Can Environmental Impact Assessment Be Simplified for Use by Communities or Must It Always Involve High Level Expect Analysis?

Can environmental impact assessment/ environmental assessment be simplified for use by communities or must it always involve high level expect analysis?

Table of contents Table of contents Introduction Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Nature, Aims and Methods of EIA EIA and communities Conclusion Reference 1 2 3 4 5 7 8

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Introduction “Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is one way of evaluating the sustainability of projects before implementation.” Hocutt et al mention that EA originated with the United States National Environmental Policy in 1969, these policies have since spread to many parts of the world including Africa. Implementation of the assessment have seen expect knowledge being required but over the years, practice has shown that it cannot be merely left on the hands of qualified personnel only without involving the local communities of which the projects are done for. EIA can be a tool for communities to utilize when making decisions of important planning as it provides a tool for dealing with various harmful impacts of development before these problems become a reality. However, EA is lacking in some parts of Africa because of little knowledge about the subject, lack of trained people and financial challenges. This not implying that it cannot be used by communities but pointing out a need for help to the affected regions in the continent. Thus EIA is a necessity that can be simplified for use by communities.

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Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) can be defined as the systematic identification and evaluation of the potential impacts of proposed projects (Larry W Canter). Also, Jonathan Randall, Emma Jowett describe EIA as tool used to identify the environmental, social, and economic impacts of a project prior to decision making. 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...