1. Environment & Resource Management
Impact Assessment
Environment & Resource Management

2. Impact Assessment EIAs in Brief Foreign Species Human Practices
EIA of a City

11. SOLUTION?!

13. basketball court on teachers’ parking lot
school yard extended into 1/3 of the woods
interpretative path in the remaining 2/3 of the woods
each cut tree will be replaced by two new ones

14. Without realizing it, the students and citizens of I. M
Without realizing it, the students and citizens of I.M. Perplexed School applied a work method that is becoming more and more popular:
They conducted an environmental assessment.

15. EIAs in Brief
“Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to a decision of a competent national authority.” (Declaration Principle 17 - Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, 1992).

16. EIAs in Brief Step 1: Initiate Project Step 2: Identify Issues
present idea for project
decide what type of EIA must occur
Step 2: Identify Issues
gather information from all parties
Government
Community
Developer

17. EIAs in Brief Step 3: Develop Alternatives Step 4: Predict Impacts
consider all alternatives
design technologies to reduce impact
‘do nothing’: options
Step 4: Predict Impacts
positive impacts
negative impacts

18. EIAs in Brief Step 5: Analyze Impacts Step 6: Report Findings
determine best solution
Step 6: Report Findings
formal report: Environmental Impact Statement

19. EIAs in Brief Step 7: Make a Decision Step 8: Monitoring
decision usually made by some level of government
Step 8: Monitoring
project must be monitored to evaluate success of EIA, and to determine if changes need to be made to either the project or future proposals

20. Foreign Species
What is the impact of a foreign species to an ecosystem?
zebra mussel
purple loosestrife
Asian long-horned beetle

21. Human Practices
What is the impact of various land use practices on human and natural systems?
irrigation
pesticide use
wetland alteration

22. Human Practices
As recently as 50 years ago, the Aral Sea was the 4th largest lake in the world.
Diversions of its two main feeder rivers for agricultural irrigation has since reduced the lake to a salty shell of its former self.

23. Human Practices

24. Human Practices

25. EIA of a City
Research one of the world’s largest cities and complete a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment to its City Council of the projected impact of a 20% increase to the current population.

26. EIA of a City Location & History Status Quo Projected Growth
Perceived Impacts
Recommendations

27. EIA of a City Initiate Project Identify Issues Develop Alternatives
Predict Impacts
Analyze Impacts
Report Findings
Make a Decision
Monitoring