Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

This training program will introduce participants to the theory and practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA), the systematic identification and evaluation of the potential effects on the physical, biological, cultural, and socioeconomic components of the environment of proposed actions, projects, plans, programs, and legislation. 
 

The objective of EIA is to encourage consideration of the environment in the planning and decision-making process to arrive at actions that avoid or minimize adverse impacts on the environment. 
 

EIA is now mandated by legislation in over 100 countries around the world. With encouragement from ISO 14000, the practice of EIA is expanding into the corporate world to evaluate the environmental aspects of business operations. 
 

This training program will explore the need for environmental impact assessments, the different types of assessments, and the regulatory and technical requirements of preparing an assessment. This course will include a series of student presentations.

The training program aims to introduce the concepts, procedures and methodology of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), to develop a critical awareness of factors which affect the use of EIA as part of project management in the legislative and regulatory context of recently- industrialized or less - industrialized countries, and to expose the students to the need for environmental impact assessments and how to prepare the various documents required by state and federal regulations.
 

In order to achieve these aims, the participants will:
 

• Understand the concept and basic process of environmental impact assessment
• Familiarize with specific models and methodologies used for impact prediction on the physical-chemical (air, surface water, soil and ground water, noise), biological (habitat and nonhabitat), cultural (historic, archaeological, visual), and socioeconomic (traffic, jobs, housing) components of the environment.
• Carry out a simple EIA.