Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 8

MN - 541

Environmental Planning and Management in Surface Mines


ASSIGNMENT
Name: VINAYAK CHATURVEDI
Roll no: 16064020
Professor: DR. ARIF JAMAL
Dept. of Mining
IIT BHU
Q. What are the main classes of impact identification techniques? Explain
four methods in details, along with their advantages and disadvantages.

There are many potential methods available for predicting impacts on a


variety of areas such as vegetation, wildlife, environment, ecology etc. No
prediction methods are perfect and new or improved methods are
constantly being developed.

The main classes of impact identification assessment are as follows:

• Ad hoc Method
• Checklist Method
• Matrix Method
• Networks Method
• Map Overlay Method

The major four methods in details are as following:

1. Ad hoc methods: Ad hoc methods include broad areas of possible


impacts by listing composite environmental parameters likely to be
affected by the proposed activity. These methods involve assembling
a team of specialists who identify impacts in their area of expertise.
Here, each parameter is considered separately and the nature of
impacts whether it is long term or short term, reversible or
irreversible are considered. These methods give a rough assessment
of total impact while giving the broad areas and the general nature of
possible impacts.

This method serves as a preliminary assessment and helps in


identification of important areas such as Wildlife Endangered
species, Natural vegetation, Exotic vegetation, Natural drainage,
Groundwater, Noise, Air quality etc.

Types of Ad hoc method are:


• Opinion poll
• Expert opinion and
• Delphi methods

Advantages:

1. This method is very simple and can be performed without any


training. It does not involve any relative weighing of parameters or any
cause-effect relationship.
2. It provides minimal guidance for impact analysis while suggesting
broad areas for possible impacts.

Disadvantages:

1. Moreover, it does not even state the actual impacts on specific


parameters that will be affected.
2. It gives no assurance that a comprehensive set of all relevant impacts
have been studied i.e. all the necessary parameters would be included.
3. Analysis using this method lacks consistency as it different criteria are
selectively evaluated by different groups and there is no synergy or
tandem assessment.
4. It is blatantly inefficient as it requires a considerable effort to identify
and assemble a panel for each assessment.
2. Checklist method: In this method, environmental factors are listed
in a structured format and are well sorted by giving importance
weightings for factors and application of scaling techniques for
impacts of each parameter. Thus importance of parameters are in
accordance with their severity.

Checklists are of following types:


1. Simple Checklist: Simple checklists are a list of parameters without
guidelines regarding either interpretation or measurement of
environmental parameters. No specific data is needed.

2. Descriptive Checklist: Descriptive checklists Includes an


identification of environmental parameters and guidelines on how to
measure data on particular parameters.

3. Scaling or Weighting type: Scaling and weighting checklists similar


to a descriptive checklist, but with additional information on
subjective scaling of the parameters.

4. Questionnaire Checklist: Questionnaire Checklist are based on a set


of questions to be answered. Some of the questions may concern
indirect impacts and possible mitigation measures. They may also
provide a scale for classifying estimated impacts from highly adverse
to highly beneficial.
5. Threshold Checklist: Threshold Checklist consist of a list of
environmental components and , for each component, a threshold
at which those assessing a proposal should become concerned with
an impact. The implication of alternative proposals can be seen by
examining the number of times that an alternative exceeds the
threshold of concern.

Advantages:

1. It is simple to understand and use


2. It is good for site selection and priority setting
3. They are useful in summarizing information to make it accessible to
specialists from other fields, or to decision makers who may have a
limited amount of technical knowledge
4. Scaling checklists provide a preliminary level of analysis.
5. Weighting is a mechanism for incorporating information about
ecosystem functions.

Disadvantages

1. It does not distinguish between direct and indirect impacts


2. It does not link action and impact
3. It is cumbersome at times.
4. It can be too general or incomplete.
5. It does not illustrate interactions between effects i.e. tandem effects
not accounted for.
6. The number of categories to be reviewed can be immense, thus
distracting from the most significant impacts.
7. The identification of effects is qualitative and subjective.
3. Matrix Method: This methodology provides a framework of
interaction of different activities of a project with potential
environmental impacts caused by them. A simple interaction matrix
is formed when project actions are listed on one axis (usually vertical)
and environmental impacts are listed along the other axis. The entries
in the cell of the matrix can be either qualitative or quantitative
estimates of impact.

Types of Matrix methods are:

1. Simple Matrix

2. Time dependent matrix: Includes a number sequence to represent


the time scale (e.g. one figure per year) of the impacts

3. Magnitude Matrix: Go beyond the mere identification of impacts


according to their magnitude, importance and or time frame (e.g.
short, medium or long term)

4. Quantified Matrix (Leopold Matrix) This technique was pioneered


by Leopold et al in 1971. It lists about 100 project actions and about
88 environmental characteristics and conditions

5. Weighted Matrix: Weighted matrices were developed in an attempt


to respond to some of the above problems
Advantages:

1. The advantage of the matrix method is that it links action to impact


2. This is a very good method for displaying EIA results
3. This method has the advantage of allowing various alternatives to be
compared numerically.
4. The method also doesn’t consider indirect impact.

Disadvantages:
1. It is difficult to distinguish between direct and indirect impacts using
this method
2. There is potential for double-counting of impacts
3. It is qualitative in nature and does not refer to quantity of impact
4. Network Method: Network is an alternative for illustrating the
secondary and subsequent effects of action on environmental
elements is to construct a network tracing such effects. The
advantage of a network approach is that it permits clear tracing of
high-order effects of initial actions, along with mitigation and control
measures.

One problem encountered in applying the network is that many


higher-order effects can be postulated that are actually unlikely to occur
thus uselessly making it cumbersome.

Advantages:

1. It links action to impact


2. It is useful to check second order impacts in a simplified form
3. It handles direct and indirect impacts

Disadvantages:
1. It becomes overly complex if used beyond simplified version
2. It is completely qualitative in nature

Вам также может понравиться