IB Environmental systems and societies 7.1F Environmental Impact Assessment Notes

Environmental Impact Assessment: Checking a Project Before It Is Built

An EIA predicts how a proposed project will affect the environment, communities and economy, so problems can be caught and reduced before building starts.

What an EIA Assesses

1. Environmental effects
   1. How the project changes air, water, soil, wildlife and habitats.
2. Social effects
   1. How it affects local communities, health and ways of life, judged through consultation and surveys.
3. Economic effects
   1. Whether the project is financially viable, weighing costs against benefits.

The EIA Process, Step by Step

1. Screening: decide whether the project needs an EIA at all.
2. Scoping: identify the key environmental, social and economic issues to study.
3. Impact analysis: predict the likely impacts against a baseline of current conditions.
4. Mitigation: design measures to avoid, reduce or compensate for the harm.
5. Reporting: compile the findings into a report for authorities and the public to review.
6. Monitoring: check that mitigation is carried out and track impacts as the project runs.

Key Parameters an EIA Measures

1. The exact parameters depend on the project, but most EIAs check the same core list.
   1. Air quality, measured by pollutants such as CO₂, NOx, SO₂ and particulates.
   2. Water resources, including quality, flow and groundwater levels.
   3. Biodiversity and ecosystems, including habitat loss and species at risk.
   4. Soil and land quality, including erosion, contamination and productivity.
   5. Greenhouse gas emissions and the project's contribution to climate change.
   6. Noise and vibration affecting people and wildlife.
   7. Cultural and archaeological heritage near the site.
   8. Human health and social wellbeing.
   9. Traffic, transport and waste generated by the project.
   10. Socio-economic effects such as jobs, income and land use.

Mitigation: Reducing the Harm

The EIA does not just measure impacts, it proposes ways to cut them.

Making EIAs Public: Stakeholder Engagement

1. Publishing the EIA and consulting stakeholders brings real benefits but also real difficulties.
2. Why it helps
   1. It adds transparency and accountability, so communities can see the likely impacts.
   2. It raises public awareness of sustainability and the effects of development.
   3. It improves decisions by combining expert data with local and indigenous knowledge.
3. Why it is hard
   1. Stakeholders have conflicting interests, such as growth versus conservation.
   2. Consultation takes time and money and can delay projects.
   3. Powerful players can drown out local or marginalised communities.
   4. Non-experts may struggle to interpret complex environmental data.

Making Engagement Work

1. Facilitate honest dialogue between groups with different views.
2. Provide education so people can take part on an informed basis.
3. Give underrepresented groups the resources to engage meaningfully.