This article provides a comparative overview of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Angola, and the European Union (EU). EIA “systemic measure” and “foundation measur...This article provides a comparative overview of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Angola, and the European Union (EU). EIA “systemic measure” and “foundation measure” criteria are used to evaluate and compare the performance of each system. In contrast to the EU, EIA must be carried out by registered experts in the African countries. In Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa public consultation is mandatory during scoping. In Kenya and Tanzania the EIA study should contain measures to prevent health hazards, to ensure employee safety, and for emergency management. EIA system monitoring is required in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and in the EU, but not in South Africa and Angola. Financial issues, insufficient qualified personnel, and an increasing number of EIA applications undermine the capacity of competent authorities to adequately monitor these EIA systems. Consequently, training programmes increase effectiveness of EIA implementation is a common request. The African countries reviewed here have adopted EIA and integrated EIA systems into public policy despite the constraints they face. As they continue to gain experience in EIA and to revise their EIA systems, they are moving towards a more flexible system with greater public involvement and robust arrangements and practices.展开更多
The environmental approval for a project is generally granted with a set of terms and conditions to the project proponent.The environmental clearance(EC)letters for 33 infrastructure projects were examined for the rel...The environmental approval for a project is generally granted with a set of terms and conditions to the project proponent.The environmental clearance(EC)letters for 33 infrastructure projects were examined for the relevance,adequacy,and enforceability of the EC conditions.Using the basic tenets of the EIA process,it is found that the long list of irrelevant,inadequate,and unenforceable conditions is greenwash and unsuited for best practice EIA follow-up,hence meeting the EIA objectives.The conditions should be directed at measuring the environmental performance of the project to catalyze achieving sustainability targets.The conditions for stringent supervision and frequent inspection of the site activities in the construction phase could help ensure the implementation of the proposed mitigation measures for infrastructure projects.A comprehensive environmental impact assessment framework may use the principles of the ABC analysis to prioritize the properly specified EC conditions,resource allocation,and stakeholder engagement for the best practice EIA follow-up and hence strengthen the EIA system.展开更多
The tenets of environmental policy evolved in India and how precautionary principles of sustainability are sidelined in the draft EIA regulation 2020 are analyzed.The emphasis on exempting several categories of projec...The tenets of environmental policy evolved in India and how precautionary principles of sustainability are sidelined in the draft EIA regulation 2020 are analyzed.The emphasis on exempting several categories of projects from the EIA requirements and public consultation,standardization of sector-specific terms of reference and environmental clearance conditions,and decentralization of the decision-making to simplify and fast-track the environmental clearance procedure for development projects is apparent.The list of projects/activities requiring prior environmental clearance and the procedures reveal that promoting the ease of doing business scores over precautionary principles.Efforts to increase the effectiveness and improve transparency in monitoring the implementation of environmental clearance conditions are visible.Still,the prime issues of improving the efficiency and efficacy of the EIA framework and institutional reforms in the EIA system need to be earnestly addressed.The evaluation using an ex-ante framework unveils the areas needing meticulous attention to revamp the EIA regulation.展开更多
Environmental impact assessment (EIA), a decision-making process for project appraisal and sustainability adopted globally as an administrative process to identify, predict, evaluate, and monitor projects from their f...Environmental impact assessment (EIA), a decision-making process for project appraisal and sustainability adopted globally as an administrative process to identify, predict, evaluate, and monitor projects from their feasibility, preconstruction, construction, and operation stages to mitigate the adverse impacts and enhance the beneficial impacts for the protection of the affected environment, The study objective is to explore global EIA systems and processes and find shortcomings and implications for making the best instrument or tool to protect the natural environment from man-made activities over the project cycle. For this, the relevant literature on the EIA system and process was reviewed and evaluated through the application of quantitative and qualitative approaches, including the assessment of legal instruments and the adoption of EIA methodologies in developing countries. EIA, initiated in the 1970s in the US and Australia, expanded to developing countries and was amended in East and Southeast Asia from the 1970s to the 2000s. The evaluation assessed that the South Asian countries follow UNEP and IAIA guidelines, utilizing national laws and expert consultations, with screening criteria and administrative processes based on established environmental legislation. Ad hoc, checklist, matrix, network, overlay, cost-benefit analysis, and predictive or simulation in EIA practice are used to assess the environmental impacts of development activities. Failure to recommend major projects undermines public trust and prevents mitigation measures from being implemented. Most developing countries have followed EIA to fulfill the legal requirement with shadow-off monitoring and follow-up rather than to upset, reduce, or compensate for the project impacts as per size, location, and severity of the project area. The research and guidelines outlined in the IAIA principles and process have synthesized the best EIA practices worldwide. Public participation, impact coverage, scientific mitigation, transparent evidence-based approaches, monitoring, follow-up, legitimate approaches, and future appraisal opportunities are major concerns to be included in best EIA practice.展开更多
Despite a wealth of literature on the different facets of the EIA,and copious theoretical knowledge and practical experience,the general agreement is eluding definitions of EIA effectiveness,quality,and good practices...Despite a wealth of literature on the different facets of the EIA,and copious theoretical knowledge and practical experience,the general agreement is eluding definitions of EIA effectiveness,quality,and good practices.There are apprehensions about EIA meeting its basic objectives while project proponents continue to treat EIA as an impediment to development.Governments tend to adopt a“practical”approach,sacrificing pillars of EIA and overlooking the prime objective of environmental protection.Based on an extensive literature study and the author’s long EIA-related experience,some key workable practices for the EIA process are elaborated.Meticulous scoping using different sets of lenses,spotlighting significant impacts to determine the breadth and depth of EIA reports for focussed EIAs,robust EIA review and decision-making,commitment from the regulators for environmental protection,and use of strategic planning,strategic environmental assessment,and tiering practices are expected to address scholars’apprehensions and project proponents’concerns.展开更多
文摘This article provides a comparative overview of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Angola, and the European Union (EU). EIA “systemic measure” and “foundation measure” criteria are used to evaluate and compare the performance of each system. In contrast to the EU, EIA must be carried out by registered experts in the African countries. In Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa public consultation is mandatory during scoping. In Kenya and Tanzania the EIA study should contain measures to prevent health hazards, to ensure employee safety, and for emergency management. EIA system monitoring is required in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and in the EU, but not in South Africa and Angola. Financial issues, insufficient qualified personnel, and an increasing number of EIA applications undermine the capacity of competent authorities to adequately monitor these EIA systems. Consequently, training programmes increase effectiveness of EIA implementation is a common request. The African countries reviewed here have adopted EIA and integrated EIA systems into public policy despite the constraints they face. As they continue to gain experience in EIA and to revise their EIA systems, they are moving towards a more flexible system with greater public involvement and robust arrangements and practices.
文摘The environmental approval for a project is generally granted with a set of terms and conditions to the project proponent.The environmental clearance(EC)letters for 33 infrastructure projects were examined for the relevance,adequacy,and enforceability of the EC conditions.Using the basic tenets of the EIA process,it is found that the long list of irrelevant,inadequate,and unenforceable conditions is greenwash and unsuited for best practice EIA follow-up,hence meeting the EIA objectives.The conditions should be directed at measuring the environmental performance of the project to catalyze achieving sustainability targets.The conditions for stringent supervision and frequent inspection of the site activities in the construction phase could help ensure the implementation of the proposed mitigation measures for infrastructure projects.A comprehensive environmental impact assessment framework may use the principles of the ABC analysis to prioritize the properly specified EC conditions,resource allocation,and stakeholder engagement for the best practice EIA follow-up and hence strengthen the EIA system.
文摘The tenets of environmental policy evolved in India and how precautionary principles of sustainability are sidelined in the draft EIA regulation 2020 are analyzed.The emphasis on exempting several categories of projects from the EIA requirements and public consultation,standardization of sector-specific terms of reference and environmental clearance conditions,and decentralization of the decision-making to simplify and fast-track the environmental clearance procedure for development projects is apparent.The list of projects/activities requiring prior environmental clearance and the procedures reveal that promoting the ease of doing business scores over precautionary principles.Efforts to increase the effectiveness and improve transparency in monitoring the implementation of environmental clearance conditions are visible.Still,the prime issues of improving the efficiency and efficacy of the EIA framework and institutional reforms in the EIA system need to be earnestly addressed.The evaluation using an ex-ante framework unveils the areas needing meticulous attention to revamp the EIA regulation.
文摘Environmental impact assessment (EIA), a decision-making process for project appraisal and sustainability adopted globally as an administrative process to identify, predict, evaluate, and monitor projects from their feasibility, preconstruction, construction, and operation stages to mitigate the adverse impacts and enhance the beneficial impacts for the protection of the affected environment, The study objective is to explore global EIA systems and processes and find shortcomings and implications for making the best instrument or tool to protect the natural environment from man-made activities over the project cycle. For this, the relevant literature on the EIA system and process was reviewed and evaluated through the application of quantitative and qualitative approaches, including the assessment of legal instruments and the adoption of EIA methodologies in developing countries. EIA, initiated in the 1970s in the US and Australia, expanded to developing countries and was amended in East and Southeast Asia from the 1970s to the 2000s. The evaluation assessed that the South Asian countries follow UNEP and IAIA guidelines, utilizing national laws and expert consultations, with screening criteria and administrative processes based on established environmental legislation. Ad hoc, checklist, matrix, network, overlay, cost-benefit analysis, and predictive or simulation in EIA practice are used to assess the environmental impacts of development activities. Failure to recommend major projects undermines public trust and prevents mitigation measures from being implemented. Most developing countries have followed EIA to fulfill the legal requirement with shadow-off monitoring and follow-up rather than to upset, reduce, or compensate for the project impacts as per size, location, and severity of the project area. The research and guidelines outlined in the IAIA principles and process have synthesized the best EIA practices worldwide. Public participation, impact coverage, scientific mitigation, transparent evidence-based approaches, monitoring, follow-up, legitimate approaches, and future appraisal opportunities are major concerns to be included in best EIA practice.
文摘Despite a wealth of literature on the different facets of the EIA,and copious theoretical knowledge and practical experience,the general agreement is eluding definitions of EIA effectiveness,quality,and good practices.There are apprehensions about EIA meeting its basic objectives while project proponents continue to treat EIA as an impediment to development.Governments tend to adopt a“practical”approach,sacrificing pillars of EIA and overlooking the prime objective of environmental protection.Based on an extensive literature study and the author’s long EIA-related experience,some key workable practices for the EIA process are elaborated.Meticulous scoping using different sets of lenses,spotlighting significant impacts to determine the breadth and depth of EIA reports for focussed EIAs,robust EIA review and decision-making,commitment from the regulators for environmental protection,and use of strategic planning,strategic environmental assessment,and tiering practices are expected to address scholars’apprehensions and project proponents’concerns.
