Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a tool used to identify the environmental, social
and economic impacts of a project prior to decisionmaking.
It 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 decisionmakers.
By using EIA both environmental and economic benefits can be
achieved, such as reduced cost and time of project implementation and design, avoided
treatment/cleanup
costs and impacts of laws and regulations.
The key elements of an EIA are (a) Scoping: identify key issues and concerns of interested
parties; (b) Screening: decide whether an EIA is required based on information collected; (c)
Identifying and evaluating alternatives: list alternative sites and techniques and the impacts of
each; (d) Mitigating measures dealing with uncertainty: review proposed action to prevent or
minimize the potential adverse effects of the project; and (e) Issuing environmental
statements: report the findings of the EIA.