Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development have been the cornerstones of the policies and procedures governing the industrial and other developmental activities in India.
Ministry of Environment & Forests has taken several policy initiatives and enacted environmental and pollution control legislations to prevent indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources and to promote integration of environmental concerns in developmental projects. One such initiative is the Notification on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
EIA is a planning tool that is now generally accepted as an integral component of sound decision-making. The objective of EIA is to foresee and address potential environmental problems/concerns at an early stage of project planning and design.
EIA/EMP should assist planners and government authorities in the decision making process by identifying the key impacts/issues and formulating mitigation measures. Field
Content
SL. NO. TOPIC PAGE NO.
1. What is EIA and why it is needed?4
2. Evolution of EIA5
3. History of EIA in India6
4. The EIA process7
5. Forms of impact assessment8
6. Comparative review of EIA procedures and practices10
7. EIA of Natural Gas-Based Power Plant in Tamil Nadu (Case study)12
8. EIA Benefits and Flaws14
9. Draw back in the Indian system of EIA16
10. Recommendation to improve EIA system in India17
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1.What is EIA and why it is needed?
-Environment Impact Assessment or EIA can be defined as the study to predict the effect of a proposed activity/project on the environment. A decision making tool, EIA compares various alternatives for a project and seeks to identify the one which represents the best combination of economic and environmental costs and benefits.
- EIA systematically examines both beneficial and adverse consequences of the project and ensures that these effects are taken into account during project design.
- It helps to identify possible environmental effects of the proposed project, proposes measures to mitigate adverse effects and predicts whether there will be significant adverse environmental effects, even after the mitigation is implemented.
- By considering the environmental effects of the project and their mitigation early in the project planning cycle, environmental assessment has many benefits, such as protection of environment, optimum utilization of resources and saving of time and cost of the project.
- Properly conducted EIA also lessens conflicts by promoting community participation, informing decision makers, and helping lay the base for environmentally sound projects.
- Benefits of integrating EIA have been observed in all stages of a project, from exploration and planning, through construction, operations, decommissioning, and beyond site closure.
2.Evolution of EIA
-EIA is one of the successful policy innovations of the 20th Century for environmental conservation.
-The EIA process really took off after the mid-1980s. In 1989, the World Bank adopted EIA for major development projects, in which a borrower country had to undertake an EIA under the Bank's supervision
Table 1: Evolution and history of EIA
Development of EIA
Pre-1970Project review based on the technical/engineering and economic analysis.Limited consideration given to environmental consequences.
Early/mid 1970sEIA introduced by NEPA in 1970 in US.Basic principle: Guidelines, procedures including public participation requirement instituted.Standard methodologies for impact analysis developed (e.g. matrix, checklist and network).Canada, Australia and New Zealand became the first countries to follow NEPA in 1973-1974. Unlike Australia, which legislated EIA, Canada and New Zealand established administrative procedures.Major public inquires help shape the process's development.
Late 1970 and early 1980sMore formalised guidance.Other industrial and developing countries introduced formal EIA requirements (France, 1976; Philippines, 1977), began to use the process informally or experimentally ( Netherlands, 1978) or adopted elements, such as impact statements or reports, as part of development applications for planning permission (German states [lander], Ireland).Use of EA by developing countries (Brazil, Philippines, China, Indonesia)Strategic Environment Assessment[1] (SEA), risk analysis included in EA processes[2].Greater emphasis on ecological modelling, prediction and evaluation methods.Provision for public involvement. Coordination of EA with land use planning processes.
Mid 1980s to end of decadeIn Europe, EC Directive on EIA establishes basic principle and procedural requirements for all member states.Increasing efforts to address cumulative effects.World Bank and other leading international aid agencies establish EA requirements.Spread of EIA process in Asia.
1990sRequirement to consider trans-boundary effects under Espoo convention.Increased use of GIS and other information technologies.Sustainability principal and global issues receive increased attention.India also adopted the EIA formally.Formulation of EA legislation by many developing countries. Rapid growth in EA training.
Source: International Study of the Effectiveness of Environmental Assessment, final report, Environmental assessment in a changing world, Prepared by Barry Sadler, June 1996.
3.History of EIA in India
- It started in 1976-77 when the Planning Commission asked the Department of Science and Technology to examine the river-valley projects from an environmental angle. This was subsequently extended to cover those projects, which required the approval of the Public Investment Board. Till 1994, environmental clearance from the Central Government was an administrative decision and lacked legislative support.
- On 27 January 1994, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF), Government of India, under the Environmental (Protection) Act 1986, promulgated an EIA notification making Environmental Clearance (EC) mandatory for expansion or modernization of any activity or for setting up new projects listed in Schedule 1 of the notification. Since then there have been 12 amendments made in the EIA notification of 1994.
- The MEF recently notified new EIA legislation in September 2006. The notification makes it mandatory for various projects such as mining, thermal power plants, river valley, infrastructure (road, highway, ports, harbors and airports) and industries including very small electroplating or foundry units to get environment clearance. However, unlike the EIA Notification of 1994, the new legislation has put the onus of clearing projects on the state government depending on the size/capacity of the project.
4. The EIA process
-The environment impact assessment consists of eight steps with each step equally important in determining the overall performance of the project.
- EIA process is presented in brief below:
* Screening: First stage of EIA, which determines whether the proposed project, requires an EIA and if it does, then the level of assessment required.
* Scoping: This stage identifies the key issues and impacts that should be further investigated. This stage also defines the boundary and time limit of the study.
* Impact analysis: This stage of EIA identifies and predicts the likely environmental and social impact of the proposed project and evaluates the significance.
* Mitigation: This step in EIA recommends the actions to reduce and avoid the potential adverse environmental consequences of development activities.
* Reporting: This stage presents the result of EIA in a form of a report to the decision-making body and other interested parties.
* Review of EIA: It examines the adequacy and effectiveness of the EIA report and provides the information necessary for decision-making.
* Decision-making: It decides whether the project is rejected, approved or needs further change.
* Post monitoring: This stage comes into play once the project is commissioned. It checks to ensure that the impacts of the project do not exceed the legal standards and implementation of the mitigation measures are in the manner as described in the EIA report.
5. Forms of impact assessment
-There are various forms of impact assessment such as Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) that are used to assess the health and social consequences of development so that they are taken into consideration along with the environmental assessment. One of the forms of impact assessment is strategic environment assessment, which is briefly discussed below:
1. Strategic environment assessment
Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) refers to systematic analysis of the environmental effects of development policies, plans, programmes and other proposed strategic actions. This process extends the aims and principles of EIA upstream in the decision-making process, beyond the project level and when major alternatives are still open. SEA represents a proactive approach to integrating environmental considerations into the higher levels of decision-making.
Difference in EIA and SEA
Environment impact assessmentStrategic environment assessment
Takes place at end of decision-making cycle Reactive approach to development proposal Identifies specific impacts on the environment Considers limited number of feasible alternatives Limited review of cumulative effects Emphasis on mitigating and minimizing impacts Narrow perspective, high level of detail Well-defined process, clear beginning and end Focuses on standard agenda, treats symptoms of environmental deterioration Takes place at earlier stages of decision making cyclePro-active approach to development proposalsAlso identifies environmental implications, issues of sustainable developmentConsiders broad range of potential alternativesEarly warning of cumulative effects Emphasis on meeting environmental objectives, maintaining natural systems Broad perspective, lower level of detail to provide a vision and overall framework Multi-stage process, overlapping components, policy level is continuing, iterative Focuses on sustainability agenda, gets at sources of environmental deterioration
Source: EIA Training Resource Manual, 2nd edition, 2002, United Nations Development Programme
6. Comparative review of EIA procedures and practices
Developed countriesEIA in developing countriesEIA in India
Well-framed EIA legislation in place. For instance, in Canada, Canadian Environmental Assessment Act regulates EIA while EU countries are guided by Directive on EIA (1985). Lack of formal EIA legislation in many developing countries. For instance, EIA is not mandatory in many African countriesFormal legislation for EIA. It has been enacted by making an amendment in the Environment Protection Act 1986.
In developed countries, active involvement of all participants including competent authority, government agencies and affected people at early stages of the EIA. This makes the process more robust and gives a fair idea of issues, which need to be addressed in the initial phase of EIA.Limited involvement of public and government agencies in the initial phases. This often results in poor representation of the issues and impacts in the report, adversely affecting the quality of the report.Limited involvement of public and government agencies in the initial phases.
Integrated approach to EIA followed. All aspects including social and health taken into account.Mainly environmental aspects considered. Poor on social or health aspects. No provision in place to cover landscape and visual impacts in the Indian EIA regulations
Proper consideration of alternatives in EIAThe consideration of alternatives in developing countries is more or less absent.Same as developing countries
The process of screening is well defined. For instance, in EU countries competent authorities decide whether EIA is required after seeking advice from developer, NGO and statutory consultees. In Japan, screening decision is made by the authorizing agency with respect to certain criteria. In Canada, federal authority determines whether an environmental assessment is required or not.In developing countries, screening practice in EIA is weak. In most cases, there is a list of activities that require EIA but without any threshold values. Screening done on the basis of a defined list. Threshold values on the size of the project has been used to decide whether the project will be cleared by the state government or the central government.
Scoping process is comprehensive and involves consultation with all the stakeholders. In many countries like US, Netherlands, Canada and Europe, the involvement of the public and their concern are addressed in the scoping exercise. Besides this, funding organisations such as World Bank, ADB and ERDB have provision for consultation with the affected people and NGOs during identification of issues in scoping exercise.Scoping process in most developing countries is very poorly defined. In many countries including China, Pakistan, etc. there is no provision for scoping. In some countries like in Nigeria and Indonesia, a term of reference is followed for scoping while in some countries like Ghana, Taiwan and Chile, a general checklist is followed.In countries where it is undertaken, there is no public consultation during scoping. Moreover, in most developing countries, scoping is often directed towards meeting pollution control requirements, rather than addressing the full range of potential environmental impacts from a proposed development. Earlier scoping was done by consultant or proponent with an inclination towards meeting pollution control requirements, rather than addressing the full range of potential environmental impacts from a proposed development.However, the new notification has put the onus of scoping on the expert committee based on the information provided by the proponent. Consultation with public is optional and depends on the discretion of the expert committee.
Most reports in local languageMost reports in English and not in the local language.Most reports in English and not in the local language. In some case, executive summary is translated into local language.
A multi-disciplinary approach. Involvement of expert with expertise in different areas.Lack of trained EIA professionals often leads to the preparation of inadequate and irrelevant EIA reports in developing countriesSame in India. Preparation of EIA is done by consultants. Therefore, the selection criterion for the organisation is fees/cost rather than the expertise of EIA team.
Two tier of EIA review, One conducted after the completion of EIA to check the adequacy and effectiveness of EIA and the second done before decision-making.Poor review or monitoring.In India too, EIA review is not upto the marks. The review agency called Impact Assessment Agency (IAA) lacks inter-disciplinary capacity. No representation of NGO in IAA, which is a violation of the EIA notification.
Expertise in EIA: The International Association for Impact Assessment (AIA) and other organisations demonstrate that there are a large number of individuals with the capability to design, conduct, review and evaluate EIAs from countries of the North. The major portion of teaching about environmental assessment also takes place in industrial countries. The expertise in EIA is slowly developing. In most cases, students from the developing countries go to the developed countries to gain knowledge of the subject.Expertise in this area is developing.
Source: Compiled by Industry & Environment Unit, Centre for Science & Environment, 2006
7. EIA of Natural Gas-Based Power Plant in Tamil Nadu (Case study)
1. Location:
-Power Plant to generate 52.8 MW at Vazhuthur of Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu. However, environmental clearance is required and therefore, a Comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (CEIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) of the proposed project have been conducted.
2. Objective:
-The major objective of application of EIA/EMP is to integrate environmental issues in the
planning stage of the project. At the project level, the specific objectives of this study are:
1. To assess the condition of environment around the proposed site
2. To assess the quantum of pollution that occurs after commissioning the projects and its impact on the surroundings
3. To formulate a suitable EMP including control methods to:
-Ensure that quantum of pollution will be well within the limits prescribed by the statutory agencies
-Recommend mitigative measures to address adverse environmental impacts
4. To recommend a post-project monitoring plan
5. To obtain statutory clearance from MEF, GOI.
3. Major issues
Major issues and impact of project identified during scoping are follows:
* Topography and land use - The present topography of the study area is a coastal plain with sandy terrain where 30% of the buffer zone is occupied by sea. In the core area few small sand dunes were observed. Proposed project will be operationlized in 18.11 acres of land 34% of which will be utilized for project activities and 30% for developing greenbelt.
* Air Quality: The potential for air pollution arises from fugitive emissions and impacts due to usage of natural gas. Therefore, dispersion of pollutants released into the atmosphere has significant impacts on the surrounding environment. These impacts have been superimposed on the present ambient air-quality parameters to find out the net impacts in the atmosphere. To mitigate the adverse impacts, an environment management plan has been prepared.
* Water Resources: Wastewater generation from the proposed power plant will be conducted from different sources like Waste Heat Recovery Boiler (WHRB) blow down, service water, potable water, evaporation cooler, filter back wash and DM plant reject will be treated by effluent treatment plant while the treated water will be used for development of greenbelt. The waste oil from transformer yard, powerhouse area and engines will be collected and recovered.
* Noise Level: DG sets are the sources of noise generation. The noise-level shall be maintained within the stipulated limit and mitigation measures will be proposed.
* Ecology: The Gulf of Mannara Marine Biosphere Reserve is a unique ecosystem, with over 9 species of live corals and harbouring a rich variety of fauna. Based on the survey of all the islands, the degree of human interference in the Biosphere was determined. The local people are exploiting animal species including fishes. Corals and Seaweeds are present in abundance, however their exploitation has exceeded the limitation. The yearly harvesting of these resources reaches up to 5000-7000 of dry weight. Dense growth of Mangroves exists in the coastal area; however, massive felling of these trees for different purposes has created enormous effects in the coastal ecosystem.
* Socio-Economic Conditions: The proposed project will utilize skilled manpower for operation and maintenance of the plant. Thus, employment opportunities will be created for the educated/skilled manpower of the region. The project will give a push to the other industrial/commercial avenues in this region, which will lead to the creation higher income in the region.
4. Environmental Management Plan (EMP)
An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) has been proposed by the project proponent.
The (EMP) provides a conceptual framework to reduce or mitigate predicted environmental
impacts of the project. Following are the proposed measures for improving the overall
environmental management of the site.
* Mitigation of the adverse environmental and socio-economic impacts
* Recommendations of approaches that can integrate environmental concerns in design, operation and development of necessary physical infrastructures.
* Monitoring plan for significant environmental attributes.
8. EIA Benefits and Flaws
BenefitsFlaws
Provides systematic methods of impact assessmentTime-consuming
Estimates the cost/benefit trade-off of alternative actionsCostly
Facilitates the public participationLittle public participation in actual implementation
Provides an effective mechanism for
* coordination
* environmental integration
* negotiations
* feed backUnavailability for reliable data(mostly in developing countries)
Top-level decision makingToo focused on scientific analysis(sometimes)
Triggers an institutional buildingPoor presentation of EIA report(bulky volumes, scientific explanation, difficult to understand)
Achieve a balance between the impact of developmental and environmental concernCompliance monitoring after EIA is seldom carried out
9. Draw back in the Indian system of EIA
* One of the biggest concerns with the environmental clearance process is related to the quality of EIA report that are being carried out. The reports are generally incomplete and provided with false data.
* It is being found that the team formed for conducting EIA studies is lacking the expertise in various fields such as Anthropologists and Social Scientists (to study the social impact of the project) or even wild life experts. (For example for the preparation of EIA report of the proposed oil exploration in coast of Orissa by the reliance group has been given to the life science Dept of Berhampur university which has no expertise on the study of turtles and its life cycle.)
* There is a lack of exhaustive ecological and socio-economic indicators for impact assessment.
* Public comments are not taken into account at the early stage, which often leads to conflict at the later stage of project clearance.(e.g.-Jaitapur Nuclear power plant, Vedanta Mining Project in Orissa's Niyamgiri Hills).
* There is always a lack of reliable data sources. The data collectors do not pay respect to the indigenous knowledge of local people.
* Often, and more so for strategic industries such as nuclear energy projected, the EMPs are kept confidential for political and administrative reasons.
* As things stand today, it is the responsibility of the project proponent to commission the preparation of the EIA for its project. The EIA is actually funded by an agency or individual whose primary interest is to procure clearance for the project proposed. There is little chance that the final assessment presented is unbiased, even if the consultant may provide an unbiased assessment that is critical of the proposed project.
* A number of projects with significant environmental and social impacts have been excluded from the mandatory public hearing process. There are also concerns on how much value is given to opinions expressed during the public hearing. Most projects are located in the resource rich tribal and rural areas. Due to the inherent social conditions in such areas, such as lack of literacy and the simple nature of Tribals, people are easily convinced and lured by the prospect of money and jobs.
* The present redressal mechanism meant exclusively for the challenging environmental clearance is extremely weak and limited in its scope.
10. Recommendation to improve EIA system in India
1. Independent EIA Authority: Civil society groups have suggested the need for an independent Environmental Impact Assessment authority headed by a judicial officer and comprising of representatives from communities, peoples group, scientists, sociologists and environmentalists. Such body would be independent of the ministry of environment and forests.
2. Sector wide EIAs needed: There is a need to conduct policy-level and sector-wide EIAs in the form of strategic impact assessments ( for various sectors including mining , power and so on). This is critical to judge the impacts of macro- economic, developmental and other policies, schemes and programmes.
3. Creation of an information desk: An information dissemination desk may be assigned within the MOEF which anyone can write to regarding the status of clearance of projects.
4. Applicability of EIA notification: The provisions of the EIA notification, including public hearings should be applicable to all hitherto exempt categories of projects ( including large scale agriculture/ monoculture plantation projects) which have environmental impacts.
5. Quality of EIA reports : preparation and content : The focus of EIA needs to shift from utilization and exploitation of natural resources to conservation of natural resources. Many EIA reports tend to justify the need for the project, shifting the focus of the EIA from a process that provides insights in to the viability and desirability of the project, to one that finds justification for the projects and on rare occasions one that offers simplistic solutions on minimizing impacts of projects already declared important.
6. State and central governments should maintain a list of credible, independent and competent agencies that can carry out EIA s. similarly the EIA consultant those are making false reports should be black listed.
7. Public hearings: The public hearing should be held for all projects which are likely to have environmental and social impacts. This should be strictly implemented.
8. Monitoring, compliance and institutional arrangements: The MOEF should set up more regional offices, each with smaller areas of jurisdiction, to effectively monitor the compliance of clearance conditions. It would be useful to have advisory Expert committees at the MOEF regional offices.
9. Capacity building: NGO s, civil society groups and local communities need to build their capacities to use the EIA notification towards better decision making on projects that can impact their local environments and live hoods.
10. 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.
Nikhil Sonawane
ref
1. Environment Impact Assessment or EIA process in India and drawbacks Prepared by Environment
Conservation Team (Aruna Murthy, Himansu Sekhar Patra)
2. http://www.cseindia.org
3. An India Case Study on CEIA for Proposed Natural Gas-Based Power Plant
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