ENVIROMENT

IMPACT
IDENTIFICATION , PREDICTION
AND EVALUATION

SUBMITTED BY,
S. INDRAKUMAR SINGH
M.SC ENV.SCIENCE
PANJAB UNIVERSITY,
CHANDIGARH

EIA METHODOLOGY:

Methodology means the structural approaches for

doing one or more activities of EIA.
There are some specific characteristic which an
EIA methodology should depict.
These are:-(1)It should be appropriate to the
necessary task of EIA process such as impact
identification/comparison of alternatives.
(2)It should be significantly free from assessors
bias
(3)It should be economical in terms of costs, and
its requirement of data ,investigating time ,
personnel, equipment and facilities.

IMPACT ANALYSIS:-

This stage of EIA identifies and

predicts the likely Environmental
and social impact of the proposed
project and evaluates the
significance

METHODS FOR IMPACT

ANALYSIS:1.

IMPACT IDENTIFICATION

2.

IMPACT PREDICTION

3.

IMPACT EVALUATION

Proposal
identification

EIA required

Screening

Scoping

Initial
environmental
examination

No EIA

Impact analysis
Mitigation
and impact
management
*Public involvement
Resubmit

EIA report

Redesign

Review

Not approved

Decision-making

Approved
Implementation
and post-EIA
monitoring

*Public involvement typically

occurs at these points.
It may also occur at any
other stage of the EIA Process

Information from this process

contributes to effective EIA in the future

1. IMPACT
IDENTIFICATION:

Impact Identification attempts to answer the

question, what will happen when a project
enters its operational stage?
A List of important impacts such as changes
in ambient air quality, changes in water and
soil qualities, noise levels, wildlife habitats,
species diversity, social and cultural systems,
employment levels etc may be prepared.
The important sources of impact like smoke
emission, consumption of water, discharge
of effluents etc are identified.

METHODS OF
ENVRONMENT IMPACT IDENTIFICATION:Warner,1973

Ad hoc method
Checklists
Matrices
Overlays
Networks

Ad hoc Method:

Simple method based on subjective environment impacts

on broad aspects.

Ad hoc method is useful when time constraints and lack of

information require that the EIA must rely exclusively on
expert opinion.

It provides minimal guidance for total impact assessment

while suggesting the broad areas of possible impacts and
the general nature of these possible impacts.

When more scientific methods are available, it is not

recommended.

Types of Ad hoc method:

Opinion polls.

Experts opinion.

Delphi methods etc.

Ad hoc method:ADVANTAGE

DISADVANTAGE

Specialists on a
particular area
will provide
guidance.

It require expert.
Short/long term
impact are merely
examined on guess
basis.
Identification ,
prediction and
interpretation of
impacts are quite poor

Checklists Method:

Checklist means a listing of potential

Environmental Impacts.

This method is done to assess the nature

of the impacts i.e. its type such as
adverse /beneficial , short term or long
term , no effect or significant impact ,
reversible or irreversible etc

Types of Checklists
Method:

Simple Lists.

Descriptive Checklists.

Scaling Checklists.

Questionnaire Checklists.

Checklists :

ADVANTAGES
Simple to
understand and
use.
Good for site
selection and
priority setting.

DISADVANTAGES
Do not distinguish
between direct and
indirect impacts.
Do not link action
and impact.
Sometime it is a
cumbersome task.

Matrices:

Matrix and its variants provide us a

framework of interaction of different
actions /activities of a project with potential EI
caused by them.
A simple interaction matrix is formed where
project actions are listed along one axis i.e.
vertically and EI are listed along the other
side i.e. horizontally.
It was pioneer by Leopold et al(1971).
It lists about 100 project actions and about 88
environmental characteristic and condition.

Impact identification
matrix
(example)

Sectoral Matrix Example

Valued Env.
Component
(VEC)
Development
Projects
Ports and Harbours
Airports
Rapid Transit
Highways
Oil/Gas Pipelines
Significant Impact

Moderate - Significant Impact

Insignificant Impact

Matrices Method :

ADVANTAGES
Link action to
impact
Good method
for displaying
EIA results

DISADVANTAGES
Difficult to
distinguish
direct and
indirect impacts
Significant
potential for
double-counting
of impacts
Qualitative

Network method:

It uses the matrix approach by extending it

take into account primary as well the
secondary impacts.
Shown in the form of tree called as
Relevance/Impact tree/Sequence diagram.
Identification of direct ,indirect /short and
long term environment impact is a crucial
and intact basic step of making Impact
tree.
Used to identify cause-effect linkages
Visual description of linkages

Example of a Network Analysis

Salmonoid
populations
Fishing

Temperature

Access

Spawning

Flow

Dredging

Water Quality
(Suspended Matter)

Clearing

Networks Method:

ADVANTAGES
Link action to
impact
Useful in
simplified form
in checking for
second order
impacts
Handles direct
and indirect
impacts

DISADVANTAGES
Can become
overly complex if
used beyond
simplified version
Qualitative

Overlays:-Mc
Harg(1968,69)

Rely on a set of maps of a project areas

environmental characteristics covering physical
, social, ecological, aesthetic aspects.
Separate mapping of critical environmental
features at the same scale as project's site plan
e.g. wetlands, steep slopes, soils, floodplains, bedrock
outcrops, wildlife habitats, vegetative communities,
and cultural resources...

Older Technique: environmental features are

mapped on transparent plastic in different
colors.
Newer Technique: Geographic Information
Systems (GIS).

Overlays Method:-

ADVANTAGES
Easy to
understand
and use
Good display
method
Good for site
selection
setting

DISADVANTAGE
Address only
direct impacts
Do not address
impact duration
or probability

TYPES OF IMPACTS:A. Biological and Physio -chemical impacts.

B. Social impacts.
C. Health impacts.
D. Economic impacts.

A. Biological and PhysioChemical Impacts:

It relate to effects on biological resources

such as vegetation ,wildlife , crops and
aquatic life.

Interaction with Physical elements like

air ,water , soil, rocks and solar radiation.

Chemical impacts like chemical change in

air , water , soil quality etc.

B. SOCIAL IMPACTS:
Demographic

Displacement and relocation

effects and changes in population
characteristics.

Cultural Traditional patterns , family

structure ,religious, archaeological features ,
social networks.

Gender implication of projects on roles of

women in society , employment opportunity
and equity

Institutional Housing , schools, Criminal

justice , Health, welfare

C. HEALTH IMPACTS:-

D. ECONOMIC IMPACTS:

Duration of construction and operation

Workforce requirements for each period

Skill requirements (local availability)

Earning

Raw material and other input purchases

Capital investment

Outputs

The characteristics of the local economy

2. IMPACT PREDICTION:

The accumulated knowledge of the

findings of the environmental
investigations form the basis for the
prediction of impacts.
Once a potential impact has been
determined during scoping process ,it is
necessary to identify which project
activity will cause impact , and its
magnitude and extent.

Methods of impact prediction:-

Best estimate professional judgement

.
Quantitative

mathematical models .

Experiments

and physical models .

Case

studies as analogues or
references .

POINTS TO CONSIDER FOR

IMPACT PREDICTIONS:1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Baseline condition
Un certainty
Spatial limits
Temporary boundaries
Incremental condition
Quantitative and Qualitative methods

3. IMPACTS EVALUATION:

Its purpose is to assign relative

significance to predicted impacts
associated with the projects and to
determine the order in which impacts are
to be avoided , mitigated or compensated

Criteria for Evaluating

Potential Effects:

Importance of affected resource

Magnitude and extent of
disturbance
Duration and frequency
Risk/likelihood of occurrence
Reversibility
Contribution to cumulative
impacts

Evaluation of EIA system

Effectiveness:

Be considered effective if
Information generated in the EIA contributed
to decision making.
Predictions were accurate
Proposed mitigatory and compensatory
measure achieved approved management
objectives

Efficiency criteria are satisfied if

EIA decisions are timely relative to economic
and other factors determine project decisions
Costs of conducting EIA can be determined
and are reasonable.

33

Five Step Process for Evaluation

of Cumulative Effects : The area in which the effects of the
proposed action will occur
The impacts that are expected in that area
from the proposed action
Other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable actions that have or are
expected to have impacts in the area
The impacts or expected impacts from those
other actions
The overall impact that can be expected if

Impact Mitigation
Evaluate
Environmental
Impacts

Review Applicable
Standards

Design Environmental
Protection Measures

Mitigation Development
Develop Alternative
Environmental
Protection Measures

Evaluate
Implementation
Costs

Assess
Environmental
Effectiveness

Select Final
Environmental
Protection Measures

CONCLUSION:

The above simple techniques of EIA such

as impact identification ,prediction
,evaluation are used for measuring
environment variables and construction
of a number of indices to describe the
changes in environmental inventory.

REFERENCE:

http://www.unescap.org/drpad/vc/orienta
tion/M8_4.htm
http://www.scopenvironment.org/downloa
dpubs/scope5/chapter04.html
Class notes
Wikipedia
EIA Books

THANK
YOU