PIA-wk4 Impacts Identification

DEVELOPMENT IMPACT
ASSESSMENT:
Impact Identification and Mitigation
 Background
 Characteristics of environmental
impacts
 Types of impacts
 Residual impact
 Mitigation measure
 Approaches to mitigation
Development Impact Assessment: Impact identification & mitigation
Background
 Environmental Impacts - are defined as any change
to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial,
wholly or partially resulting from an organisation’s
activities, products or services.
 A logical and systematic approach needs to be taken
to impact identification.
 The aim is to take account of all of the important
environmental/project impacts and interactions,
making sure that indirect and cumulative effects,
which may be potentially significant, are not
inadvertently omitted
Characteristics of environmental impacts

 The characteristics of environmental impacts vary.
Typical parameters to be taken into account in impact
prediction and decision-making include:
1. nature (positive, negative, direct, indirect, cumulative);
2. magnitude (severe, moderate, low);
3. extent/location (area/volume covered, distribution);
4. timing (during construction, operation,
decommissioning, immediate, delayed, rate of change);
5. duration (short term, long term, intermittent,
continuous);
6. reversibility/irreversibility;
7. likelihood (probability, uncertainty or confidence in the
prediction); and
8. significance (local, regional, global).
Nature (positive, negative, direct, indirect,

cumulative)
 Typical examples of direct impacts are:

1. loss of wetlands caused by agricultural drainage;
2. destruction of habitat caused by forest clearance;
3. relocation of households caused by reservoir
impoundment;
4. increased air particulate emissions caused by
operation of a new power station, etc.
Magnitude
 Estimating the magnitude of the impact is of primary
importance.
 Typically, it is expressed in terms of relative severity,
such as major, moderate or low.
 Severity, as opposed to size, also takes account of
other aspects of impact magnitude, notably whether
or not an impact is reversible and the likely rate of
recovery.
Extent/location
 The spatial extent or zone of impact influence can be
predicted for site-specific versus regional
occurrences.
 Depending on the type of impact, the variation in
magnitude will need to be estimated; for example,
alterations to range or pattern of species or
dispersion of air and water pollution plumes.
 This is much easier for direct impacts but can be
attempted for other types of impacts.
Timing
 Impacts arising from all of the stages of the life cycle
of the project should be considered (i.e. during
construction, operation and decommissioning).
 Some impacts will occur immediately, while others
may be delayed, sometimes by many years. These
impact characteristics should be noted in the EIA
report.
Duration
 Some impacts may be short-term, such as the noise
arising from the operation of equipment during
construction.
 Others may be long-term, such as the inundation of
land during the building of a reservoir.
 Certain impacts such as blasting may be
intermittent, whereas others, such as
electromagnetic fields caused by power lines, may
be continuous.
 Impact magnitude and duration classifications can
be cross-referenced; for example, major but short
term (less than one year), low but persistent (more
than 20 years).
Significance
 The evaluation of significance at this stage of EIA will
depend on the characteristics of the predicted impact
and its potential importance for decision-making.
 Significance is usually attributed in terms of an
existing standard or criteria of permissible change,
for example as specified in a standard, policy
objective or plan.
Types of impacts
 There are various types of impacts:
1. Direct impact
2. Indirect impact
3. Cumulative impact
4. Synergistic
5. Additive
6. Impact magnitude
7. Impact significance
8. Residual impact
Direct and Indirect Impact Diagrams

Source: FHWA January 2003
 Indirect impacts, as well as direct impacts, can be

considered a subset of cumulative impacts but are
distinguished by an established cause and effect
relationship to a proposed action, such as a
transportation project.
 The figure shows an illustration and comparison of the

cause and effect relationship of indirect and direct
impacts to a project action.
 Indirect impacts are caused by another action or
actions that have an established relationship or
connection to the project (related actions).
 These induced actions are those that would not or could
not occur except for the implementation of a project.
 These actions are often referred to as “but for” actions
and generally occur at a later time or some distance
removed from the original action.
Cumulative Impact Diagram

 A cumulative impact includes the total effect on a

natural resource, ecosystem, or human community due
to past, present, and future activities or actions of
federal, non-federal, public, and private entities.
 Cumulative impacts include the total of all impacts to

a particular resource that have occurred, are
occurring, and will likely occur as a result of any
action or influence, including the direct and
reasonably foreseeable indirect impacts of a federal
activity.
Residual impact
 Residual impacts are defined as those impacts caused
by the Project that are expected to occur after all
practical mitigation measures have been implemented
 Residual impact - Impact that remains after
implementation of the project and all associated
mitigation and other environmental management
measures
Approaches to Mitigation
 Mitigation - Elimination, reduction, or control of the
adverse environmental impacts of a project
 Depending on the timing of the project cycle and the
nature of impacts, a number of approaches can be
taken to achieve the objectives of mitigation.
 These include:
1. developing environmentally better alternatives to the
proposal;
2. making changes to project planning and design;
3. carrying out impact monitoring and management;
4. compensating for impacts by monetary payment in
kind measures site remediation bonds a resettlement
plan.
 Over time, a number of environmental methodologies

and tools have been developed for use in impact
identification
 In practice, relatively simple methodologies and tools
are applied to impact identification
 The most common formal methods used for impact
identification are:
1. checklists;
2. matrices;
3. networks;
4. overlays and geographic information systems (GIS);
5. expert systems; and
6. professional judgment
Mitigation of large scale housing projects

Major adverse impacts Mitigating measure
•Ensure that due consideration is given to the proper

trade-offs between land values for housing and those of
other uses, such as prime farmland, forests or natural
Displacement of existing habitats of value to society as a whole.
land uses •Review existing planning and design standards to
ensure that they are suited to local conditions and not
unnecessarily wasteful of land.
•Make any necessary changes, for example by drafting
new regulations.
•Ensure that regionally critical environmental sites, such

as forested areas, major bodies and wetlands, habitats
Destruction of containing rare and endangered species, etc., are
environmentally critical identified and not threatened by project location.
areas •Identify mitigation measures to avoid, reduce or
compensate for environmental impacts and to enhance
the environmental and community benefits of the
proposal.
Source: adapted from the World Bank, 1991

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DEVELOPMENT IMPACT

Characteristics of environmental impacts

Nature (positive, negative, direct, indirect,

 Typical examples of direct impacts are:

Direct and Indirect Impact Diagrams

 Indirect impacts, as well as direct impacts, can be

 The figure shows an illustration and comparison of the

 A cumulative impact includes the total effect on a

 Cumulative impacts include the total of all impacts to

 Over time, a number of environmental methodologies

Mitigation of large scale housing projects

•Ensure that due consideration is given to the proper

•Ensure that regionally critical environmental sites, such

Source: adapted from the World Bank, 1991

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