Information Requirements and Tools for Screening and Preliminary Assessment

1. Information Requirements and Tools for Screening and Preliminary Assessment

2. Stages of EA • Screening: to determine nature & extent of analysis needed • Preliminary Assessment: to assess range of impacts and need for full-scale EIA • Scoping: to determine key issues and impacts • Conducting the EIA itself

3. Resources Required for Preparing an EA • Qualified multi-disciplinary staff • Established technical guidelines • Information about the project • Information about the environment • Analytical & administrative capabilities • Institutional arrangements • Review, monitoring, and enforcement powers • Time and money

4. Gathering Necessary Information • Collect environmental data (climate, land-use, habitats present, etc.) and socioeconomic data (culture, agricultural practices, water use, etc.) of the area • Rely on a variety of sources of information (local, government, universities, consultants, etc.) • Use available maps (topographical and physical), plans, and sketches that provide information on site characteristics

5. Typical Data Sources • Direct observation during site reconnaissance • Local population • University/training centers • Local consultants • Reports (e.g., National Action Plan, USAID Environmental Sector Assessment) • GIS data bases

6. Same Basic Tools for Assessing Environmental Impacts • Simple checklists: offers simplicity for gathering and classifying information • Interaction matrices: useful for impact identification, ranking, and displaying results • Network analyses: useful for identifying cause-effect relationships

7. Types of Checklists • Simple Lists • Descriptive Checklists • Scaling Checklists • Questionnaire Checklists • the USAID checklist (see PVO/NGO Guidelines...)

8. Example of a Simple checklist Proposed Activities clearing X cut/fill X dredging X blasting - Environmental components: Physical air quality X water quality X water flow X Biological spawning habitat X rearing habitat X Socio-economic fishing X (After Sadar, 1994)

9. Sample of a checklist SEE SAMPLE IN PARTICIPANTS’ SOURCEBOOK

10. Checklists + & - • Advantages • can structure initial stages of assessment • help to ensure that vital factors are not neglected • are easy to apply, particularly by non-experts • Disadvantages • deal only with the environment • pose danger of “tunnel vision”

11. Interaction Matrices • Allow for the identification of cause-effect relationships • Qualitative or quantitative estimates can be used • Can address impact severity and significance

12. Example of an Interaction Matrix After Sadar, 1994

13. Sample of a Leopold Matrix IN PARTICIPANTS’ SOURCEBOOK

14. Network Analyses • Used to identify cause-effect linkages • Visual description of linkages • Extension of information found in matrices

15. Salmonoid populations Fishing Spawning Temperature Flow Water Quality (Suspended Matter) Access Dredging Clearing Example of a Network Analysis (After Sadar, 1994)

16. Network Analyses + & - • Advantages • Provides visual summaries that are easily understood and communicated to decision-makers and the public • Useful for identifying important indirect impacts • Disadvantages • May oversimplify relationships; can be hard to show adequate level of detail • As with above methods analysis is static • Doesn’t show relative significance of impacts

17. Maps • Many types • Commonly available • Effective visual representation of critical environmental features • May portray biophysical and social aspects

18. Map Overlays • Separate mapping of critical environmental features at the same scale as project's site plan • e.g. wetlands, steep slopes, soils, floodplains, bedrock outcrops, wildlife habitats, vegetative communities, and cultural resources... • Older Technique: environmental features are mapped on transparent plastic in different colors • Newer Technique: Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

19. Map Overlays + & - • Advantages • Excellent for showing spatial dimension and location of impacts • Most useful for assessing alternative routes for linear developments, e.g. pipelines, roads, transmission lines • Disadvantages • Less successful with timing, reversibility, and probability of impacts • Sharp boundary definitions can be misleading

20. Tools for Evaluation & Decision-Making • Cost-Benefit Analysis • Multi-Criteria Analysis • Risk Assessment • Simple Comparisons

21. EA & Public Participation • Gives communities a voice in development plans • Should begin in earliest stages • Can be formalized in public sessions • Has often been absent in EIA

22. Project Potential Recommended Degree of Activity Environmental Mitigation Environmental Impact Impact Sample checklist for Project Analysis

23. Practical Steps in Environmental Analysis • Step 1: List activities -- all, in detail • Goal/Purpose of Project (Consider Alternatives) • Ancillary Activities (Quarries, Haul Roads, Transmission Lines) • Inputs Needed (Raw Materials, Energy, Equipment) • Operational Characteristics • By-products and Waste Produced • Financing Plan and Sequencing/Phasing of Activities

24. Step 2: Use Tools Available • Matrices • Checklists • Map Overlays • Relational Networks • Flow Diagrams

25. Step 3: Identify Foreseeable Impacts of Each Activity • What components of the environment are affected? Such as: human health, endangered species, tropical forests, . . . • Who is subjected to the incidence of the impacts? • How severe is the magnitude and extent of each impact? • When do the impacts occur (planning, construction, operation, decommissioning)? • Where? Geographical units affected by the impacts? Watershed? Political/administrative units? Ecological units? • Why are the impacts occurring? • How do activities fit within the development context of the locale, country , or region? Critical or sensitive resources

26. Step 4: Field Visit and Site Reconnaissance • Investigate environment • Discuss Activity with People • Step 5: Assemble Documents • Step 6: Discuss/Consult with Specialists (soil scientists, animal behavior specialists, wildlife biologists, agronomists, foresters, hydrologists, experts in EIA and environmental information systems

27. Step 7: Use a table to visualize activities, foreseeable impacts and relevant regulation or procedures (both USAID and national): • Classify activity according to the level of impacts on the environment

28. Step 8: Sort the Activities • 8.1: Sort MECHANICALLY • No foreseeable impacts/Category 1 • Significant impacts/Category 3 • Pesticide-related • Tropical forests, biological diversity, endangered species effects (Category 4) • Other activities (modest possible impacts)/Category 2 • 8.2: Once the FIRST sort is done, go back to each group and decide whether an activity should be maintained in the category initially assigned or not. Consultation, literature review and another field visit can help

29. Step 9: Devise Mitigative Measures: • Re-design to Avoid or Diminish Impacts • Recommend Corrective Measures/Activities • May Need Further Analysis or Study • Step 10: Devise Monitoring Procedures • Step 11: Write Report • Step 12: Evaluate the Activity and the Effectiveness of Mitigative Measures