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2.EnvironmentalImpactAssessment(EIA)andEnvironmentalAuditing(EA)
2.1GoalsofEIAandEA
EIAgoals

EnvironmentalImpactAssessmentisatooldesignedtoidentifyandpredicttheimpactofaprojectonthebiogeophysicalenvironmentandonman'shealthand
wellbeing,tointerpretandcommunicateinformationabouttheimpact,toanalyzesiteandprocessalternativesandprovidesolutionstosiftout,orabate/mitigate
thenegativeconsequencesonmanandtheenvironment.

EIAisalwaysnecessaryforapulpandpaperproject(whetheritisanewmillortheexpansionofanexistingfacility),asforanyindustrialprojectofimportance.
TheEIAisameansofavoidingenvironmentaldisturbancesthatarealwaysmuchmoreexpensivetocorrectaftertheiroccurrencethanbefore.Itisalso
importanttounderlinethatveryfewprojectshavebeendeemednotviablemerelybecauseofthecostofpollutioncontrolandthatmodernenvironmental
control,inanewplant,islessthan3%oftheinitialinvestment.

Today,thereisworldwideevidencethatmancannotignorethequalityoftheenvironment.Thusenvironmentalissuesmustbeaddressedassoonaspossible
duringprojectplanning.Thereshouldnotbeanyhesitationinabandoningaprojectoraprocessatanearlystage,orinproposingalternativestoanyproject
whichwouldhaveverydetrimentalimpactontheenvironment,asisthecaseforprojectswhicharenoteconomicallyorfinanciallyviable.Inthesamewayas
economic,financial,institutional,ortechnicalanalyses,EIAisanintegralpartoftheproject.

Awareofthisnecessity,numerouscountrieshaveimplementedEIAregulations.Internationalagenciesgenerallyalsolendtheirassistancetoanyindustrial
projectofimportanceimplementinganEIA,includingpulpandpaperindustries.

EAgoals

EnvironmentalAuditing(orAudit)isamanagementtoolusedbyindustrytoevaluateitsenvironmentalperformance.ContrarytoEIA,anEAisonlyimplemented
inprocessingsites.

ThedefinitionoftheEAdescribespreciselythegoalsofthisenvironmentaltool.AswrittenintheEnvironmentalAuditingTechnicalReportofUNEP/IEO,an
EAis:Amanagementtoolcomprisingasystematic,documented,periodicandobjectiveevaluationofhowwellenvironmentalorganization,managementand
equipmentareperformingintheaimofhelpingtosafeguardtheenvironmentby:

Facilitatingmanagementandcontrolofenvironmentalpractices,

Assessingcompliancewithcompanypolicies,whichwouldincludemeetingregulatoryrequirements.

UNEP/IEOadd,insummary,EAshouldprovideanswerstothefollowingquestionsraisedbycompanymanagers:

Whatarewedoing?Inparticular,areweincompliancewithgovernmentregulations,guidelines,codesofpractice,permitsconditions?
Canwedoitbetter?Inparticular,aretherenonregulatedareaswhereoperationscanbeimprovedtominimizetheimpactontheenvironment?
Canwedoitmorecheaply?
Whatmoreshouldwedo?

ItisalsoimportanttonotethatanEAcannotstandaloneandmustbeintegratedinanoverallmanagementsystemandmustincludedialoguebetweentheplant
managerandpeoplelivinginthevicinity.

2.2ContentsofanEIA
1.Executivesummary:

Inafewpagesitallowsanyone(specialistornot)tounderstandthedifferentrepercussionsoftheproject(ontheenvironment,humanwellbeingand
safety)andtobeinformedofthealternativeschosenandthemitigatingmeasuresthathavetobeimplemented.

2.Projectdescription,andlegalandadministrativeframework:

Abriefdescriptionoftheprojectisnecessarywithalloffsiteextensionsandtheirinteractionwithnaturalandsocialcomponents.Alltheregulations
implementedwithintheEIAmustbedetailedhere.

3.Scopingandscreening:

Itisimportantthatpeopleinchargeoftheprotectionoftheenvironment(ministries,borrowers,donors,NGOs,associations,inhabitants)canoutlineto
theinvestorthelimitsoftheEIA,intime,spaceandthetypeofimpacttobeaddressed(aswellasthewayofevaluatingthem),andidentifythe
alternatives.

4.Descriptionoftheexistingenvironment:

Precisedatarelevanttothesiteisrequired,describing:intendeduses,quality,physical,biological,social,andeconomicconditions.Thisdescriptionmust
includeotherexistingorproposeddevelopments.Theuseofmaps,graphs,drawingsisveryimportantforabetterunderstandingofthesituation.Key
datagapsanduncertaintiesmustbeidentifiedhere.

5.Analysisofalternativesandbasisfortheselectionofthealternativeproposed:

Theprojectdescription(seeparagraph2above)iscompletedbyaprecisedescriptionofthedifferentchoicesconcerningprocesses,siteandall
alternativesthattheinvestorhasexaminedforabetterprotectionoftheenvironmentandpopulationsconcerned.Acomparisonofthesedifferent
alternatives,intermoftheirpotentialimpactandcost/benefitanalysis,isrequired.Thebasisonwhicheachalternativeischosenmustbestated.

6.Environmentalissuesoftheproject:

Oncetheprojectisdefinedandallalternativesthoroughlystudied,thissectionpresentstheenvironmentalissuesaroundthefinalproject.Eachareaof
positiveornegativeimpactmustbedefinedintermsofitsmagnitude,reversibility,periodofoccurrenceandnature(primary,secondary).Atthisstageit
isimportanttooutlineindetailthedifferentphasesoftheprojectandtoaddressalltheenvironmentalrepercussionslinkedwitheachphase.Allthe
 drasticallynegativerepercussionsthatcannotbeeliminatedmustbeidentifiedandmitigatingmeasuresmustbeproposedinthenextchapter.

7.Mitigatingmeasures:

Forallremainingnegativerepercussions,mitigatingmeasureshavetobeproposed(andmustbeundertakenassoonastheprojectstarts).These
measuresmustberealisticbothtechnicallyandeconomically.Theefficiencyofeachmeasureinreducingsignificantnegativeeffectstoanacceptablelevel
mustbeassessed.Anestimationoftherequiredinvestmentisnecessaryatthisstagetoverifythefeasibilityoftheproposedmeasures.

8.Environmentalmanagementandtrainingandenvironmentalmonitoringplan:

Inordertotryandpreventenvironmentalaccidents,itisnecessarytoprepareadocumenttodefinetheroleofeachpersonorgroupintheenvironmental
managementteamofthefuturecompanyandthemonitoringandtrainingproceduresundertakentoenhancethecapabilitiesofthestaffandworkers.
Thesedocumentswillnaturallybeupdatedoncetheplantisbuilt.

9.Appendices:

Alldocumentsneededforunderstandingthechosenmethodology,thereferences,themeetingswithministries,scientists,managers,affectedgroups,the
namesandqualificationsoftheauthorsofthestudy,needtoappearunderthisheading.

2.3ContentsofanEnvironmentalAuditing
Therearemanykindsofauditwhichcanbeconductedaloneornot.Theauditcanbeconcentratedonorganization,emission,compliancewithstandardsand
regulation,maintenance,security,materialbalance,training,outsidecontractors

TheInternationalChamberofCommercepresentsthedifferentstepsofanEAasfollows:

1.Preauditactivities:whichinclude:

Selectionandschedulingoffacilitytoaudit,
Selectionofauditteam,

Contactwithfacilityandplanningoftheaudit.

2.Siteactivities:whicharedividedinto5steps:

Firstunderstandingofinternalcontrols,
Assessmentofinternalcontrols,
Gatheringofauditevidence,
Evaluationofauditfindings,

Reportoffindingstofacility.

3.Postauditactivities:whichinclude:

Productionofadraftreport,
Productionofafinalreport,
Preparationandimplementationofanactionplan,
Monitoringofactionplan.

Figure6showsthedetailsofeachstep.

Itisimportanttonoticethattheauditsystemisacycle.Itsperiodicityhastobedefinedpreviouslyandthesitecontrolphaseperiodicitymustnotexceed3years.

2.4PlaceoftheEIAandEAintheProjectCycle
TheEIAtakesplaceassoonaspossibleintheprojectdevelopment,andatthelatestduringthefeasibilitystudy.Thedifferentdevelopmentpossibilitiesandthe
EIAbecomemoreandmorepreciseastheprojectproceeds.WhentheprojectdesigniscompletetheEIAcanbeproducedandsubmittedinitsfinalversion.
TheEAisconductedonlyinoperatingsites.

Figure2showstheplaceofeachtoolintheprojectcycle.

Figure2:ProjectcycleandtimingoftheEIAandEA(Source:Brche)
2.5TheEIACycle
TheEIAfollowstheprojectbutithasitsownrequirements.Figure3showstheEIAcycleanditsconception.Chapter3proposesaprecisedescriptionofeach
phaseofanEIAforapulpandpaperproject.

Figure3:EnvironmentalImpactAssessmentcycle(SourceBRECHE)

2.6MethodologiesforPredictingImpactinanEIA
ThecontentsoftheEIAandtherangeofstudiestobeimplemented,inordertomakepredictionsonenvironmentalissues,aredirectlylinkedtothesizeofthe
projectandtothesensitivityoftheareawhereitistobeerected.TheEIAmustprovidethedecisionmakersandthepopulationwithallthenecessaryanalytical
data,fortheirinformationandawareness.Assuperfluousdetailsareunprofitable,theassessmenthastopinpointtheimportantparameterstobestudied,the
othersareonlymentioned.Forthesemajorparameters,itisoftennecessarytofollowsomeguidelinesinordertohaveasobjectiveathinkingaspossible.
ThoughthismaynotbenecessaryforsmallprojectswheregoodpracticeofEIAandcommonsensecanbesufficient,itisanecessityforlargescaleprojects
principallywhentheyincludeintegratedforestdevelopment.TherearevariousmethodsavailabletoguidetheEIAauthor.Threearebedetailedhere:

ThechecklistmethodortheEIAtype,
Thematrixmethod,
TheBattelleenvironmentalevaluationsystem.

2.6.1ChecklistsorEIAtypemethods

Variouschecklists,orEIAtypemethods,areavailableworldwide.GenerallychecklistsaremorewidelyusedindevelopingcountrieswhileEIAtypemethods
areoftenusedindevelopedcountriesbyauthoritiestoguidetheEIAauthorsintheirthinking.

TheprincipleofthesetwomethodsistogiveaframeworktoEIAauthorssothattheydonotforgetanyimportantpoint.Checklists,orEIAtypemethods,are
goodtoolsbuttheycannottakeintoconsiderationallparticularcasesthatcanbemetduringanEIA.However,theyaregenerallysufficientforsmallscale
projects.Thesemethodscanbecombinedwiththeuseofenvironmentalguidelines,widelyproposedbyauthoritiesordonorsagencies.

WhileEIAtypemethodsareavailablefordifferentactivities,checklistsareprovidedbothforvarioussectorsofactivity(industries,forestry,agriculture)andfor
thedifferenttypesofareasaffected(wetlands,tropicalforests,coastalzones).

SomeexamplesofchecklistsareprovidedbothintheappendicesandinthenextchapterdedicatedtoEIAinthepulpandpaperindustry.

2.6.2Matrixmethod

TheLeopoldmatrixisthebestknownmatrixmethodologyavailableforpredictingtheimpactofaprojectontheenvironment.

Itisatwodimensionalmatrixcrossreferencing:

theactivitieslinkedtotheprojectthataresupposedtohaveanimpactonmanandtheenvironment.
theexistingenvironmentalandsocialconditionsthatcouldpossiblybeaffectedbytheproject.

Theactivitieslinkedtotheprojectarelistedononeaxis:rawmaterialproduction,buildingconstruction,watersupply,energysupply,rawmaterialpreparation,
pulpandpapermillsprocessing,gaseousemissions,liquideffluents,coolingwaterdischarges,noise,solidwastestreatmentanddisposal,transportation.

Theenvironmentalandsocialconditionsarelistedontheotheraxis,anddividedinthreemajorgroups:

physicalconditions:soil,water,air,
biologicalconditions:fauna,flora,ecosystems,
socialandculturalconditions:landuse,historicalandculturalissues,populations,economy

TheLeopoldmatrixproposesathreestepprocesstoestimatetheimpact:

Firststep:

foralltheinteractionsconsideredsignificantbytheauthors,thefirststepistomarkthecorrespondingboxesinthematrixwithadiagonalline.

Secondstep:

oncetheboxeswithsupposedsignificantinteractionsareslashed,theauthorevaluateseachboxbyapplyinganumberfrom1to10(1isthe
minimumand10themaximum)toregisterthemagnitudeoftheinteraction.Thisnumberistransferredtotheupperlefthandcorner.Itrepresents
thescaleoftheactionanditstheoreticalextent.

Thirdstep:

thefinalstepforthismethodistomark(from1to10),inthelowerrighthandcorner,therealimportanceofthephenomenonforthegivenproject.It
thengivesanevaluationoftheextentoftheenvironmentalimpactaccordingtotheassessor'sjudgement.

OncethematrixisestablishedtheEIAgivesaprecisedescriptionofeachimportantimpactinthematrix(withthelargernumericalvaluesformagnitudeand
importance).Thediscussionmustalsoaddresscolumnsandrowswithlargenumbersofinteractions.Theyshowactivities,orelements,inconnectionwiththe
environmentwhichareparticularlysignificantorsensitive.

TheLeopoldmatrixproposesaframeworkforalldevelopersbut,ononehand,itistoodetailedforpulpandpaperprojects,andontheothernotpreciseenough
forsuchprojects.Itisgenerallymoreefficienttoaccommodateitasneededandtodevelopacustomizedmatrixfortheproject.Anexampleofapossiblematrix
forthepulpandpaperindustryisgiveninfigure4.

Figure4:Exampleofmatrixforthepulpandpaperindustry(Leopoldmethod).

Evaluationmethod ACTION

RAW RAW
BUILDING WATER ENERGY INDUSTRIAL GASEOUS
MATERIAL MATERIAL
OPERATIONS SUPPLY SUPPLY PROCESSES EMISSIONS
PRODUCTION PREPARATION

PHYSICAL SOIL SOILQUALITY

EROSION
GEOMORPHOLOGY
WATER RIVERS
COASTALZONE
SUBSURFACEWATER
SEAQUALITY
AIR AIRQUALITY
ODOURS
NOISE
BIOLOGICAL FLORA FORESTS
 CROPS
WETLANDS
SEAGRASSES
RIVERFLORA
FAUNA MAMMALS

ENVIRONMENTAL BIRDS
/SOCIAL FISH
CONDITIONS
OTHERS

VERTEBRATES
INVERTEBRATES
ECOSYSTEMS ECOSYSTEMSQUALITY
ECOSYSTEMS

DESTRUCTION
SOCIAL LANDUSES RURAL
FISHERIES
URBAN
INDUSTRIAL
RECREATIONALUSES
PATRIMONY LANDSCAPE
HISTORICAL/CULTURAL
HERITAGE
WILDERNESSQUALITY
SOCIAL POPULATIONDENSITY
EMPLOYMENT
HAZARDS
TOTAL

2.6.3TheBatellemethod

Firstdesignedforwaterresourcedevelopment,theBattellemethodcaneasilybeusedinotherprojects.Theprincipleliesinsplittingtheenvironmentalimpacts
infourmajorcategories:ecology,pollution,aestheticsandhumaninterest.Thesecategoriesaredividedintothematicdataasshown:

Ecology

Speciesandpopulations,
Habitatsandcommunities,

Ecosystems.

Pollution

Waterpollution,
Airpollution,
Landpollution,

Noisepollution.

Aesthetics

Land,
Air,
Water,
Biota,
Manmadeobjects,

Composition.

Humaninterest

Educational/scientificpackages,
Historicalpackages,
Cultures,
Mood/atmosphere,
Lifepatterns,
Composition.

Thesethematicdataaredividedintoenvironmentalindicators.Forexampleinthepulpandpaperindustry,waterpollutioncouldberepresentedby:BOD,
dissolvedoxygen,faecalcoliforms,inorganiccarbon,pH,temperature,totaldissolvedsolids,turbidity,etc.

Oncetheenvironmentalindicatorsarechosen,themethodfollowsthreesteps:

Firststep:

atthisstage,thegoalofthemethodistotransformenvironmentalindicatorsintoenvironmentalquality.Thenotationtabledefinesanumberfrom
0to1(0forpoorqualityand1forgoodquality).Thusitispossibletoquantifyevolutionbothinthewrongorrightdirection(environmental
deteriorationorimprovement).

Secondstep:

atotalofa1,000points(orParameterImportanceUnits:PIU)aresharedamongtheindicatorsbytheauthorsoftheEIA.Theyreflecttherelative
importanceofeachparameter.

Thirdstep:
 thecomparisonbetweenthesituationwithandwithouttheprojectisdoneinEnvironmentalImpactUnits(EIU).Itcanevenreflectbenefitsorlosses
intermsofenvironmentalconditions.

Where:

(Vi)1environmentalqualityforindicatoriintheprojectconditions,
(Vi)2environmentalqualityforindicatoriwithouttheproject,
wirelativeweightoftheindicatori(PIU),
mtotalnumberofindicators.

Theprincipaladvantageofthismethodisthatitgivesacomparativeanalysisbetweenseveralsituations,thusitisparticularlyefficientwheneffectingchoices
betweenalternatives.

2.6.4Software

Somesoftwareisavailabletohelpinforecastingtheimpactofdevelopmentprojects.FAOproposesasoftwarepackageEcozonewhichisnotspecifictothe
pulpandpaperindustrybutincludestheanalysisofpossibleimpactsofaprojectfor6typesofecozones:

Uplandhumid, Uplandarid,
Lowlandhumid, Lowlandarid,
Coastalhumid, Coastalarid.

forfivegroupsofactivities:agriculture,aquaculture,forestry,livestockandwaterresources.

Thesoftwareisapackagewhichconsistsofthefollowingprogrammes:

EcozoneImpacts.Containspreprogrammedrulesandfactsabouttheenvironmentalimpactofdevelopmentprojects,andmaybeusedtoindicatethe
majorpotentialenvironmentalimpactofcertaindevelopmentactivitiesindifferentregionsofthetropics.Inaddition,anencyclopaediaoftextualinformation
aboutregions,sectors,activities,andenvironmentalimpactofactivitiesisprovided.

EcozoneWorkshop.Containsfactsinitstextualdatabase,butdoesnotholdanyrulesaboutenvironmentalimpactandprojects.Itwasdesignedforuse
inspecifictrainingsituation,wheregroupsoftraineesentertheirownrulesabouttheenvironmentalimpactofactivitiesindifferentsectors.The
programmeautomaticallycombinestherulesofthedifferentgroups,allowingtherulesofallthegroupstointeract.Inthiswayitispossibletoshowhow
anactivitycanhavenegativeorpositiveimpactswhichmayaffectotheractivities.

EcozoneControlandEmptybook.EcozoneEmptybookcontainsnofactsorrules,itisanemptyshelloftheEcozoneImpactsystem.Itspurposeisto
allowveryexperienceduserstoenternewrulesandfactsabout,forexample,aparticularcountry,regionoractivity.EcozoneControlbooksimplyallows
userstocreateandaccessnewEmptybooks.

EcozoneImpactsallowstodetermineautomaticallythemajorimpactsofadevelopmentproject.Theimpactsareclassifiedintermsofprimaryorhigherorder
impacts.Forexample:Deforestationincreasesrunoffwhichinducessoilerosionwhichleadstoincreasedsedimentation,etc.

EcozoneWorkshopallowsustodeterminetheimpactofaprojectalone.ItisgenerallybettertobegintheexperiencebyfillingEcozoneWorkshopandthento
comparetheresultswiththoseofEcozonesImpacts.

EcozoneEmptybookallowstocreateitsowndatabaseofprojects:forexamplepulpandpaperprojects.

2.7TheEnvironmentalAuditingCycle
Thischapterwillshowtheorganizationofenvironmentalmanagementinanyindustry.Thefirstcycle(figure5)toconsideristhecycleoftherelationship
betweenindustryandenvironment,andbetweenenvironmentalmanagementandindustry.

Figure5:Industryandenvironmentrelationship.(Source:EnvironmentalauditingatCibaGeigy)

EnvironmentalAuditingtakesplaceinthethirdphaseofthecycleandleadstothefourthphasetoadapttheactivitytoenvironmentalrequirements.

AccordingtotheInternationalChamberofCommerceEAcanhavemanybenefitssuchas:

Facilitatingcomparisonandinterchangeofinformationbetweenoperationorplants,
Increasingemployeeawarenessofenvironmentalpoliciesandresponsibilities,
Identifyingcostsavingsincludingthoseresultingfromwasteminimization,
Evaluatingtrainingprogrammesandprovidingdatatoassistintrainingpersonnel,
Providinganinformationbaseforuseinemergencyresponsearrangements,
Assuringanadequate,uptodateenvironmentaldatabaseforinternalmanagementawarenessanddecisionmakinginrelationtoplantmodifications,new
plans,etc.,
Enablingmanagementtogivecreditforgoodenvironmentalperformance,
 Helpingtoassistrelationswithauthoritiesbyconvincingthemthatcompleteandeffectiveauditsarebeingundertaken,byinformingthemofthetypeof
procedureadopted,
Facilitatingtheobtainingofinsurancecoverageforenvironmentalimpairmentliability.

Toleadtothosebenefitsaprecisemethodologyhastobefollowed.Wereproducehere(Figure6)theproposedmethodologyoftheInternationalChamberof
CommerceinthetechnicalreportofUNEP/IEO:EnvironmentalAuditing.

Figure6:BASICSTEPSOFANENVIRONMENTALAUDITING(SOURCEINTERNATIONALCHAMBEROFCOMMERCEINUNEP/IEOTECHNICAL
REPORT).

EAcanalsobeintegratedinanoverallenvironmentalmanagementsystem(EMS).Figure7synthesizestheEMSproposedbyEuropeanUnion.

Figure7:ENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENTSYSTEM(SOURCE:METHODEUROPEANUNION,DRAWINGBRECHE)