Environmental Impact Assessment: Role in Attaining Biodiversity Net Gain

This essay discusses the process of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and its role in attaining biodiversity net gain. It covers the stages of EIA such as scoping, mitigation, public participation and follow up. The essay also highlights the importance of sustainability in EIA practices and theory. The shortcomings of EIA are also discussed. Course code and college/university are not mentioned.

Environment Impact
Assessment

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
Books and Journals:....................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
EIA stands for Environmental Impact Assessment which refers a process or procedure
through which an environmental influence of a proposed development is examined. While
undertaking EIA, the inter-related social, cultural, economic and human-health both positive and
negative influences are considered (Attallah and et.al., 2020). Also, this assessment is utilised to
predict the environmental influences of a project in the phase of pre-planning itself so that best
choices can be made to limit the adverse results. The key agenda of environmental impact
assessment is to maintain the environment and bring out the best accumulation of environmental
and economic welfare and costs. The following essay will be based upon the role of EIA in
attaining biodiversity net gain. It will also shed lights on EIT stages such as scoping, mitigation,
public participation and follow up.
MAIN BODY
Impact assessments are concerned with analysing the effects and outcomes of individual
projects such as environment impact assessment- or of programmes and policies such as strategic
environment assessment. Environmental impact assessment can be understood as a process of
integrative and systematic process for identifying the likely affects antecedent to a decision-
making on whether or not a offer should be provided support to continue. Strategic
environmental assessment defines an activity of antecedent assessment and categorization, plans,
programmes and policies or great level initiatives or pre-project steps. The main goal of EIA is to
not pressurise decision-makers to take the least surroundings negative solution, instead to state
the environmental influence of the improvement so that the concern for surroundings should be
involved in the decision-making. It is regarded as both art and science and reflected as a
technical aspect such as impact prediction, identification, examination, presentation and
management of information. It is important to look on the cause of environmental modification
that necessitates to be reasoned to give a context (Climent-Gil, Aledo and Vallejos-Romero,
2018). As the EIA is used a tool to support the authorities in order to make relevant choices or
decisions concerning the approval of project and which terms and conditions must be attained
and satisfied in the best possible manner. EIA helps identifying the environmental risks reduce
negative outcomes of environment, lessens conflict by promoting community participation,
informed decision-making and aid laying the base for environmental sound tasks and projects.

This tool of assessment is also regarded as a prominent tool for giving and providing
sustainability. Whatsoever, to do so needs the combination of sustainability into Environmental
Impact Assessment practices and theory. In environmental management viewpoints, the concept
of sustainability is a quite valid and vital concept. Therefore, many obstacles and issues require
to be resolved, if the idea is to be shifted into applicable schemes. The concept of sustainability
fill Environment impact assessment with a broad sense of direction, a mechanism, an ethical
basis for setting goals and analysing decisions and a way of connecting Environment impact
assessment to other environment management instruments (Fonseca and Gibson, 2020). Both
concepts that is sustainability and EIA can be combined, but concepts should be adapted to
concept, refined and associated to linked steps. Also, sustainability should be expressively
unified into EIA guidelines, legislations and institutional arrangements.
The primary aims of EIA is to determine, guess and assess the environmental, economic
and cultural impacts of evolution activities. To cater content on the impacts of environment for
decision-making. It also advance environmentally viable and sound evolution by knowing
suitable choices and mitigation remedies. Furthermore, the impact of environmental assessment
is a technique that shows systematically a specialized evaluation of influences on the
surroundings that the plan is promising to reason and signifies the value of foreseen influences
and as an outcome, it demonstrates the range for diminution of changes. At last, it develops the
concerned agencies and ministries examine the latent effect of the task before a conclusion is
made. Administrative agencies and project developers who have a liability for environmental
circumstances can exploit Environment impact assessment technique to deepen the attribute of
both the projection plan, decision-making by knowing accomplishable results in the early phases
(Hajiloo, Hamzeh and Gheysari, 2019). The certain expostulations of the EIA system are to
identify the ways to neglect or mitigate the damage on environment, to disclose important
consequences of environment of proposed tasks to the public and decision-making, to prevent
negative impacts by needing execution of possible solutions or mitigation measures. To improve
the public participation as well.
Such kind of system is not just a process for safeguarding acts with the momentous
influences of environment from being enforced. Instead, the main aim is that projection activities
are accredited in the complete noesis of their impacts of environment. Also, it is found that EIA
takes place in the context of political. It is necessary that social, economical and political will

surpass the factors in several examples. Hence, this is the reason diminution solutions are so
important to EIA. Proposals conclusion in which the negative effects of environmental factors
have been reduced are much simple to develop and uphold than those in which reduction has not
been attained (Howitt and Jackson, 2020). The value of environmental impact is that it is more
than specialized report, as it is a substance to a bigger purpose- the enhancement and protection
of the environment attribute of life. It is a process to know and examine the impacts of the
projects on the surroundings, whether it is social or natural, it is not a single certain analytical
tool, but exploits several formulations as suitable to the issue. EIA does not offer judgments, but
its results should be reasoned in decision-making and policy making and should be shown in end
results. Hence, it should be the portion of the decision-making procedure. The EIA aggregations
should be concentrated on the essential and significant problems. It is also needed to indulge a
good justification on why they are essential and the concept is valid with an intent to give a
foundation for policy decisions (Joly and et.al., 2018). Therefore, it can be said that
environmental impact assessment is to boost a safe environment, and viable sustainable
development, by calculating the environmental influence promising to be caused by projects.
EIA demonstrates influences on land , marine species, plants, microorganisms, animals and non-
living organisms. Ultimately, helpful in attaining safer methods, proposes suitable secondary
measures to be undertaken before implementation and decision-making.
EIA involves several types of stakeholders in its process such as those who declare the
idea of project, the environmental consultant who make assessment on behalf of project
exponent, public has a right to show their ideas or views, pollution control board, regional centre
of the MoEFCC.
Environment impact analysis covers various steps or stages which are discussed further.
Therefore, the EIA process is rotary with the interaction between different steps. It aids in
acknowledging the reach and range of the projection. It aids in deciding the accomplishable area
of environmental impacts. Screening is the foremost step in which the plan for project is
screened for level of finance, kind of improvement, location and if the plan requires statutory
clearance. A project will have various changes environmental or biophysical, social or economic
(Li and et.al., 2020). Therefore, it needs some kind of public involvement. The legislations for
EIA differs from nation to nation. If screening exhibits that a plan or activity need the respective
assessment it shifts to the succeeding phase. Also, some sort of projects may not need EIA. It is

mainly ascertained by the task size is sometimes founded on the site certain data. The outcome of
the process of screening refers a document named as “Initial Environmental Evaluation or
Examination (IEE). It is relied on which judgment is taken whether an EIA is required and if so,
then to what level. Scoping is the next stage in which the impacts of project's potential, impacts
of the zone, need for monitoring and mitigation possibilities are determined. It proceeds the
project's consequences on the soil, water, air quality, water, physical impact and noise level. It
needs concerns and issues, identifies affected parties, determines the assessment methods and
evoke public enterance. In which public engagement covers the interactions of different
stakeholders covering local people, private sectors, project beneficiaries, NGOs and many more.
It is a continuous process and is promising to move in the thinking and make stages of the
project. It is also important to make possible changes in the project in the beginning of the
project cycle and it makes sure the survey of all likely issues (Loomis and Dziedzic, 2018).
Collection of baseline data is the stage in which the environmental position of study area is
ascertained. Impact prediction is the next stage in EIA process which says that impact can be
positive and negative, temporary or permanent, reversible and irreversible impacts require to be
predicted which speculate an effective understanding of the project by the appraisal agency. It
involves the two stages in analysing the impact, identification and prediction of impacts.
Identification covers the impacts that would have been began in the phase of scoping. These
starting identifications may be illustrious and the new ones are added as and the research uncover
(Mahmud and et.al., 2019). Prediction of impacts can be both quantitative and qualitative. The
severity and range of an influence is ascertained by whether it is irreversible or reversible. If the
effect is reversible then it may take as low influence or vice versa. Moreover, the duration of the
effect is also essential to comprehend. It may be divided into short-term (3-9 years), medium-
term (10-20 years) and long-term (beyond 20years). Mitigation measures and EIA report is
further next step which says that the report of EIA should cover the steps and actions for
minimizing, preventing or by passing the influences or else the compensation level for probable
environmental harm or loss. These measures for mitigating may be compensatory to limit the
potential reactions, preventive; public awareness programmes, corrective; putting into point
installations and devices. Public hearing is the stage where both environmental and public groups
living nearest to project site may be consulted and informed. After finishing the report of EIA,
the law needs that public must be consulted and informed on planned development after the

finishing the EIA assessment (Mohaddes Khorassani and et.al., 2019). The affected bodies may
cover local associations, bonafide local residents, environmental groups active in the area, or any
individual who located at the sites of displacement or project site. They are to be indulged to
make a written or oral suggestions to the state pollution control board as per the Schedule IV of
the Act. Decision-making is the step where authority of impact assessment and the experts look
up the project in-charge along with the consultant to take the ultimate decision while holding
views related with the EMP and EIA. There are many documents that needs to be furnished for
environmental appraisal such as filled in questionnaire, detailed project report, environmental
impact statement should give the promising influence of the project. Some of the issues to be
covered are impact of land use, agriculture, forests , recreation, tourism, fisheries and many
more. Socio-cultural impact covering short-term and long term impact on population, impact on
health, cost benefit analysis covering the standards for protecting environment. Monitoring and
implementation of environmental management plan, in this phase, several stages of
implementation of the plan are tracked. Assessment of choices, characterisation of reduction
measures, impact of environmental assessment report is the next stage in which possible or likely
choices should be found and environmental abstractions compared. It is important that choices or
solutions should involve both process technologies and project location. Once options have been
checked or reviewed, a plan for mitigation should be made for the chosen decision and is
addendum with an EMP to lead the exponent towards the improvements of environment. Risk
assessment is the final stage in which hazard probability and inventory analysis, along with the
index also form portion of EIA processes. Therefore, once the project is granted and approved,
then, it should work as per the terms and conditions stipulated relied on the environmental
clearance. These conditions have to be implemented and monitored. Monitoring should be
finished both operation and construction phases of the project. It not only makes sure that the
seriousness made are complied with, but also to discover whether the verbiage made in the EIA
assessments were right or wrong (Zhang and et.al., 2018).
EIA has several shortcomings such as it is downside with applicability, there are many
projects with essential environmental influences that are excused from the notification either they
are not mentioned in the Schedule or their investments are fewer what is given for the
notification. Public hearing, they are not advised at an early stage, which leads to issues at an
earlier phase of project clearance. The data collectors do not pay dignity to the autochthonic

knowledge of local people. A range of projects with vital social and environmental influences
have been excluded from the compulsory public hearing process. Quality of EIA, it is known as
one of the biggest issues with the process of environmental clearance is connected to the quality
of Environment Impact Assessment that are being carried out (Zhao and et.al., 2021). Lack of
credibility, there are multiple fraud cases where inaccurate information has been exploited, same
figures and facts exploited for totally diverse places and many more.
CONCLUSION
From this assignment, it has been concluded that Environmental Impact Assessment is
identified as an essential means to expect the possible environmental influences that may occur
out of the planned developmental activities while suggesting mitigation measures and plans. It is
found that the main role of EIA is to know the impacts and consequences of social,
environmental, health factors of proposed projects. The decision-makers who are likely to make
essential choices are informed about the impacts of their choices. It helps in creating sustainable
environment in which various conflicts and issues have been resolved by advancing the public
participation, limits the negative impacts as well. Several stakeholders are involved in
environment impact assessment such as the regulators, proponent or the public.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Attallah, M.F. and et.al., 2020. Radiation safety and environmental impact assessment of sludge
TENORM waste produced from petroleum industry in Egypt. Process Safety and
Environmental Protection, 142, pp.308-316.
Climent-Gil, E., Aledo, A. and Vallejos-Romero, A., 2018. The social vulnerability approach for
social impact assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 73, pp.70-79.
Fonseca, A. and Gibson, R.B., 2020. Testing an ex-ante framework for the evaluation of impact
assessment laws: Lessons from Canada and Brazil. Environmental Impact Assessment
Review, 81, p.106355.
Hajiloo, F., Hamzeh, S. and Gheysari, M., 2019. Impact assessment of meteorological and
environmental parameters on PM2. 5 concentrations using remote sensing data and
GWR analysis (case study of Tehran). Environmental Science and Pollution
Research, 26(24), pp.24331-24345.
Howitt, R. and Jackson, S., 2020. Social impact assessment and linear projects. In Social Impact
Analysis (pp. 257-294). Routledge.
Joly, T.L. and et.al., 2018. Ethnographic refusal in traditional land use mapping: Consultation,
impact assessment, and sovereignty in the Athabasca oil sands region. The Extractive
Industries and Society, 5(2), pp.335-343.
Li, J. and et.al., 2020. Environmental impact assessment of mobile recycling of demolition waste
in Shenzhen, China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 263, p.121371.
Loomis, J.J. and Dziedzic, M., 2018. Evaluating EIA systems' effectiveness: a state of the
art. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 68, pp.29-37.
Mahmud, M.P. and et.al., 2019. A strategic impact assessment of hydropower plants in alpine
and non-alpine areas of Europe. Applied Energy, 250, pp.198-214.
Mohaddes Khorassani, S. and et.al., 2019. Environmental and social impact assessment of
cultural heritage restoration and its application to the Uncastillo Fortress. The
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 24(7), pp.1297-1318.
Zhang, M. and et.al., 2018. Index system of urban resource and environment carrying capacity
based on ecological civilization. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 68, pp.90-
97.
Zhao, J. and et.al., 2021. The technological innovation of hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles for
environment carbon pollution control. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 86,
p.106506.