Environmental impact assessment

An anssessment of the likely positive and/or negative influence a project may have on the environment. An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an assessment of the possible impacts that a proposed project may have on the environment, consisting of the environmental, social and economic aspects. The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers consider the environmental impacts when deciding whether or not to proceed with a project. The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines an environmental impact assessment as "the process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made."[1] EIAs are unique in that they do not require adherence to a predetermined environmental outcome, but rather they require decision makers to account for environmental values in their decisions and to justify those decisions in light of detailed environmental studies and public comments on the potential environmental impacts.[2] Components of EIA include: Project concept, pre-feasibility studies, feasibility, design and engineering, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Principles include involving the appropriate experts and groups, linking of information obtained with decisions about the proposed projects, presentation of environmental management and provision of information in a executive statement for the decision makers. Participants include the development staff, competent government authority, local community and politicians. Scope: 1. What will happen as a result of implementing the proposed social changes Do the changes matter much? What can be done about them in terms of remedy? How can the decision-makers be informed of what completing the EIA study.