projects. Proposals requiring IEE and EIA study are included in Schedules 1 and 2 of the EPR, 1997 (amendment 1999). The EPA and EPR have been enforced since 24 and 26 June 1997 respectively in Nepal The EPA, 1996 obliges the proponent to prepare IEE or EIA report on the prescribed proposals implementation of such proposals upon the approval of EIA by concerned agency (sectoral ministry) and MOPE. The Act outlines the process for the submission and approval of IEE or EIA reports. The EPR, 1997 elaborates provisions to prepare and submit the scoping report, Terms of Reference (TOR), and IEE/EIA report for approval and includes public consultation processes. The EA report, in general, should include detail information on
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EIA impacts and environmental protection measures, including implementation plan, monitoring and evaluation and environmental auditing. Public consultation has been a pre-requisite in all the prescribed projects. Table 1. Highlights of the Environment Protection Act, 1996 and Its Rule, 1997 Sections / Major Highlights of Environment Protection Act, 1996 Rules Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 The Proponent should carry out IEE/EIA of the prescribed proposals. No one should implement the proposals requiring IEE or EIA without approval. The proponent should submit the IEE/EIA reports for approval by the concerned agency for approval process. Upon receipt of such proposal, the concerned agency should approve the IEE report and forward the EIA report to MOPE for approval process. MOPE should approve the EIA report after public notice is over. MOPE can form a committee to seek suggestions over EIA reports.

Section 17 If any person ask for compensation, the proponent is liable to compensate for the loss or effects as prescribed. Section 18 In case the proposal requiring environmental assessments is implemented without necessary approval or violates the conditions of approval, the prescribed authority may close down such activity immediately and may punish up to Rs. 1,00,000/. Section 19 A person who is not satisfied with the decision of the prescribed authority may appeal to the concerned Appellate Court within 35 days from the date of decision or order. Section 23 Government may frame and implement necessary guidelines, including EIA guidelines. Section 24 Government may frame necessary rules, including conduction of IEE or EIA, standards etc.

Environment Protection Rules, 1997 (amendment 5 April 1999) Rule 3 Rule 4 The proponent is required to prepare IEE and EIA report as per Schedules 1 and 2 respectively. Before preparing an EIA report, the proponent should publish a 15-days public notice to provide the stakeholders to offer their opinions and concerns in writing on the proposal. The proponent should prepare and submit the scoping report to the concerned agency and forward to MOPE for approval and MOPE should determine the scope of the EIA study as submitted or amended. In case of IEE report, the proponent should prepare and submit the TOR and get approval of TOR from concerned agency while in case of EIA report, the proponent should prepare and submit the TOR to the concerned agency, which should forward to MOPE for necessary approval.

Rules 8 and 9 have been repealed by the First Amendment (April 1999) Rule 5

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EIA Rule 6 Rule 7 In case, the approving agency of IEE report finds appropriate to carry out EIA, the proponent should fulfil all the formalities of the EIA process. The proponent should prepare IEE and EIA report in the format as indicated in Schedule 5 of the EPR, 1997. In case of IEE report, the proponent should notice the concerned VDC, municipality, DDC, school, health posts and hospital to offer their opinions and suggestions in writing before the finalization of the IEE report. However, the proponent should conduct a public hearing in the project site about the EIA report. The proponent should submit 15 copies of the IEE/EIA report along with the recommendation of the concerned VDC or municipality to the concerned agency for approval. The concerned agency, after investigation, should approve the IEE report within 21 days from the date of its receipt, and forward the 10 copies of the EIA report with its suggestion to MOPE within 21 days from the date of receipt. Upon receipt of the EIA report, MOPE should issue a 30-days public notice in the daily newspaper to offer written comments of the stakeholders. MOPE also may seek the suggestions of the committee, if formed for this purpose, and should approve the EIA report within 60 days from the date of receipt or within 90 days in case of special reason. The proponent should implement EIA and other conditions given during the approval process. The concerned agency (ministry) is made responsible for environmental monitoring and evaluation activities, and issue necessary directives to the proponent to implement environmental protection measures. MOPE is responsible to prepare the environmental auditing report after two years of the commencement of the service by the proposal. Anyone wishing to receive compensation may file the application to the Chief District Officer (CDO) and should forward the file to the concerned agency in case the evaluation of effects/loss. Once the loss of evaluated, the CDO should determine the amount of compensation within 60 days of receipt of application. The proponent should pay the compensation amount within 30 days of decision. In case the proponent (individual, institution or proponent) fails to pay within the time limit, the victim may submit an application, and the CDO shall auction the property of the proponent and pay the amount of compensation as determined.

Rule 10

Rule 11

Rule 12 Rule 13

Rule 14 Rule 45-47

Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE) has published an additional notice in the Nepal Gazette, on 23 August 1999, stating that the proposals which are not listed in Schedules 1 and worth of investment of over Rs. 10 million to 100 million may require IEE study, and those which are not listed in Schedule 2 and worth of investment of over Rs. 100 million should undergo an EIA process. The current system of EIA process is cumbersome and it takes quite a long time to get it approved. It may be so due to the bureaucratic hurdles and lack of time limit to get approval of Scoping Report and TOR. It may also be due to the lack of professional (knowledge-based) manpower in the law enforcing agencies. Delayed decision or unnecessary delay is sometime of a bureaucratic culture. If the cost of delayed decision is understood and appreciated, this problem could be resolved.
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EIA Public consultation takes place at least three times in the entire period of EIA making. In the process of scoping, during field study for EIA, and lastly in EIA report approval process, are the three major consultations, however, public hearing is required in the draft stage of EIA report where disclosure of draft EIA report is undertaken. EIA Provision in other Law Some of the sectoral laws also provide opportunity to conduct environmental assessment studies. For example, the Forest Act, 1993 calls for carrying out EIA of the development proposals if they are to be implemented in the forest areas and/or passes through the forest area. Section (68) of the Act empowers government to give consent to use any part of the any category of forest areas, in case of absence of alternative, for the implementation of the national priority proposal with the assurance that it does not pose any significant adverse effect in the environment. The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973 contains a number of environment-friendly provisions and prohibit activities that will have adverse impacts on the environment. The Forest Rules, National Parks Rules, and Conservation Area Management Rules also contain a number of regulatory measures to minimize environmental impacts within the forests, national parks, wildlife reserves and conservation areas. The Water Resources Act 1993 contains provisions to minimize environmental impacts, including soil erosion, floods and landslides. This provision calls for carrying out EIA study prior to project implementation (Section 20). The Act also empowers government to frame standards while utilizing water resources (Section 18) and to frame rules on environment related matters and controlling pollution (Section 24). The Water Resources Rules, 1993 oblige the proponent to analyze environmental impacts of a proposal and state that such a study should contain environmental control and safety measures and other necessary arrangements to resettle people during hydro-electricity development. Also, in a process for resolving any conflict, the Water Resources Utilization Investigation Committee should consider environmental impacts likely to occur from a proposal [Rule 28 (3)]. The Irrigation Rules, 1989, prohibits activities, which pollute the canal or irrigation water (Rule 4.1). The Electricity Act, 1993 also contains provisions to minimize soil erosion, floods, air pollution and damage to the environment while producing and transmitting electricity (Section 24). The Electricity Rules, 1993 stresses environmental analysis, which should include environmental mitigation measures to minimize adverse impacts likely to occur while developing hydro-electricity (Rule 12 and 13). The Tourism Act, 1978 also contains provisions to minimize waste and environmental pollution in the trekking areas. Scattered regulatory measures are also available in other sectoral laws but they do not clearly spell out the need for EIA studies. The Mines and Minerals Rules, 2000 obliges the proponent to adopt environmental protection measures and ensure environmental conservation (Rule 19). Furthermore, the rules 32 and 33 elaborate provisions to minimize significant environmental impacts. This Rule provides an opportunity to identify potential environmental impacts and implement mitigation measures, which is a part of the EIA process. EIA GUIDELINES In the process of implementing National Conservation Strategy (NCS) in 1990, government of Nepal in collaboration with The World Conservation Union - IUCN developed a national system for Environmental Impact Assessment. This was a significant contribution towards the
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EIA preparation of locally suitable environmental assessment guidelines. The National EIA Guidelines for Nepal was drafted, tested and finalized through a participatory approach and within two years of continued efforts the government endorsed the guidelines on 27 September 1992 through an administrative decision (Cabinet decision) and gazetted it on 19 July 1993. Although National EIA guidelines is a procedural guidelines, it substantially encouraged the proponent to prepare an EIA report of the prescribed development projects and programmes and it served the primary source of integrating environmental aspects in major development projects. The National EIA Guidelines contains objectives, methods of screening projects requiring the level of environmental assessment (IEE or EIA), scoping, impact identification and prediction, report review, monitoring and evaluation and impact auditing. The guidelines also contain methods for ensuring public participation during the preparation of the EIA report, including the need of impact mitigation measures in the EIA report. It calls for identifying socio-economic, biological and physico-chemical, and cultural impacts and proposing mitigation measures to avoid, eliminate and/or minimize or mitigate each adverse impact and to augment of beneficial impacts resulting from the project. The guidelines also stress the inclusion of monitoring and evaluation and a framework for environmental auditing in the EIA report. Within the broad framework of the National EIA guidelines, two separate EIA guidelines of Forestry and Industry Sector were prepared and the government endorsed them in 1995. These two guidelines primarily differ on schedules, which include projects and programmes requiring levels of environmental assessment. In a process for facilitating the environmental consideration in development project, government of Nepal as a part of the NCS Implementation Programme has also drafted sectoral EIA guidelines. They are listed below. Table 2: Development of EIA Guidelines in Nepal SN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Guidelines National EIA Guidelines, 1993 EIA Guidelines for Forestry Sector, 1995 EIA Guidelines for Industry Sector, 1995 Status Endorsed Endorsed Endorsed

EIA Guidelines for Water Resources Sector, 1994 Draft revised and revised in 1996 EIA Guidelines for Road Sector, 1994 and revised Draft revised in 1996 EIA Guidelines for Mining Sector, 1995 EIA Guidelines for Urban Development, 1995 EIA Guidelines for Tourism Sector, 1996 EIA Guidelines for Landfill Sites, 1995 Draft Draft Draft Draft

Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) has prepared three separate guidelines. They are Guidelines for Initial Environmental Assessment, Environmental
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EIA Monitoring, and Environmental Auditing of Water and Energy Projects. The IEA guidelines basically focused on conceptual aspects and procedures for initial environmental assessment. The Environmental Monitoring Guidelines focused on the types of monitoring, methods and documentation of monitoring, Four types of monitoring (baseline monitoring, impact monitoring, compliance monitoring and surveillance monitoring) have been proposed for water and energy projects instead of three types of monitoring proposed in National EIA guidelines. While the Environmental Auditing Guidelines focus on site inspection and formal notification process.

After four years of implementation of the National EIA guidelines and two years of EIA guidelines for Forestry and Industry sectors, benefits of the environmental assessment as a planning and management tool was greatly realized and it prompted government agencies to internalize EIA process in the decision-making process and make it legally mandatory for the "prescribed" projects. Accordingly, the EIA process was included in the EPA, 1996 and the EPR, 1997. However, the present legal basis focuses only project level EIAs - IEEs, and the provision for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), SeEA (Sectoral Environmental Assessment) and REA (Regional Environmental Assessment) is almost non-existent. STANDARDS The environmental law empowers the government to issue any kinds of standards to promoting environmental management in Nepal. By virtue of the nature of standards, MOPE should develop and implement ambient environmental quality standards and the concerned agencies should implement emission or effluent standards. No ambient standards have been developed so far and efforts are underway to develop other categories of standards. Currently, two types of environmental standards are under implementation. They are grouped into legally binding and voluntary standards. Discharge Standards

effluent standards, vehicle emission standard, and pesticide residues.

The tolerance limit for industrial effluents discharged into inland surface water standard is voluntary in nature and industrialists are encouraged to comply with the standards. This standard, popularly known as Nepal Standard, 229-2047 (1991) includes tolerance limits for physical and chemical parameters of the effluents and was issued by the Ministry of Industry. On the other hand, the standard on carbon monoxide (CO) and hartridge smoke unit (H.S.U.) are legally binding and was issued in accordance with the provisions of the Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 2049 (1992) on 28 Paush 2054. The standard for CO and HSU is as follows. a. Petrol Operated Vehicles:

a. CO - maximum 4.5 per cent (by volume) for four wheelers produced till 1980. b. CO - maximum 3.0 per cent (by volume) for vehicles produced after 1981.

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c. CO - maximum 4.5 per cent (by volume) for three wheelers produced till 1991 d. CO - maximum 4.5 per cent (by volume) for all two wheelers a. Smoke density - 75 H.S.U. for all diesel operated vehicles produced till 1994 b. Smoke density - 65 H.S.U. for all diesel operated vehicles produced after 1995

b. Diesel Operated Vehicles:

These standards were enforced since Shrawan 1, 2055 for two wheelers, and since Magh 1, 2054 for all other vehicles. Furthermore, HMG has released the Nepal Vehicle Mass Emission Standard, 2056 (December 1999), popularly known as EURO 1 standard to regulate vehicular emission. This standard is primarily based on vehicles fuelled with gasoline and diesel and parameters such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, oxides of nitrogen and particulate matters have been considered. Furthermore, these standards are based on type approval and conformity of production of the vehicles. HMG has also released the maximum residual limit and extraneum residual limit of pesticides on food items in accordance with the provisions of the Food Act, 2023 (1967). The parameters having standards are Aldrin, Dieldrin, Carbaryl, Chlordane, DDT, Diazinon, Fenitrothion, Heptachlor, Lindane, Malathion, Phosphamidon and Alfatoxin. There are still many areas where environmental standards are to be set-up in order to limit the pollutants taken up by the organism or a population and maintain the environmental medium balanced. These parameters should consider physical, chemical, biological and socioeconomic aspects. Furthermore, some standards will be required for and may be different from industry to industry, service to service and place to place. The important aspect is how to translate these standards into action during the preparation and implementation of the EIA reports. However, there is still a need to develop more standards, which facilitate to include environmental protection measures to comply with such standards. In absence of standards, there is still limitation to propose mitigation measures and monitoring parameters MEETING THE INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS Nepal has been a Party to 16-environment related international legal instruments, the treaties, conventions and agreements. Furthermore, Nepal has signed other four conventions and treaties, which Nepal should implement based on moral obligation but not on legal ground. It is important to note that conventions are more effective than the Nepalese legislation based on the Nepal's Treaty Act of 1990. In view of the EIA requirements on international legal instruments, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is more important. This Convention obliges the Party countries to introduce appropriate procedures for EIA, introduce appropriate arrangements to conduct EIA, promote and exchange information with other States, notify immediately the potential affected States in danger of biodiversity, promote national arrangement for emergency response on conservation, and examine restoration and compensation for damage to biodiversity. This Convention on Biodiversity was signed by Nepal on 12 June 1992 during the Earth Summit at Rio. Nepal ratified this Convention and deposited its instrument of ratification on
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EIA 23 November 1993 and became a Party since 21 February 1994. Other Conventions to which Nepal is a Party do not specifically mention about EIA requirements, however, there are opportunities to conduct EIA studies so as to identify likely environmental impacts of the development projects and programmes and minimize potential environmental impacts. Besides, a regional Convention on EIA exists in the EU region. This was adopted at Espoo (Finland) on 25 February 1991 as a regional Convention of EU. This Convention attempts to: link economic activities and environmental consequences; ensure ESSD; and make EIA as means of national procedure for evaluating the likely impact of a proposed activity on the environment This Convention contains 20 articles and focuses on preparation and consultation of EIA documentation, post-project analysis, research programmes, bilateral and multilateral cooperation on strengthening EIA system and so on. Besides the international legally binding instruments, there are other instruments such as Stockholm declaration, Rio declaration and also Agenda 21 - a blue print of action - for the 21st century which obliges the UN member states to adopt necessary measures on EIA application so as to minimize potential environmental impacts and augment beneficial environmental impacts. The Stockholm and Rio Declarations also encourage the UN member States to integrate EIA process in the overall decision-making, planning and implementation of the development projects and programmes. In this context, there are ample opportunities to internalize and institutionalize EA system in avoiding and mitigating adverse environmental impacts and make the development initiatives environment-friendly, economically beneficial and sustainable. LESSONS LEARNED ON EIA IMPLEMENTATION After the implementation of EIA guidelines and enforcement of environmental laws, about 12 EIA reports comprising of Industry, road, hydro-electricity, pesticide handling sectors have been approved legally. Within the last three years (since June 1997), about 30 projects have undergone EIA process and scoping reports and TORs have been approved legally. Of them, over 50 per cent are from water resource sector. Review of EIA reports submitted to MOPE indicated that impacts and mitigation measures included in the report are of generic in nature and the most of the so-called EIA report are of sector-specific and in most cases site specific impacts are often overlooked. Although, EIA is one of the powerful tools to assess the project on environmental grounds, the present practice of EIA report preparation generally overlooks the impacts of macro-level policy, plan and programs, and assessment of cumulative impacts. Because of delay in decision process, many stakeholders think that EIA process is time-consuming and is not necessary. In the past, the implementation of EIA in the project planning used to be a closed door approach. However with the enforcement of EPR, the opportunity for the involvement of stakeholders have increased. Nepal has not introduced the concept of accrediting the experts and consulting firms to prepare the EIA report. Any person can prepare such report and hence, the quality of EIA report is still doubt. Influence of non-professionals in developing and enforcing the legal regime on EIAs and in preparing the EA report prevail in many sectors. Because of this, the benefits of EA tool have largely been boiled down to legal complication and the effectiveness of this tool has been diluted in project planning and implementation. Furthermore, many of the developers (which has resulted in) consider that once the EIA report is approved, environment is adequately managed. The entire omission or negligence of the EIA findings and recommendations in the process of project implementation. Furthermore,
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EIA the agencies responsible for environmental monitoring are not adequately versed with the importance of EIA study, so monitoring aspect is totally neglected. Effective implementation of EA tool has been limited due to lack of trained human resources and practice of not mobilizing the available human resources in environmental monitoring, lack of information dissemination and database systems, ad hoc procedure and criteria for reviewing the EA reports and lack of integrating EA recommendations into design and contract documents. Furthermore, monitoring and evaluation are grossly inadequate. Although the EIA reports could be prepared by mobilizing the experts, its implementation is not an easy task. In Nepal, the EIA tool has been institutionalized through "learning by doing approach". There is no culture to strengthen educational and training centres to impart basic education and methods for preparing EIA reports, and integration of EIA findings in project design. Although, EIA has been made legally mandatory, human resource development programs are yet to be established. At present, three universities namely Tribhuvan, Kathmandu and Pokhara University have initiated environmental science courses. Environment The Rural Access Programme and the Environment The Rural Access Programme seeks to improve the socio-economic environment for all people, but especially poor and disadvantaged groups, in the target hill areas of Nepal where it works. Ideally all of the programmes activities would be beneficial both to peoples livelihoods and for the environment in general, but there is a danger of negative impacts occurring. The RAP approach therefore aims to: contribute as far as possible to a better environment, in terms of both its bio-physical and socio-economic conditions; help the communities in the target areas to gain the maximum environmental benefits from the activities supported by the programme; and find ways of avoiding or mitigating the negative impacts of programme activities on the environment.

What is the Environment? The environment is everything around us. It includes our surroundings, such as the physical and biological conditions of the areas where we live. It also includes the social, religious, cultural, and economic situations that determine who we are, what we do, and what are our customs and values. But the environment is more than what we see and how we behave. It also involves the conditions in which we live and in which development occurs. These include the political and economic factors that shape our society and control how we can respond. They are the invisible factors that determine what people do to improve their livelihoods and living conditions. Environmental benefits of RAP activities RAP is involved in the improvement of peoples livelihoods through better access to the goods, services and markets that they value. These are all environmental benefits. Since most of RAPs work is centred on road construction and social development activities associated
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EIA with them, this fact sheet concentrates on the benefits and disadvantages likely in connection with roads. During construction, a large number of poor and disadvantaged people will be employed and will have the immediate benefit of income from construction activities. Other local people will have opportunities to increase income through service-based economic activities such as teashops, small hotels, kiosks, etc. Many of those involved in construction will be able to enhance their technical skills, for example in construction methods and masonry. Once road construction is complete, the following benefits should come.

Roads will raise the mobility of people; trade in the area will be increased and the prices of goods will be decreased. Markets will be accessed and local resources can be developed more easily. The cultivation of higher value crops will be increased due to better access to markets. Small scale agro-industries and other cottage industries will be promoted. The value of land will increase in the road corridors. With better access to the outside world, local people will have more exposure to the advantages of changed lifestyles.

Environmental disadvantages Unfortunately, experience in Nepal has shown that the benefits described above are often accompanied by a number of adverse impacts. These are partly a result of the fragile physical environment of the southern Himalayas, where some damage is unavoidable in the development of any form of infrastructure; but in the past much damage has also resulted from careless planning and rapid engineering works. The main areas of visible environmental damage by roads have been on the bio-physical environment. These include problems of slope stability, spoil disposal and water management, and protection of vegetative cover. Less visible effects have occurred which detract from the social environment: the chief among these is the safety of road users and the introduction of bad habits. However, the low traffic volume of most roads has avoided damaging levels of air and noise pollution, disruption to wildlife and other impacts commonly associated with roads in industrialised countries. The mitigation of environmental problems Mitigation simply means reducing the severity of undesirable impacts. RAP will use mitigation measures to reduce the negative environmental impacts. Typical measures are as follows.

Various types of location-specific soil erosion and landslide protection measures. These will include substantial use of bio-engineering measures. Awareness-raising among communities environmental mismanagement. of the long-term consequences of

Work with district authorities to ensure timely road maintenance and rehabilitation works.

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Improved local planning for roadside settlements and land use. Support to local communities and user groups for managing forests.

Beyond mitigation, RAP is working to maximise the benefits for people in the road corridors. This is being done mostly through the programmes enhancing and protecting interventions (EPIs). Assessing environmental impacts RAP will use standard procedures for environmental appraisal, as shown in the table below. Environmental activity District Environmental Brief Initial Examination Environmental Assessment Purpose A profile of environmental conditions in each RAP district.

Environmental The first level of environmental study, required for all district roads, and for other types of programme works, such as major bridges. Impact A full, in-depth study of potential impacts, carried out if an IEE finds that impacts might be significant. Also required for feeder roads.

Environmental Management The process of making sure that recommendations from Plans and Environmental environmental studies are applied in practice, both during the Monitoring project and afterwards.

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