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Impact Assessment. Environment & Resource Management. Impact Assessment. EIAs in Brief Foreign Species Human Practices EIA of a City. SOLUTION?!. 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
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Impact Assessment Environment & Resource Management
Impact Assessment • EIAs in Brief • Foreign Species • Human Practices • EIA of a City
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
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.
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).
EIAs in Brief • Step 1: Initiate Project • present idea for project • decide what type of EIA must occur • Step 2: Identify Issues • gather information from all parties • Government • Community • Developer
EIAs in Brief • Step 3: Develop Alternatives • consider all alternatives • design technologies to reduce impact • ‘do nothing’: options • Step 4: Predict Impacts • positive impacts • negative impacts
EIAs in Brief • Step 5: Analyze Impacts • determine best solution • Step 6: Report Findings • formal report: Environmental Impact Statement
EIAs in Brief • Step 7: Make a Decision • 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
Foreign Species • What is the impact of a foreign species to an ecosystem? • zebra mussel • purple loosestrife • Asian long-horned beetle
Human Practices • What is the impact of various land use practices on human and natural systems? • irrigation • pesticide use • wetland alteration
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.
EIA of a City • We will research Toronto, which is 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.
EIA of a City • Location & History • Status Quo • Projected Growth • Perceived Impacts • Recommendations
EIA of a City • Initiate Project • Identify Issues • Develop Alternatives • Predict Impacts • Analyze Impacts • Report Findings • Make a Decision • Monitoring