MODULE I .

EIA METHODOLOGOIES
Criteria for the Selection of EIA Methodology
 General
a) Simplicity
b) Manpower time and budget constraints
c) Flexibility

 Impact Identification
a) Comprehensiveness (complete or
fullness)
b) Specificity
c) Isolation of project impacts
d) Timing and duration
 Impact Measurement
a) Commensurate units (అనుగుణంగా)
b) Explicit indicators
c) Magnitude
d) Objective criteria

 Impact Interpretation and Evaluation

a) Significance
b) Explicit criteria
c) Portrayal of "with" and "without" situation
d) Uncertainty
e) Risk
f) Depth of analysis
g) Alternative comparison
h) Public Involvement
 Impact Communication

a) Affected parties
b) Setting description
c) Summary format
d) Key issues
e) Compliance
and should give enough information on them to facilitate
proper decision-making.
 Objectives of Methodologies
🞇 Understand the nature and location of the project and
possible alternatives
🞇 Identify factors of analysis and assessment objectives
🞇 Preliminary identification of impacts and scoping
🞇 Baseline studies and evolution in the absence of
projects
🞇 Prediction and assessment of impacts and alternatives
comparison
🞇 Mitigation of impacts management.
 Requirements of EIA Methodologies
The EIA Practitioner faces vast varieties of raw and
unorganized information that must be collected and
analyzed in preparation of an EIA report.
The best methods should be able to
•Organize a large mass of heterogeneous data
•Allow summarization of data
•Aggregate the data into smaller sets with least loss of
information
•Display the raw data and the derived information in a
direct and relevant fashion
•Target audience should also be considered (if not
educated use color codes, size etc.)
EIA Methodology Evaluation
 Important EIA methodologies
of utility for assessing the impacts of
developmental activities on the environment.

1. Adhoc methods
2. Checklists methods
3. Matrices methods
4. Networks methods
5. Overlays methods
6. Environmental index using factor analysis (or)
Environmental Media Quality Index method
7. Cost/benefit analysis
8. Predictive or Simulation methods
[Link]
This method serves as a preliminary assessment which
helps in identifying more important areas like
[Link]
[Link] species
[Link] vegetation
[Link] vegetation
[Link]
[Link] characteristics
[Link] drainage
[Link]
[Link]
[Link] quality
[Link] description and services
[Link] space
[Link]
[Link] and safety
[Link] values and
[Link] facilities
Key advantages of the ad hoc method:
Quick and efficient:
Due to its straightforward approach, it can be implemented rapidly,
especially in situations where a detailed assessment is not
immediately required.

Easy to understand:
The method uses simple checklists, which can be readily understood
by stakeholders with varying levels of technical expertise.

Flexibility:
It can be adapted to different project types by adjusting the checklist
items based on the specific environmental context.

Preliminary impact identification:

It can provide a preliminary identification of potential environmental
impacts, allowing for further investigation using more detailed
methods if necessary.
• Adhoc methods may not encompass all the relevant
impacts.
• Identifying and predicting short- and long-term impacts
is difficult since it relies on guesswork.
• While providing minimal guidance for impact analysis,
it suggests broad areas of potential impact.
• The method is not effective for organizing, reviewing,
and interpreting data.
• Impacts cannot be compared based on the criteria used.
Example
EIA Study for High way Construction Project
Check-List Methodologies
These are similar to a scaling checklist, with additional information for the
subjective evaluation of each parameter with respect to all the other
parameters.
5. Questionnaire checklist is a form of scaling checklist but uses a
series of carefully directed questions to elicit information about
possible impacts and their likely importance.

There are several major reasons for using checklists:

(a) they are useful in summarizing information to make it
accessible to specialists from other fields, or to decision
makers who may have a limited amount of technical
knowledge;
(b) scaling checklists provide a preliminary level of analysis;
and
(c) weighting is a mechanism for incorporating information
about ecosystem functions.
3. They are too general or incomplete
4. They do not illustrate interactions between effects
5. The number of categories to be reviewed can be
immense, which will create confusion about significant
impacts
6. Involves the identification of effects which are qualitative
and subjective
Advantages of the checklist method
Checklists provide all possible relationships and impacts, out of
which a set tailored for the specific assignment may be chosen.
Checklists help people in responsible positions to become more
aware of what they should be looking for when assessing a proposed
project.
Checklists may also help to produce a higher degree of awareness
of the environmental aspects of a project.
Quantification of impacts is possible using the weighted-scale
method.
Matrix Methods
The cells of the matrix are divided by a diagonal line. The top
division is used to describe the magnitude of the impact that
activity will have on the environmental aspect, and the
bottom division is used to describe the significance of that
impact.
In the upper left hand corner of each box with a slash, place a number
from 1 to 10 which indicates the MAGNITUDE of the possible impact.

🞇 10 represent the greatest magnitude of impact.

🞇 1 is the least magnitude of impact (no zeroes).
🞇 Before each number place + (if the impact would be beneficial).
🞇 In the lower right hand corner of the box place a number from 1 to
10 which indicates the IMPORT ANCE of the possible impact (Eg.
Regional vs. Local).
🞇 10 represents the greatest importance and 1 the least (no zeroes).
• Difficultto distinguish direct and indirect impacts
•Focus on first order impact i.e impact from proposed action on
particular environmental component
•Qualitative
• No Cause-effect relationship
• they tend to overly simplify impact pathways,
• they do not explicitly represent spatial or temporal
considerations,అవి ప్రాదేశిక లేదా తాతాా లిక
పరిశీలనలను స్ప ష్ం ట గా సూచంచవు and
• they do not adequately address synergistic impacts.
•they tend to be difficulty to get an overview when many
variable are included.
 Network Method
•This method uses the matrix approach and extends it to include
both the primary as well as the secondary impacts.
•It is shown in the form of a tree called impact tree. This
diagram is also called as reference or sequence diagram.
•Identification of direct, indirect along with short, long term
impact is a crucial and basic step of making an impact tree.
•The impact tree is used to identify cause-effect linkages.
•The impact tree is a visual description of linkages.
Network analyses are particularly useful for understanding
the relationship between environmental components that
produce higher order impacts, which are often overlooked
in some major projects. Networks can also aid in
organizing the discussion of anticipated project impacts.
Network displays are useful in communicating information
about an environmental impact study to an interested
public.
Example
Advantages:
•It links action to impact.
•It is useful to check second order impacts in a simplified
form.
•It handles direct and indirect impacts.
Disadvantages:
•It becomes overly complex if used beyond simplified
version.
•It is completely qualitative in nature.
Overlay Methods
1. Overlay methods involve preparation of a set of transparent
maps, which represent the spatial distribution of environmental
characteristics (e.g., Extent of dense forest area).
2. Information on wide range of variables will be collected for
standard geographical units within the study area which will be
recorded on series of maps typically one for each variable.
3. These maps will be overlaid to produce a composite.
4. The resulting composite maps characterize the area's physical,
social, ecological, land use and other relevant characteristics
relative to the location of the proposed development.
5. To evaluate the degree of associated impacts many project
alternatives can be located on the final map and validity of the
assessment will be related to the type and number of parameters
chosen.
6. Normally to have some clarity the number of parameters that can
be over layed in a transparency map is limited to 10.
7. These methods are widely used for assessing visually the changes
in the landscape before and after the activity.
8. Secondly it can be used for preparing combined mapping with an
analysis of sensitive areas or ecological carrying capacity.
9. As these methods are spatially oriented they can very clearly show
the spatial aspects of cumulative impacts.
10. These maps are overlaid to produce a composite characterization
of the regional environment.
11. Impacts are identified by noting the impacted environmental
characteristics lying within the project boundaries.
12. The approach seems most useful as a method of screening
alternative project sites or routes, before detailed impact analysis.
13. Overlays can be useful for industrial EIA of any project for
comparing land capabilities existing and projected land uses, road
route alternatives and other under parameters, and alternative levels
of air quality conditions along with pollution control.
 Advantages:
•It is easy to understand and use
•It has a good display
•It is good for setting site selection
Disadvantages
▶ The overlay method can accommodate both qualitative and
quantitative data.

▶ The weakness of the overlay method is that it is only moderate

comprehensive, because there is no mechanism that requires
consideration of all potential impacts.

▶ There is no provision for quantification and measurement of the

impacts nor is it assured that all impacts will be covered.

▶ The overlay approach is generally effective for selecting alternatives and

identifying certain types of impacts; however, it cannot be used to quantify
impacts to identify secondary and tertiary interrelationships.
Cost-Benefit Analysis Method
[Link] benefit analysis is a systematic process for identifying, valuing
and comparing costs and benefits of a project.
[Link] is a systematic approach to estimate the strengths and weakness of
alternatives (for ex. In transactions, activities, functional business
requirements or project investments)
[Link] is used to determine options that provide the best approach to
achieve benefits while preserving savings.
[Link] is a standard tool for evaluating the economic analysis or trade
of analysis, investment of development projects.
[Link] analysis takes into account the opportunity costs of resources
employed and attempts to measure in monetary terms the private and
social costs and benefits of a project to the community or economy.
CBA Purposes
Broadly CBA has two main purposes
• To determine if an investment/decision is sound (justification or
feasibility) verifying whether its benefits outweigh the costs, and by
how much.
• To provide a basis for comparing projects which involves comparing
the total expected cost of each option against its total expected
benefits.
CBA Process:
▶ Define the goals and objectives of the activities.
▶ List alternate projects /programs.
▶ List stakeholders.
▶ Select measurement and measure all cost/benefit elements.
▶ Predict outcome of cost and benefits over relevant time period.
▶ Convert all costs and benefits into a common currency.
▶ Apply discount rate.
▶ Calculate net present value of project options.
▶ Perform sensitivity analysis to identifying the key variables that are
major influence in the cost and benefits of the project.
▶ Adopt recommended choice.
Network Method
The network method for ecological impact assessment uses a visual
flow chart that directly connects an impact to an action. It can also
capture secondary, or indirect, impacts, and makes it easy to see
multiple impact areas for a single action.
An advantage of the network method is that it works nicely with any
benefits of environmental impact assessment PPT you may be using
due to it providing a visual snapshot of the cause-effect linkages.

This type of flowchart format also allows you to add as much detail as
you like to the diagram area for each impact, including quantitative
data to back up impact projections.
However, if you have a large project with multiple impacts and
impact areas to chart, the network method can become too confusing
as you branch out multiple impact trees.