PART FOUR – GETTING TO KNOW YOUR EIA REPORT
4. GETTING TO KNOW YOUR EIA REPORT
4.1 IMPORTANCE OF BASELINE DATA COLLECTION & SURVEY AND SENSITIVE RECEIVERS IDENTIFICATION FOR AN EIA
Baseline information plays a critical part in the EIA process.
A good environment baseline enables potential environmental impacts from a project to be predicted and evaluated and it is the foundation of an EIA, whereas a baseline environmental survey shall be carried out where necessary to determine the existing environmental conditions on the site.
Section 4.3 of the EIAO TM outlines the general approach and methodologies for assessment. A baseline survey can help establish at least the following, among others: Description of Environment “… characteristics of environment shall be described in a way sufficient for identification and prediction of environmental impacts...” Impact Prediction “… identifying receivers, habitats or resources which are vulnerable to change …” Impact Evaluation “… an evaluation of the anticipated [environmental] changes and effect shall be made…” Impact Mitigation
It can be readily discerned that without credible baseline information, the impact prediction and evaluation will not be very objective.
In a nutshell, a baseline survey is important because:
VIP A good baseline survey is the foundation of an EIA, resembling piling of a building.