LECTURE 5

The purpose of public involvement :

informing stakeholders♦
gaining their views, concerns and values♦
taking account of public inputs in decision
making♦
Influencing project design♦
Obtaining local knowledge♦
Increasing public confidence♦
Improving transparency and accountability
in decision-making♦
Reducing conflict.

The key objectives of public

involvement…??
The general aim of public participation within ICZM is to enable project or programme success.
An essential precondition for the success of any ICZM programme or project is the public
appropriation and support. This activity should be carefully planned and organised.

When a decision needs to be taken for a plan such as building a harbour, a factory or developing
tourism all options should be discussed openly within administration and in public to weigh their
benefits against each other and to discover synergies.
General aims for involving the public include:

 the identification of key issues of concern to the public, addressing public perceptions,
 the provision of local expertise and knowledge,
 the identification of possible alternatives/options,
 ensuring that affected groups are involved at the very beginning of project design,
 the critical review of documentation.
 improve transparency and accountability of decision-making; and
 increase public confidence in the EIA process.

The separation of these objectives is somewhat artificial as the achievement of one will often
depend upon the achievement of another.

The willingness of developers to engage with the public and vice versa is often limited by
concerns over costs and the need for confidentiality. Involving the public is also seen as time
consuming.

Public participation is, however, necessary for increasing the legitimacy of planning decisions
and enhancing the political credibility of developers

The range of stakeholders involved in an EIA typically includes??

The range of stakeholders involved in an EIA typically includes:

 the people – individuals, groups and communities – who are affected by the proposal;
 the proponent and other project beneficiaries;
 government agencies;
 NGOs and interest groups; and
 others, such as donors, the private sector, academics etc.

Local people

Individuals or groups in the affected community will want to know what is proposed; what the
likely impacts are; and how their concerns will be understood and taken into account. They will
want assurances that their views will be carefully listened to and considered on their merits. They
will want proponents to address their concerns. They will also have knowledge of the local
environment and community that can be tapped and incorporated into baseline data.

Proponents

Understandably, proponents will wish to shape the proposal to give it the best chance of success.
Often, this involves trying to create public understanding and acceptance of the proposal through
the provision of basic information. More creatively, project design can be improved through
using public inputs on alternatives and mitigation and understanding local knowledge and values.

Government agencies
The government agencies involved in the EIA process will want to have their policy and
regulatory responsibilities addressed in impact analysis and mitigation consideration. For the
competent authority, an effective public involvement programme can mean the proposal may be
less likely to become controversial in the later stages of the process. For the responsible EIA
agency, the concern will be whether or not the public involvement process conforms to
requirements and procedures.

NGOs/Interest groups

Comments from NGOs can provide a useful policy perspective on a proposal; for example, the
relationship of the proposal to sustainability objectives and strategy. Their views may also be
helpful when there are difficulties with involving local people. However, this surrogate approach
should be considered as exceptional; it cannot substitute for or replace views which should be
solicited directly.

Other interested groups

Other interested groups include those who are experts in particular fields and can make a
significant contribution to the EIA study. The advice and knowledge of government agencies and
the industry sector most directly concerned with the proposal should always be sought. However,
in many cases, substantive information about the environmental setting and effects will come
from outside sources.

The different benefits provided for key groups by effective public participation are described in
the table below. However, these benefits may not be always realised or acknowledged by
participants. Each of the above groups may perceive the benefits gained from public involvement
in the EIA process through the lens of their own experience and interests.

Describe Five main steps at which public involvement can occur in the EIA process??

Screening: For certain categories of proposal, the responsible authority may consult with people likely
to be affected in order to gain a better understanding of the nature and significance of the likely
impacts. This information can assist in determining if an EIA is required and at what level (see Topic 4 –
Screening). In addition, the early identification of affected parties and their concerns provides
information that can be incorporated into the scoping stage of EIA and assists future planning for public
involvement.

Scoping: Public involvement is commonly undertaken at the scoping stage. This is critical to ensure that
all the significant issues are identified, local information about the project area is gathered, and
alternative ways of achieving the project objectives are considered. Terms of Reference for an EIA
provide a means of responding to and checking against these inputs (see Topic 5 –Scoping). They should
also outline any specific requirements for public involvement in EIA preparation, review, and follow up.

Impact analysis and mitigation: avoid biases and inaccuracies in analysis;

•identify local values and preferences;

•assist in the consideration of mitigation measures; and

•select a best practicable alternative.

Review of EIA quality: A major opportunity for public involvement occurs when EIA reports are
exhibited for comment (see Topics 8 –Reporting and 9 –Review of EIA quality). However, making written
comments is daunting to all but the educated and literate. Other means of achieving responses should
be provided where proposals are controversial. Public hearings or meetings may be held as part of EIA
review. They can be formal or informal but should be structured in a way which best allows those
affected to have their say. Many people are not comfortable in speaking in public and other or
additional mechanisms may be needed.

Implementation and follow up: The environmental impacts of major projects will be monitored during
construction and operational start up, with corrective action taken where necessary (see Topic 11 –
Implementation and follow up). Local representatives should scrutinise and participate in the follow up
process. This arrangement can assist proponents and approval agencies to respond to problems as they
arise. It can also help to promote good relations with local communities that are affected by a
development

Some of the underlying factors that may constrain meaningful public involvement??

Ans slide e

advantages of public involvement?

 Improved governance, including increased democratic legitimacy for institutions

because of close links with citizens, improved reputations for public bodies, increased
opportunities for active citizenship, and greater accountability of public bodies because of
more effective information dissemination and better dialogue.
 Greater social cohesion etc, including bringing diverse and sometimes hostile
communities together, bringing ‘hard to reach’ and ‘disadvantaged’ groups into
discussions, building relationships within and between different communities and social
groups (‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ social capital), strengthening and creating new
networks that enable different interests to work together as a result of building more
positive relationships based on a better knowledge of each other, and increased equality
of access to policy and decision-making processes.
 Improved quality of services, projects and programmes, including ensuring public
service investment is based more on people’s expressed needs, reducing management and
maintenance costs by reducing vandalism and misuse as a result of engendering a sense
of ownership, enabling faster and easier decisions (e.g. on new developments or
protective designations) by reducing conflict between different parties and increasing
trust through better communications, and enabling people to share in the responsibility
for improving their own quality of life (e.g. health and well-being, or the local
environment).
  Greater capacity building and learning, including raising awareness and increasing
understanding of public institutions and the way they work, enabling citizens to better
access the services they need, and to understand the boundaries and limitations of
different public bodies, building confidence and optimism among citizens who then go on
to other civic activities or learning, supporting the voluntary and community sectors by
recognising their vital role in building the capacity of community and specific interest
groups (especially disadvantaged and excluded groups), and increasing the skills among
the staff running participation and those taking part (especially interpersonal skills).

Disadvantages of public involvement?

What ever writeIn slide

Lecture 6
An IEE is a preliminary EIA study ??

Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) - The first stage in the Environmental Assessment of a project at
pre-feasibility level, for identifying and assessing possible environmental impacts

the Consultant should review the existing environmental policies, guidelines, regulations and DoE
procedures for obtaining Environmental Clearance. The secondary source data should be collected for
preparation of IEE report by the consultants. The IEE Report should contain a) Description of the project,
b) Policy and legislative aspects, c) Description of the environment, d) Identify predicted impacts and e)
an environmental management Plan. Finally, the consultant submits a draft IEE report to Executive
Engineer-Environment Division. After refinement, the IEE is finalised and sent to DoE for environmental
clearance.

Project lists for screening

Project lists are widely used to screen proposals. These lists are of two types. Most are
‘inclusion’ lists, which describe the project types and size thresholds that are known or
considered to have significant or serious environmental impacts. Usually, listed projects that fall
within these predetermined thresholds will be subject automatically to full and comprehensive
EIA. Some EIA systems also maintain ‘exclusion’ lists of activities that are exempt because they
are known to have little or no environmental impact. The inclusion lists used by countries and
international organisations differ in content, comprehensiveness, threshold levels and
requirements for mandatory application. In certain EIA systems, scale thresholds are specified
for each type of listed project for which an EIA is mandatory. Other projects that may require an
EIA are screened individually against environmental significance criteria, such as emission
levels or proximity to sensitive and protected areas.

Lecture 9
Definition of scoping:

Scoping is a critical step in the preparation of an EIA, as it identifies the issues that are likely to
be of most importance during the EIA and eliminates those that are of little concern. Scoping is a
systematic exercise that establishes the boundaries of your EIA and sets the basis of the analyses
you will conduct at each stage. A quality scoping study reduces the risk of including
inappropriate components or excluding components that should be addressed. It involves:

 Identifying all relevant issues and factors, including cumulative effects, social impacts,
and health risks.
 Facilitating meaningful public engagement and review.
 Determining the appropriate time and space boundaries of the EIA.
 Identifying the important issues to be considered in the EIA, such as setting the baseline
and identifying alternatives.

The Benefits of Scoping

The key benefits and value added by Scoping will nearly always outweigh any negatives of
Scoping. These benefits are that Scoping will:

 Inform the public about a proposal that is in progress through the planning system;
 Identify key stakeholders, their concerns and values;
 Set the requirements for data collection and baseline study;
 Identify the important issues to be considered in an EIA;
 Set the appropriate time, subject matter and space boundaries of the EIA study;
 Provide the information necessary for decision-making;
 Define the significant effects and factors to be studied in detail;
 Avoid the production of overly repetitive and lengthy EIA documents;
 Make best use of subject matter experts; and
 It reduces the risk of disagreement with regulators, planners and key stakeholders over
what should be studied and to what depth.

Typically, scoping begins after the completion of the screening process. However, these stages
may overlap to some degree.

The Negative of Scoping

I can think of only two reasons a developer would not go through the Scoping process:

 When the Scoping process is initiated, the project becomes ‘public knowledge’. A
developer may have to maintain a competitive advantage in the market by not going
through scoping especially as this could inform competitors of their intent and timescale;
and
  Business plan targets – especially around obtaining funding streams, the value of a
business based on portfolio evaluation etc – may preclude the time necessary to go
through Scoping. This is a rare instance;

There are eight guiding principles that govern the entire EIA process: The principles of EIA:

1. Participation – appropriate/timely access for interested parties

2. Transparency – open and accessible assessment decisions
3. Certainty – process/timing agreed in advance
4. Accountability – decision makers responsible for their actions and decisions
5. Credibility – undertaken with professionalism/objectivity
6. Cost effectiveness – environmental protection at the least cost to society
7. Flexibility – adaptable to deal efficiently with any proposal and decision situation
8. Practicality – information/outputs readily usable in decision making and planning

The TOR should require the consultants to cover the following points:/ EIA
Terms of Reference:
Whether a range of proposals should be considered and if so whether they would
be less environmentally damaging;
The main environmental effects of the proposed project, both in the project area
and in the surrounding area and the timescale of the impacts;
The size and extent of the impacts based as much as possible on quantitative data
rather than qualitative assessment. In some cases it may be necessary to highlight
certain topics (such as waterlogging, resettlement etc as discussed in Chapter 4)
when a particular issue is known to be of concern. In most cases, however, it may
be preferable not to mention any specific topic and make the consultant responsible
for a complete review of all topics;
Those groups that will benefit and those disadvantaged by the project;
The impact on any rare species of plant or animal in the area;
The impact on human health;
The control and management aspects of the project to determine if they will be
effective;
The need for further baseline data collection or other specialist studies;
The present policy, institutional and legislative situation and future needs;
The mitigating measures needed and how they should be incorporated into the
project design;
The monitoring and evaluation activities that are required to ensure that mitigating
measures are implemented and future problems are avoided.The TOR should give
an indication of the team considered necessary for the study. Depending on the
scope of the study this may include one or several of the following: an irrigation
specialist, drainage specialist, rural sociologist, terrestrial ecologist (of various
specializations), aquatic ecologist/fisheries expert, hydrologist, agronomist, soil
chemist or physicist, economist and epidemiologist. However, as mentioned earlier
the team should not be rigidly imposed on the consultant.