1. Explain the terms environment, project and EIA.

The term ‘environment’ has been derived from a French word “Environia” means to
surround. It refers to both abiotic (physical or non-living) and biotic (living) environment.
Therefore, the word environment means surroundings, in which organisms live, interact and
adapt themselves. It is comprised of the interacting systems of physical, biological and cultural
elements which are interlinked both individually and collectively. Environment regulates the
life of the organisms including human beings. Human beings interact with the environment
more vigorously than other living beings.
A project is an interrelated set of activities that has a definite starting and ending point and
results in the accomplishment of a unique, often major outcome. Project can be defined as the
execution of construction works or of other installations or schemes and interventions in the
natural surroundings and landscape including those involving the extraction of mineral
resources. A project may be a temporary (rather than permanent) social system (work system),
possibly constituted by teams (within or across organizations) to accomplish
particular tasks under time constraints.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is defined as an activity designed to identify the
impact on the bio geophysical environment, on man and well-being of legislative proposals,
projects, policies, operational procedures and to interpret and communicate information. EIA
is a systematic process of identifying future consequences of a current or proposed action.
The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers consider the environmental
impacts when deciding whether or not to proceed with a project. The International Association
for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines an environmental impact assessment as "the process of
identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant
effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments
made". EIAs are unique in that they do not require adherence to a predetermined environmental
outcome, but rather they require decision makers to account for environmental values in their
decisions and to justify those decisions in light of detailed environmental studies and public
comments on the potential environmental impacts.
The objective of EIA is
• to identify, predict and evaluate the economic, environmental and social impact of
development activities
• to provide information on the environmental consequences for decision making and
• to promote environmentally sound and sustainable development through the
identification of appropriate alternatives and mitigation measures.
EIA is widely accepted as a tool to ensure sustained development with minimum environmental
degradation.
Importance of EIA:
• EIA is potentially a useful component of good environmental management.
• It is the Government policy that any industrial project has to obtain EIA clearance from
the Ministry of Environment before approval by the planning commission.
The structure of a generic Environmental Assessment is as follows:

1. Summary
2. Introduction
• Background
• Purpose and Need for Action
• Proposed Action
• Decision Framework
• Public Involvement
• Issues
3. Alternatives, including the Proposed Action
• Alternatives
• Mitigation Common to All Alternatives
• Comparison of Alternatives
4. Environmental Consequences
5. Consultation and Coordination
2. What do you understand by sustainable development?
Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human development
goals while at the same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural
resources and ecosystem services upon which the economy and society depend. The desired
result is a state of society where living conditions and resource use continue to meet human
needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable
development can be classified as development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations.
Sustainable development attempts to minimize greenhouse gases, reduce global warming,
preserve environmental resources, and provide communities that allow people to reach their
fullest potentials. In the field of Architecture, sustainable development also has been known as
sustainable design, green architecture, eco-design, eco-friendly architecture, earth-friendly
architecture, environmental architecture, and natural architecture.
When people construct things, many processes take place to actualize the design. The goal of
a sustainable building project is to use materials and processes that will have little impact on
the continued functioning of the environment. For example, using local building materials and
local laborers limits the pollution effects of transportation. Non-polluting construction
practices and industries should have little harm on the land, sea, and air. Protecting natural
habitats and remediating neglected or contaminated landscapes can reverse damages caused by
previous generations. Any resources used should have a planned replacement. These are
characteristics of sustainable development.
Architects should specify materials that do not harm the environment at any stage of their life
cycle from first manufacturing to end-of-use recycling. Natural, bio-degradable, and recycled
building materials are becoming more and more common. Developers are turning to renewable
sources for water and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Green architecture and
eco-friendly building practices promote sustainable development, as do walkable communities,
and mixed-use communities that combine residential and commercial activities, aspects
of Smart Growth and the New Urbanism.
In architecture and design, the emphasis of sustainable development is on the conservation of
environmental resources. However, the concept of sustainable development is often broadened
to include the protection and development of human resources. Communities founded on
principles of sustainable development may strive to provide abundant educational resources,
career development opportunities, and social services. United Nations sustainable development
goals are inclusive.

Examples of Sustainable Development

Australian architect Glenn Murcutt is often held up as an architect who practices sustainable
design. His projects are developed for and placed on sites that have been studied for their
natural elements of rain, wind, sun, and earth. For example, the roof of the Magney House was
designed specifically to capture rainwater for use within the structure.
The Villages of Loreto Bay in Loreto Bay, Mexico was promoted as a model of sustainable
development. The community claimed to produce more energy than it consumed and more
water than it used. However, critics charged that developers' claims were overstated. The
community eventually suffered financial setbacks. Other communities with good intentions,
such as Playa Vista in Los Angeles, have had similar struggles.
More successful residential projects are the grassroots Eco-villages being built all over the
world. The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) defines an ecovillage as "an intentional or
traditional community using local participatory processes to holistically integrate ecological,
economic, social, and cultural dimensions of sustainability in order to regenerate social and
natural environments." One of the most famous is Eco-Village Ithaca, co-founded by Liz
Walker.
Finally, one of the most famous success stories is the transformation of a neglected area of
London into the Olympic Park for the London 2012 summer Olympic Games. From 2006
until 2012 the Olympic Delivery Authority created by British Parliament oversaw the
government mandated sustainability project. Sustainable development is most successful when
governments work with the private sector to make things happen. With support from the public
sector, private energy companies like Solarpark Rodenas will be more likely to put their
renewable energy photovoltaic panels where sheep may safely graze existing together on the
land.
3. Write down the main steps of EIA?

EIA represents a systematic process that examines the environmental consequences of the
development actions, in advance. The EIA process involves a number of steps, some of which
are listed below:

1. Submission of preliminary information (Identifying and Defining the Project):

The project proponent should submit information regarding the nature, location and impacts of
a proposed project that requires an EIA. The best time for a project proponent to submit the
preliminary information on the proposed project is as soon as the project concept is finalized
and the location of the project is decided. A brief summary of the project is extremely helpful
at this stage. The existing laws and regulations that are applicable to the project should also be
reviewed along with the regulating authorities. It is very important to identify the team that will
carry out the EIA procedure along with a coordinator and the decision maker who will read the
final report.

2. Environmental Screening:

The EIA process begins from the very start of a project. Once a developer has identified a need
and assessed all the possible alternatives of project design and sites to select a preferred
alternative, two important questions must be asked: 'What will be the effects of this
development on the environment? Are those effects significant?' If the answer to the second
question is 'yes', an EIA may be required. Answering this question is a process known as
screening and can be an essential first step into a formal EIA. Screening is done partly by the
EIA regulations, operating in a country at the time of assessment.

3. Environmental Scoping:

Scoping is a stage, usually involving the public and other interested parties, that identifies the
key environmental issues that should be addressed in an EIA. Scoping actually controls the
cost and time of the assessment in deciding the scope of the EIA and therefore is a very
important step both in identifying the impacts and controlling the size of the EIA. The
following techniques are used for scoping. Checklist technique, Matrix technique, Networks
technique, Overlay technique.

4. Consideration of alternatives:

This seeks to ensure that the proponent has considered other feasible approaches, including
alternative project locations, scales, processes, layouts, operating condition and the no-action
option.

5. Description of the environmental baseline:

Following on from scoping, it is essential to collect all relevant information on the current
status of the environment. This study is referred to as a baseline study as it provides a baseline
against which change due to a development can be measured. Baseline studies are based on the
experience with respect to environmental aspects and cover everything important about the
environmental impacts of the project. Baseline studies are rather easily carried out in the
countries where the required technical expertise, long term database for environmental
measures (for instance in the case of river flow) and relevant research papers and reports are
available for the area concerned.

6. Impact prediction:

Once the baseline study information is available, the important task of impact prediction can
begin. Impact prediction involves forecasting the likely changes in the environment that will
occur as a result of the development.

7. Impact assessment:

The next phase involves the assessment of the identified impacts - impact assessment. This
requires interpretation of the importance or significance of the impacts to provide a conclusion,
which can ultimately be used by decision-makers in determining the fate of the project
application. This step is generally considered as the most technical in nature and therefore is
the most difficult and controversial part of the EIA. It is difficult because not every impact,
especially natural and social impacts, can be quantified. A well balanced final decision can be
reached regarding the fate of the project.

8. Mitigation measures:

These measures are taken to reduce the magnitude or intensity of the impacts affecting the
environment. This of course will incur some costs, but it is expected that such measures will,
in the long run, mitigate the impacts so as to make the project both economically and
environmentally viable. The EIA team has to decide between two alternatives, either having a
high cost and low pollution program or having a low cost but a high pollution situation.

9. Public Participation:

Best EIA practice involves and engages the public at numerous points throughout the process
with a two-way exchange of information and views. Public participation may consist of
informational meetings, public hearings, and opportunities to provide written comments about
a proposed project. However, there are no consistent rules for public participation among
current EIA systems.

10. Producing the environmental impact statement:

The outcome of an EIA is usually a formal document, known as an environmental impact

statement (EIS), which sets out factual information relating to the development, and all the
information gathered relating to screening, scoping, baseline study, impact prediction and
assessment, mitigation, and monitoring measures. It is quite common that a requirement of an
EIS is that it also produces a non-technical summary. This is a summary of the information
contained within the EIS, presented in a concise non-technical format, for those who do not
wish to read the detailed documents. This is very important, as EISs are public documents
intended to inform the public of the nature and likely consequences of a development in time
to comment and/or participate in the final project design.

11. EIS review:

Once the EIA is complete, the EIS is submitted to the competent authority. This is the body
with the authority to permit or refuse development applications. The competent authorities are
often in a position of having very little time to make a decision and have a detailed and lengthy
EIS to read through which may contain errors, omissions, and developer bias. It is essential,
therefore, that they review the document. Review can take a number of forms: it may be purely
an ad hoc process whereby the document is read and commented on by decision-makers; it can
be more formalised and expert opinion is sought; or it can be through the use of formal review
methods designed specifically for the purpose. Basically, the review process should enable the
decision-maker to decide whether the EIS is adequate (ex: whether it is legally compliant),
whether the information is correct, and whether it is unbiased. If it is, they are then in a position
to use the EIS as information to be considered in determining whether the project should
receive consent.

12. Decision:

A decision to approve or reject a project is generally based on the final EIA. Usually the
decision is taken by a manager or a committee, or personnel from the concerned ministry who
had not been associated with the EIA during its preparation. In general, a decision maker has
three choices:

• accepting one of the project alternatives

• returning the EIA with a request for further study in certain specific areas
• totally rejecting the proposed project along with alternative versions.

13. Auditing:

This follows monitoring and involves comparing actual outcomes with predicted outcomes,
and can be used to assess the quality of predictions and the effectiveness of mitigation.