ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Dr. Muhammad Umar Farooq

(IEER, UET Lahore)

Domains of the Environment

 Physical
• Air
• Water
• Land
 Ecological
• Flora
• Fauna
 Socio-economic
• Social
• Economic
• Cultural
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Environmental Impact


Situation with Project

Environmental
Parameter
Land
Impact
Water Situation
Air with No
Social Project

Existing
Situation

EA Definition
 The assessment of all potential environmental,
social and health effects that would result on
account of location, design, construction and
operation of the proposed development is termed
as EA.
 The terms EIA, EIS, ESIA

 EIA Vs IEE

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Purpose of the EA
 Assessment of environmental effects

 Avoidance and reduction of adverse impacts

 Inclusion of environmental consequences during

planning, designing & decision making

 Subsequent environmental management during

implementation

Regulatory framework of EA in Pakistan

 Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA, 1997)

 EIA or IEE mandatory under Section 12 of PEPA for new

and existing development projects

 Environmental Assessment Guidelines Package 1997

 The IEE/EIA regulations 2000 / 2016

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International Legislation
 Dependent on Funding Agency
 World Bank:
 Safeguards
 World Bank Environmental Assessment Sourcebooks
 Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook
 Involuntary Resettlement
 Asian Development Bank:
 Procedures for Carrying out EIA in Developing Countries
 USAID
 (Reg-216), EIA Process
 International Finance Corporation (IFC)
 Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)

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Actors interacting in EIA

The EA Process

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 General Procedure of EA
PROJECT PROPOSAL

Is An “EIA” Required Screening

What are the Key Issues? Scoping

Baseline Data Collection

Identification of Potential Identification &

Environmental Impacts Analysis of
Information
Analysis of Alternatives

Identification of Mitigation Measures &

Monitoring Program

PREPARE EIS Present

Submit EIS to Decision Findings
Making Authority

Have Terms of Reference and

Standard of Practice been met? EIS Review
Monitoring during
Are impacts being managed
Construction & Post-Project Analysis
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to acceptable levels?
Operation Phase

EIA and Project Cycle

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 MAJOR COMPONENTS OF AN EA STUDY
1. Screening:

 “Screening” is a process of determining whether an

EIA is required for a project

2. Scoping:

 “Scoping” is a process for determining what

environmental issues to be covered, assessed and
addressed in an EA Report.

 It includes consultation with relevant agencies,

stakeholders, local representatives and experts.

STEPS FOR EA STUDY (Cont…)

3. Baseline Data Collection:

 It includes the collection of information on the

characteristics of the existing environment
(physical, biological) and socio-economic conditions
in the study area.

 The baseline studies also, include the detailed

description of the proposed project activities and
assess various pollutants that would be resulting
from the activity.

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 STEPS FOR EA STUDY (Cont…)
4. Identification of Significant Environmental
Impacts:
 Significant environmental impacts are identified on
the basis of their magnitude and significance.

This step includes;

 Impact prediction, and

 Impact evaluation.
5. Analysis of Alternatives:
 Different alternatives of the project are analyzed on
both economic and environmental basis.

STEPS FOR EA STUDY (Cont…)

6. Mitigation Measures:

 Appropriate mitigation measures are proposed for the

identified significant environmental impacts.

7. Environmental Monitoring/Management Plan:

 EMP provides a framework for mitigating

environmental impacts for the life of the project.

 It also make provision for auditing the effectiveness

of proposed environmental protection measures and
procedures.

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 The Most important
EA TEAM

Environmental Environmental
Engineers Scientists

Electrical, Civil & Sociologists

Mechanical Engineers
Ecologists

Resettlement Experts
Hydrologists

GIS Experts Agronomists