ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND ITS USEFULNESS IN URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING.

8 October 2020 Written by Priscilla Tsungie Munangatire

Environmental Impact Assessment is a planning tool used to identify, predict and assess potential impacts (either negative or positive) that may arise from planned projects, and come up with ways with which to minimise negative impacts and enhance positive ones.

Environmental Impact Assessment aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project planning and design, find ways and means to reduce adverse Impacts, shape projects to suit the local environment and present the predictions and options to decision makers.
The Importance of EIA is to inform the processes of decision making by identifying the potentially significant environmental effects and risks of development proposals do not undermine critical resource and ecological function or the well-being, lifestyle and livelihood of the communities and peoples who depend on them. It enables monitoring and evaluation of developmental projects by regulatory authorities .The process gives communities an opportunity to contribute and influence the development process in a way favourable to them.

Naturally, the developer, planner ,local officials and perhaps a hired consultant should be involved in the process. Because the Environmental Impact assessment process often requires technical expertise and consideration of numerous environmental compliance issues, it is appropriate to involve other individuals such as engineer, land or ecological conservation expert, state agency staff for example the Department of Natural Resources.

The environmental impact assessment process requires input from a variety of individuals including professionals and civil servants with expertise in environmental science and engineering, local officials who are knowledgeable of local, state, and federal environmental procedures and regulations, and members of the community who possess both expertise and interest in the local environment and natural resources.

An environmental impact assessment promotes communication among local officials, developers, community leaders and citizens about the nature of the proposal and potential impacts on the local environment, ensure compliance with all relevant and appropriate environmental laws and regulations[storm water management, compliance with wetland and floodplain regulations] during construction and operation of the new development, ensure consistent and fair review of development proposals by applying a systematic review process that includes environmental assessment and provide a forum for exploring alternatives to the proposed development or strategies to mitigate impacts of necessary for example, an environmental impact assessment can inform development decisions about the most suitable site for a housing development. While economics often drive such decisions, an environmental impact assessment can provide the stepping stone for exploring alternative sites that would minimise farmland conversion or other environmental impacts.

An environmental impact assessment can also aid in developing mitigation strategies for proposed developments that are approved, for example, site designs elements that reduce storm water runoff volume or contamination. This is particularly useful since it is typically much easier to prevent problems from occurring in the design of the development than corrections problems after the development is built. However, an environmental impact assessment provides general information about the potential for adverse environmental impacts associated with a proposed development, not detailed quantitative information for design or regulatory purposes, for example could indicate areas where private on site waste disposal may become a ground water problem not what density of housing will exceed contaminate capacity. Design standards and regulations typically require models with much data requirements.

Environmental Impact Assessment is a predictive exercise in which the significant potential changes induced by projects are identified, evaluated and taken into account by decision makers before the permission to proceed is granted.The EIA Process makes sure that environmental issues are raised when a project or plan is first discussed and that all concerns are addressed as a project gains momentum through to implementation .Recommendations made by the EIA may necessitate the redesign of same project components, require further studies, suggest changes which alter the economic viability of the project or cause a delay in project implementation. To be of the most benefit it is essential that environmental assessment is carried out to determine significant impacts early in the project cycle so that recommendation can be built into the design and cost benefit analysis without causing major delays or increased design costs.

To be effective once implementation has commenced, the EIA should lead to a mechanism whereby adequate monitoring is undertaken to realise environmental management. An important output from the EIA process should be the delineator of enabling mechanisms for such effective management.

Other tools that have been used in planning development include participatory Rural Appraisal, Cost benefit analysis and Ecosystems approach. Environmental impact Assessment are tools that contribute to sustainable development.
The Integration of EIA into project planning cycle of projects features prominently in the development policy agenda of most countries such as Zimbabwe. The EIA project cycle consists of managed process which are intended to provide information to decision makers at every stage of project planning cycle.

The way in which the EIA is carried out is not rigid. It is a process comprising a series of steps. These steps are outlined below and the techniques more commonly used in EIA are described in some detail in the section techniques. The main processes in the EIA process are screening, scoping ,prediction and mitigation, management and monitoring and auditing.

Community environmental impact assessment provides a systematic process for identifying, describing and evaluating community natural and human resources in order to improve decisions about their management. Choosing to assess the community environment does not imply that all identified resources must be preserved or protected. It does imply that the community must be knowledgeable about its resources, so that development decisions reflect the range of community values, not just economic values. An environmental impact assessment facilitates community planning by assisting local government officials, community leaders, and citizens:

Identify valuable environmental resources in the community and surrounding area that may be affected by a proposed development;
evaluate the community’s capacity for additional development given environmental protection priorities;
identify the deficiencies or trade-offs between possible development alternatives or courses of action and the environmental impacts associated with each alternative;
determine which groups in the community may be directly or indirectly affected by the project or action.

Since environmental impact assessment is a monitoring tool used in town panning, it has a number of uses in Urban and Regional Planning in helping the planner carry out his tasks. It helps the planner in preparing layout plans. Before a planner prepares a layout plan, he needs to know whether or not the area is develop able or not, and this decision is reached upon the carrying out of an environmental impact assessment.

Once environmental impact assessment has been carried out, it gives an insight to the local authority as to whether the area is develop-able or not then determine to lease out the land for whether residential industrial or commercial use. An environmental impact assessment helps the responsible authority in the urban and regional planning field to approve layout plans upon assessing the extent of environmental impacts. It is also used to reach a decision of issuing a development permit.

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY

PRISCILLAH MUNANGATIRE

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND ITS USEFULNESS IN URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING.

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