This is an administrative procedure that aims to protect or minimize the effects of human interventions resulting from a project, establishing measures to mitigate or compensate for unavoidable impacts.
This procedure is included in Law 21/2013, of December 9 , on environmental assessment, which combines strategic environmental assessment and environmental impact assessment.
Do you want to know the differences and what they consist of? Keep reading and you will find out.
The need for environmental impact assessment
The socioeconomic development of the population has generated environmental problems that have required environmental management systems to prevent and manage the possible risks derived from anthropic actions. One of the preventive instruments used is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This is a legal-administrative process whose objective is to identify, evaluate, predict and correct the direct or indirect effects that a project may cause.
These effects can occur on different elements such as:
Human beings, fauna and flora.
Water, soil, climate and air.
The landscape.
Cultural heritage, quality of life and material goods.
effects of a project on the environment
Objectives of environmental impact assessment
The EIA procedure aims to achieve the following objectives:
Include positive and negative environmental observations in the evaluation process.
Anticipate, prevent or minimize the negative effects derived from a project.
Ensure the sustainability of the natural environment and ecological processes.
When carrying out an environmental assessment, we must distinguish between two types of procedures: the EIA to assess the environmental consequences of projects and the SEA to assess those arising from plans and programs.
It refers to the technical-administrative procedure for analyzing a project , kuwait phone number search work or specific activity on the environment. This procedure is divided into two types:
Ordinary assessment , for projects in Annex I of Law 21/2013. The projects included are classified into 9 groups based on the different areas of activity, each of which details the specific characteristics that the projects must meet to require an ordinary EIA. It ends with the environmental impact statement (EIS).
Simplified assessment , for projects in Annex II of Law 21/2013 and projects not included in Annex I that may affect the Natura 2000 Network. The annex includes 10 different groups of projects that require a simplified EIA. It ends with the environmental impact report (EIR).
But have you heard of the Natura 2000 network? It is a network of protected ecological areas created by the European Union, whose objective is to make biodiversity conservation compatible with progress, development and well-being, safeguarding European species and habitats. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPA).
environmental impact study
Strategic environmental assessment.
The SEA is an environmental assessment procedure that incorporates sustainability criteria in the approval of plans and programmes. The objective is to take into account the environmental variable before the execution of a project is authorised or approved, that is, when the sectoral or territorial action model on which specific projects will be managed is being planned. The SEA acts at decisive moments before the execution of projects, which is why it has a positive influence on the environment and sustainable development.
Like the EIA, the EAE has two environmental assessment procedures:
Ordinary assessment , for plans and programs in which significant environmental effects are expected. It ends with the strategic environmental statement (SED).
Simplified assessment , for the rest of the plans and programmes, in which each member state analyses each case to determine whether or not they cause significant environmental effects. In addition, minor modifications to plans or programmes that were submitted through the ordinary procedure are included. It ends with the strategic environmental report (SIE).
Exceptions
Now that you know that there are projects, plans and programs that are subject to environmental assessment, you may have wondered if there are exceptions to this procedure. The answer is yes, there are two cases in which it is not mandatory to carry out an environmental assessment:
In the case of the EIA, projects carried out as a result of a catastrophe or serious accident . If it is carried out in a protected natural area of the Natura 2000 Network, a report will need to be prepared a posteriori.
In the SEA, plans and programmes that are not subject to evaluation are those designed solely for national defence or civil protection in response to an emergency or those of a financial or budgetary nature.
If you want to delve deeper into this topic, the Environmental Impact Assessment course will allow you to acquire knowledge about the procedure and methodology applicable in the Environmental Impact Assessment process. Throughout the course you will learn about the evolution and applicable legislation, the environmental impact study as the central core of the procedure and how the environmental inventory is prepared. In addition, you will be able to learn about the types of impacts and the different methodologies to evaluate them.
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