Environmental Impact Assessment

LGU Orientation on PEIS System

28 October 2015
EASajul
Outline of Presentation

Environmental Impact Assessment

What is EIA
Aims & Objective
Impact Identification

Philippine EIA System Background and History

Benefits of the EIA
Environmental Impact Assessment:
a universal requirement

• From its beginnings in the 1970 US National

Environmental Policy Act. . .
• Most countries & almost all donors
have EIA as requirements
• EIA now extends beyond government works
to
• Infrastructure and economic development
projects funded by the private sector & donors
• Analysis of policies, not just projects
• In many developing countries, EIA is the core
of national environmental regulation

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Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental
Impact Assessment is


A formal process for identifying:
•likely effects of activities or
projects on the environment,
and on human health and
welfare.
•means and measures to
mitigate & monitor these
impacts

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Aims and objectives of EIA

modify and improve design

EIA can: ensure efficient resource use
enhance social aspects
identify key impacts and
measures for mitigating them
inform decision-making and
condition-setting
avoid serious and irreversible
damage to the environment
protect human health and safety

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Impact Types

• Direct easier to inventory, assess, and

control; the cause-effect relationship is usually
obvious

• Indirect more difficult to measure, but can

be more important. Over time they can affect
larger geographical areas of the environment
than anticipated
Impact Types

cumulative
• single large events, i.e. a large project;
• multiple interrelated events, i.e. road projects within
a region;
• catastrophic sudden events, i.e. a major landslide into
a river system; and
• incremental, widespread, slow change, such as a
poorly designed culvert or drainage system along a
long road extending through a watershed.
 Environmental impacts

type and nature

magnitude
extent
timing
duration
uncertainty
reversibility
significance
Impacts different implementation phases

Site Preparation : large scale and short

term changes occur in the environment,
Project Operation: continuous and long
term environmental impacts ,
Project Termination : recovery and
remedial measures for the rehabilitation
of the environment
Integration within EIA

The EIA process addresses the following

environmental effects:
biophysical and resource use
social and cultural
health and safety
economic and fiscal
landscape and visual
indigenous peoples’ rights
and traditional areas
Key EIA concepts

• Defining “impact”
• Characterizing baseline conditions
• Defining “activity”

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Key EIA concept: What is an impact?

The impact of an activity is the The baseline

change from the situation is the
baseline situation existing
caused by the activity. environmental
situation or
! To measure an impact, condition in the
you must know what the absence of the
baseline situation is. activity.

The baseline
situation is a key
concept in EIA.

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Characterizing the baseline situation. . .

Water? Quantity, quality, reliability,

The environmental accessibility

components Soils? Erosion, crop productivity,

of interest fallow periods, salinity,
nutrient concentrations
are those:
Fauna? Populations, habitat
• likely to be
affected by your
activity Env Health? Disease vectors,
pathogens
• upon which your Flora? Composition and density of
activity depends natural vegetation,
productivity, key species
for its success
Special Key species
ecosystems?

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Baseline situation: not just a “snapshot
in time”

This chart of groundwater

levels shows both
variability and a trend
over time.
Water table

BOTH are part of the

groundwater baseline
situation.

Time

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Types of impacts & their attributes

• Direct & indirect

The EIA process is impacts
concerned with
• Short-term & long-
all types of impacts and term impacts
may describe them in a
• Adverse &
number of ways
beneficial impacts
• Cumulative impacts
• Intensity
• Direction
• Spatial extent But all impacts
• Duration are NOT treated
• Frequency
• Reversibility
equally.
• Probability

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Focus!

! ESSENTIAL to focus
on the most
significant impacts
You definitely do not
have time and
resources to analyze
and discuss in detail
less important ones.

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What is an activity?

The EIA process examines the impacts of activities.

 An activity is:
A desired
accomplishment or Accomplishing an activity
output
requires a set of actions
e.g: major mining, ACTIVITY: ACTIONS:
road, power plant, or access road, Survey, grading, culvert
river diversion to rehabilitation, construction, compaction,
reclamation etc. . .
irrigate land
A project or program
may consist of many
activities

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The EIA process

Phase I: Phase II:

Initial inquiries Full EIA study
(if needed)
• Understand proposed
activities • Scope
• Screen • Evaluate baseline situation
• Identify & choose alternatives
• Conduct preliminary • Identify and characterize potential
assessment (if impacts of proposed activity and
needed) each alternative
• Develop mitigation and monitoring
• Communicate and document
throughout

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Phase I of the EIA process

Understand Screen the Conduct a Phase I Phase II

proposed activity Preliminary
activity Assessment
Based on the ACTIVITY IS SIGNIFICANT BEGIN
A rapid,
Why is the nature of the OF MODERATE ADVERSE FULL
activity being activity what OR UNKNOWN simplified EIA IMPACTS EIA
proposed? level of RISK study using POSSIBLE STUDY
environmental simple tools SIGNIFICANT
What is being review is (e.g. the ADVERSE
proposed? indicated? USAID IEE) IMPACTS
VERY UNLIKELY

ACTIVITY IS LOW Document

RISK (Of its nature, & submit
very unlikely to have for
significant adverse approval*
impacts)

ACTIVITY IS
HIGH RISK (Of its
nature, likely to have
significant adverse
impacts) *approval is CONDITIONAL on any mitigation
specified by the preliminary assessment being
implemented 19
Screen the activity

Screen each SCREENING asks a very basic set of questions

activity about the activity.
Based on the Example screening questions:
nature of the
activity, what Does the activity involve:
level of • Penetration road building?
environmental • Large-scale irrigation?
analysis is • Introduction of non-native crop or agroforestry
indicated? species?

These questions do NOT:

• require analysis
• require detailed knowledge of the proposed
sites, techniques or methods

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The Preliminary Assessment (USAID’s Initial
Environmental Examination)

Conduct a Purpose is to provide

Preliminary
Assessment
documentation
A rapid,
and analysis that:
simplified EIA • Allow the preparer to determine
study using whether or not significant
simple tools adverse impacts are likely
(USAID Initial
Environmental • Allows the reviewer to agree or
Examination disagree these determinations
(IEE)
• Sets out mitigation and
monitoring for adverse impacts

! Screening determines
whether the preliminary
assessment is
necessary

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The Preliminary Assessment (IEE)

Typical Preliminary For each activity it covers, a

Assessment outline preliminary assessment has 3
possible findings:
1. Background (Development
objective, list of activities) The activity is. . .

2. Description of the baseline

• very unlikely to have
situation significant adverse impacts.
• unlikely to have significant
3. Evaluation of potential adverse impacts with
environmental impacts specified mitigation and
monitoring,
4. Mitigation & monitoring
• likely to have significant
adverse impacts (full EIA
5. Recommended Findings
study is required)

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Environmental Impact Assessment

MEDIA
STRESSORS PATHWAYS AND
(emission,
effluent, etc.)
(wind direction, etc.) RECEPTORS
When to Proceed

! We only proceed to
Phase II of the EIA process

IF
Phase I indicates that
a FULL EIA STUDY
is required

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Full EIA study
(USAID’s Environmental Assessment)
The full EIA study has
very similar objectives
and structure to a
preliminary assessment.
However, the full EIA
study differs in
important ways:
*includes the project as
proposed, the no-action alternative, and
at least one other real alternative
A formal scoping process
! precedes the study to
identify issues to be
addressed
Analysis of environmental
impacts is much more
detailed
Alternatives* must be
formally defined. The
impacts of each alternative
must be identified &
evaluated, and the results
compared
Public participation is
required
A professional EIA team is
usually required 25
3 rules for Environmentally Sound Design &
Management (ESDM)

1 2 3
Apply best
development
Be prevention- practices to
Be systematic
oriented environmental
aspects of the
activity

Properly done, the EIA

process makes them a reality.
1 Be prevention-oriented

• Prevention occurs across the project

lifecycle. . .
. . but starts with DESIGN
Project objective:
• DESIGN starts with the
choice of method Improve agricultural
• Environmental impacts productivity

are 1 factor considered

How do we choose?
Possible methods

Change use of Introduce

agricultural improved crop Change cultivation
inputs? varieties? practices?

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EIA assures a “prevention orientation”

1 • Prevention begins with choice of

method.
“Consider alternatives” is a key
Be prevention- principle of EIA.
oriented
• EIA forces formal consideration of
environmental issues during project
design.
Early consideration is key to
prevention—because that is when
design changes can be made

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2 Apply general best development practices. .

Using atechnically sound design…

That is suited for the local

social & policy context

Building beneficiary capacity &

stakeholder commitment

Adjusting what we do as results come in

. . .to environmental
aspects of the activity
AND design for climate change

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EIA is a planning and
management tool that will help
government, the proponent, the
affected communities and other
decision makers assess whether
the benefits of the project will
outweigh the negative
consequences or risks on the
environment

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Best Practice #1: Technically sound design

The design must be For example. . .

?
appropriate for local
environmental conditions Appropriate
…. choice of crops or
… Rainfall, temperature, soils, trees?
flood, drought and
earthquake potential. . .

? Appropriate
choices of
construction
materials and
methods?

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Best Practice #2:
Design for the policy & social context

Environmental
applications:
Natural resource
Compliance management and land
tenure
with national and local Activities utilizing land and
environmental laws and other natural resources
policies must be compatible with
local NRM and land tenure
Language, literacy
land and resource
Environmental rights are often gender-
management measures
specific
must be matched to
capabilities

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Best Practice #3:
Build commitment & capacity. . .

! Proper maintenance and

Environmental application:

operation are critical to

controlling environmental
impacts.
Local beneficiaries need to be
trained and committed to:
• environmentally sound operation.
• maintaining the equipment/ Whowill maintain it?
Whowill operate it?
structure

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. . . and involve the local community

Local residents must

Ethics require it live with the
(environmental justice) environmental impacts
of activities!

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
is critical

• How often does the river

flood? LISTEN to the
• How often are crops community
rotated?
• Is there a land tenure TALK to both
problem?
men and women
• What do people value and
need?

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Best Practice #4:
Practice Adaptive Management

“Adjust what we do as
results come in”
Requires:
Environmental dimension:
If our activity has • Funding for
environmental monitoring
unintended adverse in project budget
environmental • flexibility to adapt the
consequences, we need to project in response to
DO SOMETHING ABOUT unanticipated adverse
IT! impacts
• Adjusting implementation
based on the experiences
of others

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Best Practice #5:
Design for Climate Change

Already mentioned: future baseline conditions will

change—design projects to be ROBUST to meet these
changes
While individual projects are rarely
significant contributors to gobal climate
change. . .
But in
. . .climate change is driven by the sum
addition
of many small actions.
So even small-scale projects should
seek to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions/ increase sequestration/
reduce climate vulnerability in the
local area in a manner consistent
with their development objectives.

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 Best Practice #5: Design for Climate Change

Example actions in small-scale projects:

Use alternative energy (PV,

Reduce windmill water pumping, etc)
greenhouse
gas emissions Improve thermal performance in
building design

Reduce
climate Prioritize water efficiency to
vulnerability in reduce a project’s contribution to
the local area the area’s future water stress

Tree-planting
Increase
Land management sustainable Soil carbon measurement by
sequestration hand in Senegal
grazing, cropping

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How does EIA make “Rule 2” a reality?

2
Apply best development practices to
environmental aspects of the activity

Technical soundness EIA requires characterizing

environmental conditions

Stakeholder consultation is
Stakeholder commitment
central to EIA

EIA requires a systematic

Adaptive management approach to field
monitoring

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Rule 3 for achieving ESDM. . .

3 Take a systematic look at:

• the possible adverse
environmental impacts of an
Be systematic activity
• ways to reduce these impacts.

The best way to be systematic:

Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA)!

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EIA: Best practice – and the law!

EIA: the internationally accepted process to

achieve Environmentally Sound Design &
Management
• Systematic process to be prevention oriented & assure
that environmental aspects of development best
practices are applied
AND
EIA is:
• REQUIRED BY LAW in most
countries.
• REQUIRED by almost all donors.

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Legislative Framework
Presidential Decree No. 1151 (June 1977)
Philippine Environmental Policy
>Requires:
ALL agencies & instrumentalities of the national
government
Government-owned & controlled corporations
Private corporations, firms, and entities
>to prepare, file, & include in EVERY action, project or
undertaking which SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTS the
environment
>A detailed statement xxx
 Presidential Decree No. 1586 (1978)
Philippine Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) System

Facilitate the attainment of rational & orderly

balance between socio-economic growth &
environmental protection

Concepts of Environmentally Critical Projects

(ECP) and projects within Environmentally
Critical Areas (ECA)
 KEY ACTORS IN THE EIA PLANNING &
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

DEVELOPERS AFFECTED PARTIES

-Public Sector Developers -Immediate communities
-Private sector Developers -Non-governmental
organization
-People’s organization

REGULATORS FACILITATORS
-National Government -Consultants
Agencies -Advisers, advocates
-Local Government Agencies

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 EIA Process & Project Cycles
Findings and recommendations
of EIA considered in various
permits and licenses needed
Feasibility
Detailed design of
mitigation measures
Detailed Engineering
& Design
Implementation
of mitigation
measures
Project Construction
& Development
Detailed EIA, Identification of
Mitigation Needs, inputs to
Cost Benefit Analysis
Site selection,
P Pre-feasibility environmental
r screening, initial
o assessment, scoping
j
e Project
c Conceptualization/
t
. Improvement
.
Monitoring and
C evaluation of
y environmental
c Operation & performance
l
e Maintenance
EIA in the context of the project planning and
decision making

The process of predicting the

likely environmental
consequences of implementing a
project and designing
appropriate preventive mitigating
and enhancement measures as
an input to decision making

The emphasis , compared with many other mechanisms

for environmental management is on PREVENTION
BENEFITS OF EIA

It provides mechanisms for assuring

- that the project commitment comply with the principles

of sustainable development

- that economic & environmental costs and benefits are

equally taken into consideration in project development
decisions

- better and socially acceptable projects that encourages

the use of cleaner technologies
BENEFITS OF EIA

It provides mechanisms for

- Encouraging multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional

approaches to sustainable project planning and

- Identifying alternatives and measures that can prevent,

minimize reduce, alleviate the adverse consequences of
project development

- Assuring that the quality of the environment and well-

being of the people are safeguarded
THANK YOU