Topic Some Terms and Terminologies

The Natural Environment
It encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case
not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This
environment encompasses the interaction of all living species, climate, weather and natural
resources that affect human survival and economic activity.
Environmental Degradation
It is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such
as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction;
the extinction of wildlife; and pollution.
Environmental Issues
They are harmful effects of human activity on the biophysical environment. Environmental
protection is a practice of protecting the natural environment on the individual, organizational or
governmental levels, for the benefit of both the environment and humans. Environmentalism,
a social and environmental movement, addresses environmental issues through advocacy,
education and activism
Major current environmental issues may include climate change, pollution, environmental
degradation, and resource depletion. The conservation movement lobbies for protection
of endangered species and protection of any ecologically valuable natural areas, genetically
modified foods and global warming.
Environmentalism or Environmental Rights
It is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental
protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this
health seeks to incorporate the impact of changes to the environment on humans, animals, plants
and non-living matter. 
An environmentalist is a person who may speak out about our natural environment and the
sustainable management of its resources through changes in public policy or individual behavior.
Development
The process of economic and social transformation that is based on complex cultural and
environmental factors that their interactions.
Development Infrastructures vs. Environmental Considerations
Environmental consideration in and around development should be led by a local understanding
of ecological networks, and should seek to include
Habitat restoration, re-creation and expansion
Tools for the Environmental Inclusion in Development (Types of EA)

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In order to achieve the objectives of environmental protection, environmental experts have
developed a number of tools to protected and manage the environment during development
projects. The tools are:
1. Initial Environmental Examination (IEE)
2. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
3. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
4. Brief Environmental Assessment (BEA)

(As Per Environment Protection Regulation 2077 BS)

Evolution and Development of EA: History

Environmental impact assessments commenced in the 1960s, as part of increasing environmental
awareness. An EIA is prepared to estimate the effects of a proposed development or construction
project.
In the United States, environmental impact assessments obtained formal status in 1969, with the
enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). EIAs have been used
increasingly around the world.
Provisions related to EIA began appearing in developing countries' legislation during the 1970s,
shortly after the United States enacted the first national EIA law, that is, the National
Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) of 1969.
Throughout the 1980s, more countries decided to establish EIA as an element of environmental
policy and a legal requirement for the proposed development activities.
History of EA in Nepal
Nepal, the sixth plan (1980 - 85), for the first time, recognized the need for EIA with the
establishment of Environmental Impact Study Project (EISP) under the Department of Soil
Conservation in 1982 to develop necessary instruments for integration of EIA in infrastructure
development projects.
The eighth plan period (NPC, 1992 - 1997) has made a contribution that is remarkable and
notable in institutionalizing the EIA system in Nepal's development planning and administration.
During this period, the government of Nepal adopted and implemented the National EIA
Guidelines of 1993, GoN (1993). Two separate EIA guidelines for the forestry and industry
sector were enforced in 1995 through administrative decisions.
During the plan period of the government, the Environment Protection Act, 1996 and the
Environment Protection Rules, 1997 were enacted and enforced.

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Topic

EA Steps

It is generally conduced in tiers. In most countries, EA processes fall into four tiers:

· Screening: decides whether the EA process is applicable at all to the development project.
Screening should basically "clear'' all those projects where there are no major negative impact
issues.

· Scoping: helps in understanding the extent of environmental impacts and identifies significant
environmental issues for further study. In the activity-component framework, this would mean
that scoping should assist in the identification of impacting activities and impacted
environmental components for all major negative impact issues.

· Initial environmental examination: assesses the severity of the significant issues and finds
ways to mitigate or enhance environmental impacts by considering the available information
from past experience or the standard operating practices.

· Detailed or comprehensive EIA: carries out a detailed examination of impacts by conducting

relevant surveys. Studies are monitored by applying more rigorous impact evaluation/prediction
tools where necessary and ensuring the effectiveness of the mitigation and enhancement
measures. Detailed EIA thus focuses on impacts which are critical but not fully understood.

Topic Initial Environmental Examination (IEE)

It is a preliminary environmental review of reasonably foreseeable impacts of proposed activity

to determine the adverse impacts whether an EIA is required or not.

Objectives of EA Study (IEE and EIA)

 Identify and predict environmental impacts

 Find ways and mean to reduce adverse impacts

 Shape the project to suit local environment

 Present the option to the decision makers

Why EA (IEE and EIA)

 Global commitment

 Mandatory for all the donors

 Reduce environmental damage

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  Lower project cost in long term

 Ensure that development is according to:

 National quality standard

 Government policy

 International obligation

Topic Method / Step/ Procedure of IEE Study

Note: study this topic after studying topic EIA

1. Screening

2. Terms of Reference ( TOR)

3. Report Preparation

Topic Administrative Procedure of IEE in Nepal

The proposals prescribed in Environment Protection Rules, 2077 BS

Preparation and submission of Terms of Reference (TOR)

Approval of the Terms of Reference (ToR) by the concerned ministry

Preparation of draft Initial Environmental Examination Report based on approved ToR and
in the format, as appropriate

A 15-day public Notice on National level Newspaper .Deed of recognizance posting the
notice in the offices of concerned DDC, VDC/Municipality, health post, schools and other
organizations

Final Report preparation incorporating the suggestions from concerned stakeholders

Submission of Final Report to the concerned Ministry with proof of public notice and deed
of recognizance and recommendation letter(s)

Approval from the concerned Ministry

Implementation of project

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Report Format of IEE

1. Name and Address of the Institution Preparing the Report

2. Summary
3. Project type
4. Impact Assessment
 Physical Environment
 Biological Environment
 Socio-Economic and Cultural Environment
 Human Health
4. Alternative Analysis
5. Conclusion
Bibliography
Annex
List of Figures

LEGAL COMPARION of IEE and EIA

Technical Differences

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Topic EIA Process (Steps of EIA)

As a project management tools, EIA are used to organize, collect and analyses information on
the environmental effects of particular projects. The sequences of steps are:

Step 1: Project Screening: determine whether projects require an EIA or not

Step2: Scoping: identification of all potentially significant impacts and basis for information of
TOR

Step 3: Projects Description and Consideration of Alternatives: seeks to describe all

reasonable alternatives including the preferred and no action option (project location, scale,
layout and operating conditions)

Step 4: Prediction of Impacts: identifies and predicts impacts in terms of magnitude and, extent
and duration

Step5: Evaluation of Impacts: importance of the predicted impacts is determined

Step6: Mitigation Measures: design systems and process to avoid, reduce and minimize
adverse impacts and enhance beneficial outcomes

Step 7: Stakeholder Involvement: ensure stakeholders views and issues are addressed in
decision making process

Step 8: Monitoring and Auditing Measures: identification of impacts that require monitoring
and auditing

Step 9 EIA Report Preparation: contain all the information obtained, analyzed, interpreted and
complied in a report form

Step 10: Review: assess whether or not all possible issues have been address properly or not to
facilitate decision making process

Step11: Decision Making: determine whether or not project should proceed based on conclusion
provided in EIA report and review.

Topic Project Cycle

Stages of project cycle

1. Pre- Feasibility Stage

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 During this stage scoping and TOR document are prepared. Scoping identifies the
environmental issues to be considered. TOR is developed for stage of EIA based on the
result of scoping.

2. Feasibility Stage

Detailed EIA is carried out in this stage. It includes:

o Field study for collecting baseline information

o Prediction of impact and their raking

o Designing mitigation measure

o Monitoring and auditing which include indicators of each parameters to be

monitored

o Developing an environment management plan for the implementation of EIA

o Forwarding EIA report to the project design engineer

3. Project Appraisal and Decision

 Concerned government agency or the leading agencies decide the viability of

project

 Result of EIA is considered with study of feasibility stage

 Submission of an application for authorization to the concerned agency by project

 Final decision is made by authorizing agency for project implementation based on

EIA report.

4. Implementation of Project

EIA report acts as guide book for the implementation of mitigation measures and
monitoring schemes. EIA forms a basis for developing a management plan to assist in
project implementation and management practice. Recommendations in EIA report form
a part of contract tender documents

Topic Screening

Process of selecting the projects through the establishment of a proper mechanism is called
screening.

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 It is the first step of EIA process. Under it decision is made for the requirement of EIA. So
unless it is carried, no further action can be done.

Screening is done by the developer in collaboration with authorizing agency.

Screening is required to ensure that only those projects that might have significant impacts on
environment are addressed and project with few or no impacts are screened out. To carry out
screening decision, information about scale and location and the process to be involved is
required.

Screening is mandatory and it calls for the authorizing agency to screen the projects after
developers submit the details of proposed project.

Benefits of Screening

 Save time and money

 Identifies environmental issues of major concern

 Determine need of EIA

Screening Classifies Project Proposal into three Categories:

 Project clearly requiring EIA

 Project not requiring EIA

 Project considering conduction of IEE to see EIA is needed or not

See Schedule 1, 2, 3 of Environment Protection Rules, 2077 BS

Schedule 1: Project Requiring Brief Environmental Assessment (BEA)

Schedule 2: Project Requiring IEE

Schedule 3: Project Requiring EIA

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Topic Scoping

Scoping is 2nd stage of EIA process, carried in order to determine the coverage and scope of EIA
study for the project proposal with potentially significant environmental impacts.

It helps to develop and select alternatives to the proposed action and to identify the issues to be
considered in an EIA. It is used to establish TOR for an EIA.

Aim and objectives of scoping

 To identify all the concerns and issues that needs to be considered in EIA

 To determine method of assessment that can be used

 To inform the people in the project area who may be affected

 To evaluate and address the concerns expressed about possible impact on environment

 To define boundary if the further assessment is required

Information Needed for Scoping

A. About the Proposed Project

 Different stage of the project

 Area which will be affected

 Time scale for each project activities

 Labor requirement and their source

 Raw material requirement and their source

 Infrastructure requirements

 Benefit s and drawbacks of the project

B. About the Receiving Environment

 Land Use

 Hydrology

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  Ecology

 Atmospheric Condition

 Any Heritage Sites

 Demography Existing Infrastructure

 People and Economy

 Topography and Geology

Method of Scoping

Issues are identified, evaluated and organized to be presented to decision makers. The steps of
scoping are:

1. Making a plan for public involvement

2. Assembling the relevant existing information

3. Distributing the information to affected individuals

4. Identifying the major issues of public concern

5. Evaluating the significance of the identified issues on the basis of available information

6. Establishing priorities for environmental assessment

7. Developing a strategy to address the established priorities

See Annex Format of Scoping Document

Topic Terms of Reference (TOR)

If screening indicates needs of EIA, the TOR is prepared to provide specific guidance or guide
lines for conducting a full scale EIA. TOR assists the EIA in following ways:

 Schematizing working procedure

 Determining the specific activities that need to be implemented

 Fitting the EIA study in the context of existing polices, rules and procedures

 Completing the work with the specific time frame

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  Giving importance to the most essential elements for study

 Providing technical guidance required in determining the specific environmental aspects

necessary for a study

Topic Format of TOR (Content of TOR Document)

Format of TOR varies from countries to countries. TOR often serves as legal document against
which final outcomes of an EIA are compared. In some countries authoring agencies prepares
TOR whereas in some coutries project proponent is responsible for TOR development.

Barry Sadler in 1997 suggested the following outlines of TOR in EIA effective study:

Introduction

 Purpose of TOR

 Responsible party for preparing of EIA report

EIA Guidelines

 General guidelines and procedure to be used in the preparation of EIA report

Background Information

 Description of general background studies and relevant reports

 Location and specific background and reports related to project are listed and described

 Mentioning relevant policy and legislation

 Relevance of project to local planning perspectives should be discussed.

Specific EIA Guidance

 Listing of varies environmental components which need detail study along the indicates
TOR required to measure those components.

 Action required to minimize the possible adverse impacts should be mentioned

 Cost benefit analysis of project regarding its environmental implication should be done

 Monitoring schedules needed for assessing the actual impacts of the project afterwards
should be given

Task To Be Mentioned In EIA Study Proposal

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  Work task: description of each specific task to be done

 Study schedule: indication of proposed plan for carrying out EIA

 Review session: period review of work

 Study team: experts and specifications needed for proposed projects should be described.

Conclusion

 Time required for completion of EIA should be specific

 Description of EIA tasks and completion dated should be stated

Budget

 Estimated budget for EIA study and report preparation

Topic Scoping Document (SD) and TOR Review & Approval Process in Nepal

1. Publication of a 15- day notice in a national daily by the proponent, informing the concerned
local organizations and individuals about the proposal in brief and defining the
VDC’s/municipalities (new local bodies) to be affected by the proposal implementation and
soliciting their concerns and suggestions on the proposal

2. Preparation of SD after field study and consultations/interactions with stakeholders and ToR
based on the SD by the proponent/consultants

3. Submission of SD and TOR report by the proponent to the concerned Ministry

4. The reports forwarded to MoFE by the concerned Ministry along with

comments/suggestions or recommendations for approval

5. Review SD and TOR reports by committee members of EIA Report Suggestion

Committee( RSC)

6. Send a letter to the proponent for revision of SD and TOR reports as per suggestions of RSC
and EIA section of Ministry,

7. Resubmission of revised of SD and TOR reports to MoFE by proponent

8. Notification to the concerned Ministry about the conditional/unconditional

approval/disapproval

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Topic Baseline Data Collection for EIA

Baseline data collection refers to collection of baseline information on biophysical bio-physical,

social and economic aspects of a project area.

The Guidelines for Colleting Baseline Formation are:

 Adequate or up to date and reliable maps are needed

 Good photographs in order to reduce amount of text

 Charts, graphs, table

 Quality and reliability of information base should be increased by provision of

description of data collection methodologies sampling time etc

 Presentation of data should be in simple manner

Project area is defined as the area where environmental effects and impacts are felt during
construction or operational stages of a project.

Collection of Baseline Information serves two Purposes:

 It provides a description of the status and trends of environmental factors (e.g., air
pollutant concentrations) against which predicted changes can be compared and evaluated in
terms of importance.
 It provides a means of detecting actual change by monitoring once a project has been
initiated.

Major Environmental Parameters to be considered in Field are:

A. Physical Environment:
It include varies conditions and parameters. They are: Topography, geology, soil types,
surface and ground water condition, watershed condition, pollution levels, noise level
B. Biological Environment:
It includes terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, types of flora and fauna, environmentally
sensitive wetlands, prime agricultural land etc
C. Socio‐economic environment:

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Demography, development needs and potential, infrastructure facilities, economic activities etc.
D. Cultural:
Location and state of archeological, historical, religious sites

Data Sources and Methods of Collection

Primary Sources: 

Result of the field and laboratory data collected and analyzed directly

Secondary sources:

Data collected indirectly from published records or documents such as project documents,
village profile, maps, photos, internet sources etc

Methods of Data Collection:

1. General methods: Literature review, map interpretation, checklists (e.g. scaling

and questionnaire checklists, matrices etc)
2. Resource‐based methods: methods: Scientific instruments and techniques
techniques(inventory, species area curve, sampling techniques, PRA, RRA)
Physical Environment

1. Laboratory testing of air , water and soil samples

2. For study of location, topography and area: topographical map and aerial
photographs interpretation

3. Field study and laboratory testing for drainage pattern, erosion and stability

4. Analysis of historical data for climatic study

5. Measurement of sound pressure, intensity and level

Biological Environment

1. Sampling methods

a. Quadrate method

b. Transect method

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 c. Point frame method

2. Interpretation of topographical maps / aerial photos

3. Analysis of field survey and published literature

4. Vegetation Analysis

a. basal area

b. density and relative density

c. frequency and relative frequency

d. dominance

e. abundance

Socio-Economic and Cultural Environment

 structured interview

 semi- structured interview

 public meeting

 key information interview

 PRA and RRA

Data Processing

Raw data is converted into knowledge and information that is more easily comprehensible. Tools
such as tables, graphs, maps can be used for presentation.
1. For physical data: graphs, tables, enumeration
2. For biological data: species numbers, volume, density, biomass can be calculated.
3. Species diversity (No. of species/Area sampled) can also be used for processing
biological data calculated through species richness of an area.
4. Socioeconomic data: Data such as male/female, skilled/semi skilled labor force
for construction and operational activities can be presented through, graphs, tables, and

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 population pyramids etc. which can be collected through sampling (random, stratified or
mixed).

Baseline studies in EIA may take a long time; hence EIA is blamed for higher costs and delays in
project implementation.

Therefore, the studies should be focused on those aspects that are likely to be affected.
Four critical points exist for project implementation

1. Decision on Project Approval

2. Decision on the Location of Project
3. Decision on the Project Design
4. Decision on the Operation of Project

Some examples: 1 baseline data of ………………… project

Baseline data of ……………………project

Topic

Project Alternative Analysis

The concept of alternative can be defined as a possible course of action, in place of another, that
would meet the same purpose and need.

The role of alternatives is to find the most effective way of meeting the need and purpose of the
proposal, either through enhancing the environmental benefits of the proposed activity, and or
through reducing or avoiding potentially significant negative impacts.

The following types or categories of alternatives can be identified:

1. Activity alternatives

These are sometimes referred to as project alternatives, although the term activity can be used in
a broad sense to embrace policies, plans and programs as well as projects. Consideration of such
alternatives requires a change in the nature of the proposed activity.

An example is incineration of waste rather than disposal in a landfill, or the provision of public
transport rather than increasing the capacity of roads.

2. Location alternatives

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Location alternatives could be considered for the entire proposal or for a component of a
proposal, for example the location of a processing plant. The latter is sometimes considered
under site layout alternatives

3. Process alternatives

Various terms are used for this category, including technological alternative and equipment
alternative.

The purpose of considering such alternatives is to include the option of achieving the same goal
by using a different method or process. An industrial process could be changed or an alternative
technology could be used.

For example, 1000 megawatt of energy could be generated using a coal-fired power station or an
array of wind turbines.

4. Demand alternatives

Demand alternatives arise when a demand for a certain product or service can be met by some
alternative means. Thus, for example, the demand for electricity could be met by supplying more
energy or through using energy more efficiently by managing demand.

5. Scheduling alternatives

These are sometimes known as sequencing or phasing alternatives. In this case an activity may
comprise a number of components, which can be scheduled in a different order or at different
times and as such produce different impacts.

For example, activities that produce noise could be scheduled during the day to minimize
impacts, and activities that may impact on birds could be scheduled to avoid the migratory
season

6. Input alternatives

By their nature, input alternatives are most applicable to industrial applications that may use
different raw materials or energy sources in their processes.

For example, an industry may consider using either high sulphur coal or natural gas as a source
of fuel.

7. Routing alternatives

Consideration of alternative routes generally applies to linear developments such as power lines,
transport and pipeline routes. In route investigations, various corridors are investigated and
compared in terms of their impacts.

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 8. Site layout alternatives

They permit consideration of different spatial configurations of an activity on a particular site.

This may include particular components of a proposed development or may include the entire
activity. For example, setting of a noisy plant away from residences; and secondly, setting of a
particular structure either prominently to attract attention or screened from view to minimize
aesthetic impacts

9. Scale alternatives

In some cases, activities that can be broken down into smaller units can be undertaken on
different scales. For example, in a housing development there could be the option of 100, 150 or
200 housing units. Each of these scale alternatives may have different impacts.

10. Design alternatives.

Consideration of different designs for aesthetic purposes or different construction materials in an

attempt to optimize local benefits and sustainability would constitute design alternatives.
Appropriate applications of design alternatives are communication towers. In such cases, all
designs are assumed to have different impacts. Generally, the design alternatives could be
incorporated into the project proposal and so be part of the project description, and need not be
evaluated as separate alternatives.

Approaches of Comparatives Analysis:

1. Qualitative approach: descriptive in formation of issues and alternatives presented

2. Quantitative approach: quantitative approach on each issues and alternative presented

3. Ranking , rating or scaling approach: the qualitative and quantitative information on each
issues are summarized through assigning rank, rating or scale values usually based on
characteristics of impacts

4. Weighting approach: the importance in weight of each issues and alternatives is

presented in view of importance of decisive factors

5. Weight – ranking, rating or scaling approach…………………….

Topic Prediction and Assessment of Impacts

Effects An "effect" is a change or result. "The rain had an effect on the condition of the
grass." An effect can be positive or negative.
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 Impacts The main difference between impact and effect is that impact is the influence of
an action/phenomenon on something or someone whereas effect is the consequence or
outcome of an action or a phenomenon

Identification- sure to occur related to land acquisition and site clearance

Prediction – most likely to occur related to other project action during construction and
operation with ROW of road /canal

Concept of Impact Assessment

Any economic development project whether it is large or small has environmental

implication which may be beneficial or adverse. Environmental impact literally is the
alternation of environmental condition. Impact identification starts at the stage of
scoping and is followed by prediction. Prediction should be based on the available
environmental baseline data.

Method of Impact Prediction

There are various methods available for predicting the impacts on variety of resources.
Predictive methods must be explorative i.e. it must use past and present data, trends,
analysis, analogies and intuition to arrive proper conclusion.

Impact prediction methods are broadly classified into following five types:

1. Mathematical Models

They are based on cause and effect relationship expressed in the form of mathematical
function. They include input – output as well as complex dynamic models. They generally
predict partial impacts. They are of two types:

Deterministic- usually derived through fixed relationships

Usually used to predicts socio- economic effects/ impacts

Stochastic- based on probability

2. Statistical Methods

Statistical tools such as regregassion and component analysis are used to relationship
between data and test hypothesis

Eg prediction of flood

3. Geographic Information System(GIS)

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 Satellite images, physical maps and aerial photographs provide required information on
existing resources. GIS allows analysis of effects of projects activities.

4. Field Laboratory Models

A field work is carried out before the implementation in order to provide baseline
information about the resources available. Eg fish resources, survey of river

Laboratory tests also provide some information into the effects of certain development
activities on resources

Eg application of DDT for safe growth of crop

5. Expert Judgments

Judgments given by the experts based on the events which occur due to the implantation of
certain or specific development activities in particular location helps in prediction of similar
impacts on other location.

Eg problem of salinization is a common impact in irrigation projects.

Whatever methods is used in impact prediction, it must produce

 acceptable results

 Be replicable, consistent and adaptable

Topic Uncertainty of Impact Prediction

Predicting the impact of some development activity gives the clear image of what is going to
happen but there always remains a factor of uncertainty in prediction. These uncertainties are
about:

 Physical, social and economic environment

 Guiding values such as policies and legislation

 Decisions such as planning, negotiation and coordination

These uncetainnities affect the accuracy of prediction in EIA process

To resolve the question of uncertainties, the issues of probability of occurrence and confidence
level impact prediction need to be addressed properly. All the predictions should be expressed

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such that each of the predicted outcomes is within a certain range of percentage of confidence
level

Example:

Predicted that industry emits a noise level of 65-70dB at 90% confidence interval that means
only 10 times out of 100 times, it would be likely to exceed noise range ( expect)

Topic Impact Ranking and Comparison of Alternatives

Impact ranking is the most commonly used method for choosing alternatives due to its
simplicity. In this method, impacts are predicted in terms of

 Magnitude

 Extent and

 Duration

Each of this prediction is then translated into values. These impact values are then summed up
and then multiplied by probability of occurrence of any particular impacts. The final impact
value thus obtained for all the alternatives is then compared and highest value corresponds to
greatest potential for environmental impact where as lowest impact values are generally
considered and selected

EIA guidelines (1993) award the following numerical values in its impact assessment
framework.

Magnitude Extent Duration

Major/ High(H) 60 Regional(R) 60 Long Term(Lt) 20

Moderate(M) 20 Local(L) 20 Medium Term(Mt) 10

Minor(L) 10 Site Specific(S) 10 Short Term(St) 5

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 Topic Types of Impacts

a. Physical – Chemical Impacts

Physical impacts refer to impacts on soil and landform such as soil erosion, flooding,
sedimentation.

Chemical impacts relate to project activities that can change the quality of ambient
air, water or soil

b. Biological Impacts

It relate to effects on biological resources such as vegetation, wildlife, crop, aquatic

life, and ecosystem

Following points must be considered in ordered to minimize impacts on biophysical

environment

 Activities on project area should be carefully analyzed and mitigation measures to

avoid this impact should be implemented.

 Composition, structure and abundance of various flora and fauna should be

considered

 Keystone species should be protected

c. Social Impacts

i. Demographic impacts: displacement and relocation

ii. Economic impacts: income and income multiplier effects, employment,

taxation, prices of good and services

iii. Cultural impacts: traditional pattern, family structures, religion and belief etc

iv. Intuitional impact: housing, school, NGOs, criminal justice

v. Gender impact: role of women in society

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 The major step in social impact analysis is to identify factors such as

 Ethnicity and tribes

 Occupation

 Socio- economic status

 Age and gender

d. Health Impact

Traditionally health issues have been given very little attention in EIA study but
following are some reason why health impact must be integrated in EIA process:

 Prevention is better than cure

 Environmental degradation is linked with health impacts

 Environmental, social and health outcomes can be improved

 Promote a public response and encourage public participation

Economic Impacts

Various impacts on economy can be seen or likely to arise due to changes in economic variables
caused by:

 Project construction and operation

 Workforce requirement and income by workers

 Material and capital investment

Key Factors to Explore the Fiscal Impact of Project Include

 Size of investment

 Labor force requirement

 Capacity of existing services and infrastructure

 Local and regional taxes

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  Lively demographic changes arising due to project

Topic Categorization of Impacts

The types of impact a development project will have can be:

1. Direct Impact

It refers to the alternation of the existing environmental condition as direct consequences

of the project activity.

Impacts may include impacts to wetlands, changes in land use (conversion to

transportation use), effects on endangered species, as well as other relevant impacts.

Eg, construction of irrigation diversion on stream bank may affect the aquatic ecosystem,
stream valley vegetation

2. Indirect Impact

Results when impact on one component of existing environment affects other related
components. Direct impacts can have far reaching effects, producing numerous indirect
impacts depending up on structure and function of system.

Eg Effects which are caused by the action that are later in time or farther removed in
distance, but are still reasonably foreseeable. Indirect effects may include growth-
inducing effects and other effects related to induced changes in the pattern of land use,
population density or growth rate, and related effects on air and water and other natural
systems, including ecosystems

Other examples of indirect impacts include changes in wildlife populations due to direct

project-related effects on habitat, changes in use of a park due to improved access.

Cumulative Impacts:

Cumulative environmental impacts result from many different, often individually

insignificant, effects. They are usually neither measured nor accounted for before they
cause significant damage through accumulation. Although the existence of cumulative
environmental impacts is known to be omnipresent, they are often overseen in
environmental impact assessments (EIA) or in land-use-planning. The decrease of
ground water quality and quantity, the deposition of toxic substances in aquatic
sediments, the mobilization of persistent or bio accumulative substances, fragmentation
and damage to habitats, loss of soil quality 

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 Topic

Method of Impact Identification

Some of the tools commonly used are

1. Checklists

They usually consists of environmental factors which may be affected by project

activities and can range in complexity from simple list of items to variety which
incorporate guidance on scaling and weighting of impacts .Types of checklist:

i. Simple checklist

ii. Questionnaire checklist

See annex for sample

2. Interaction Matrix Method

Matrix is gridline like table that is used to identify the intection between project activities
which are displayed on the axis and environmental characteristics on the other axis.
Types of matrix:

i. Simple matrix

ii. Leopold matrix

iii. Modified graded matrix

iv. Impact summary matrix

Note: see annex for sample

The Leopold matrix is a qualitative environmental impact assessment method pioneered in 1971. It is used to identify the
potential impact of a project on the environment. The system consists of a matrix with rows representing the various activities of
the project, and columns representing the various environmental factors to be considered. The intersections are filled in to
indicate the magnitude (from -10 to +10) and the importance (from 1 to 10) of the impact of each activity on each environmental
factor.
Measurements of magnitude and importance tend to be related, but do not necessarily directly correlate. Magnitude can be
measured, in terms of how much area is affected by the development and how badly, but importance is a more subjective
measurement. While a proposed development may have a large impact in terms of magnitude, the effects it causes may not
actually significantly affect the environment as a whole. The example given by author Luna Leopold is of a stream that
significantly alters the erosion patterns in a specific area, which will have a significant magnitude, but may not be important,
provided the stream in question is swift moving and transports large amounts of soil anyway. In this case, an impact of
significant magnitude may not actually be important to the environment in question

3. Overlay mapping

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 Series of transparencies are used to identify, predict and design relative significance
and communicate impacts in geographical reference. It can accommodate both
qualitative and quantitative data.

See annex for sample

4. Networks

Networks are attractive for focusing on indirect effects/impacts. This does not include
quantitative measure of impact magnitude.

See annex for sample

5. Geographic Information System(GIS)

GIS has potential for storing and providing access to very large data sets.

6. Task- specific computer model

When prediction is involved, computer model design for specific purpose is utilized
in EIA analysis. Such models often incorporate mathematical representation.

7. Expert systems are also task specific but they may or may not be computer based.
Expert system incorporate the knowledge and experience of expert from relent
disciplines into analytical tools use for decision making.

Topic Mitigation Measure

Mitigation measures are action recommended to reduce, avoid the potential adverse
impacts on environment resulting from proposed development activities.

They are three types:

1. Preventive Measures

Some potential impacts can be reduced or eliminated before they occur. Examples
of preventives measure are

 Implementation of health program

 Initiation of public awareness

 Planting tree cover

 Consolidation of storage of hazardous substances

2. Compensatory Measures
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  These are actions undertaken to compensate for unavoidable adverse impacts.
possible compensatory measure are

 Compensation for the loss of house and other properties

 Creation of similar resources or habitat elsewhere

 Rehabilitation of displaced settlement

 Establishment of fish hatchery

 Release of adequate quantity of water during dry season

3. Corrective Measures

They are adopted to reduce the adverse impacts to acceptable levels. Some of the
corrective measures are:

 Installation of pollution control devices

 Control of airborne dust

 Erosion control by plantation of slope

 Safe disposal of spoil material

 Provision of personal protection equipment to workforce

Unit 10 Role and Responsibility of Stakeholders

People Concern on Project

There are hundreds of reasons for conflicts in project management. They can be a huge
impediment towards the success of a completed project.

The following are common sources of conflicts, especially in the project environment.
 Schedules.
 Prior unresolved conflicts.
 Project priorities.
 Resource competition.
 Cultural differences.
 Technical issues.
 Team or clique.
 Personality conflicts.

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The participation of local People is very much essential to run the project. But Nepal has
sufficient examples of the lack of people's participation in projects. There is lack of public
participation in projects for most of the projects are run in rural areas and the rural people have
generally negative attitude towards projects.

Project Mediation

It is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party assists disputing parties in
resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All
participants in mediation are encouraged to actively participate in the process.

Mediation is a "party-centered" process in that it is focused primarily upon the needs, rights, and
interests of the parties. The mediator uses a wide variety of techniques to guide the process in a
constructive direction and to help the parties find their optimal solution.

A mediator is facilitative in that she/he manages the interaction between parties and facilitates
open communication. Mediation is also evaluative in that the mediator analyzes issues and
relevant norms ("reality-testing"), while refraining from providing prescriptive advice to the
parties (e.g., "You should do)

Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution resolving disputes between

two or more parties with concrete effects. Typically, a third party, the mediator assists the parties
to negotiate a settlement. Disputants may mediate disputes in a variety of domains, such as
commercial, legal, diplomatic, workplace, community, and family matters.

Topic Public Participation and Consultation (Stakeholder Involvement)

In participatory decision- making, there is no single source of ultimate control of authority. The
participating parties must discuss and reach a decision by means of agreed upon process. Some
of many methods which can be utilized to involve stakeholders, especially public in the EIA are:

Public Meeting- opens with no restriction; anybody with interested can attend

Advisory Panels- group of individuals who are chosen to represent stakeholders; they meet
periodically to assess work done and result obtained to advice on future work.

Public Information Center- established in on accessible location and contains information on

project

Interviews- open ended interviews with selected community representatives

Questionnaires- written, structured series of questions are asked to local people to gather ideas
and matter concerns
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 Participatory Appraisal Techniques- systematic approach to appraisal based on group inquiry
and analysis with multiple and varied inputs.

Stages of Public Involvement and Consultation

Stakeholder involvement is required during

 Scoping

 Preparation of TOR

 Project appraisal ie when draft of final version of EIA is released

 Project valuation

Topic Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation (PM&E)

It is a process through which stakeholders at various levels engage in monitoring or evaluating
a particular project, program or policy, share control over the content, the process and the results
of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activity and engage in taking or identifying corrective
actions. PM&E focuses on the active engagement of primary stakeholders.
Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation is one of many approaches to ensure that the
implementation of the different projects within the action plan ― or smaller individual projects
― leads to the expected outcomes.

The stakeholder groups typically involved in a participatory M&E activity include: the end users
of project goods and services, including both men and women at the community level;
intermediary organizations, including NGOs; private sector businesses involved in the project;
and government staff at all levels.
Principles of Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation

Conventionally, monitoring and evaluation has involved outside experts coming in to measure
performance against pre-set indicators, using standardized procedures and tools.
PM&E differs from more conventional approaches in that it seeks to engage key project
stakeholders more actively in reflecting and assessing the progress of their project and in
particular the achievement of results :
Core principles of PM&E are:
 Local people are active participants — not just sources of information.

 Stakeholders evaluate, outsiders facilitate.

 Focus on building stakeholder capacity for analysis and problem-solving.
 Process builds commitment to implementing any recommended corrective actions.

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Topic Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

Preparation of EMP is required for the formulation, implementation and monitoring of

environmental protective measure during and after commissioning of the project. The different
steps of EMP at various stages of project are:

Conceptualization: preliminary environmental assessment

Planning: detail study of environmental impact and design of safe guards

Execution: implementation of environmental safety measures

Operation: monitoring of effectiveness of safe guards

The EMP should be necessarily based on consideration of resource and pollution control.

Note: see annex for sample

Topic Environmental Monitoring

Holgate, 1979 makes a distinction among monitoring, surveillance and survey. He considered
that monitoring is an action orientated activity designed to determine the extent to which
environmental regulation is working

Environmental monitoring is one the most essential component of EIA as:

 It ensure that impacts do not exceed legal standard

 It checks implementation of mitigation measures

 It provides early warning of potential environmental change and damage

Principle of Monitoring

Certain principles of environmental monitoring should not be overlooked. They are:

 Determine the indicators to be used in monitoring activities

 Apply measurable criteria to the chosen indicators

 Collect meaningful and relevant information

 Draw conclusions based on the processing of information

 Make rational decisions based on conclusion drawn

 Recommend improvement in the mitigation measures

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Types of Monitoring

1. Baseline Monitoring:

A survey of baseline environmental parameters in the proposed project area and its
surrounding should be conducted before the construction phase. This is known as base
line monitoring or pre- audit study.

2. Impact Monitoring:

The biophysical and socioeconomic parameters within the project area must be measured
during the project construction and operational phases in order to detect any
environmental changes occurring due to project implementation.

3. Compliance Monitoring:

This form of monitoring employs a periodic sampling method or continuous recording of

specific environmental quality indicates or pollution level in order to ensure that the
project is complying with recommended environmental protection standards.

Monitoring and Evaluation Criteria

Impact monitoring is an important component of EIA. It must be given proper emphasis within
project cycle. It is not possible to monitor all aspects coverd by the impacts identification
process, a selection of the most important and critical parameters that could influence the project
and its surrounding environment must be made. Depending on the project, the selected
parameters may vary. The intensity or criteria of the monitoring ids determined on the basis of
the identified different parameters and potential severity of the environmental impact being
monitored.

Monitoring Indicators

For each of the impacts and corresponding measures, indicators to be measured during projects
construction should be developed. The indicators should be selected such that up on their
measurement, they reflect the condition of that particular component.

Example; impact: deterioration of fish habitat

Indicator to be measured: the number of fish species

Monitoring Plan:

A monitoring plan includes a description of types of monitoring to be carried out, parameters to

me monitored, the methods to be used and scheduled to be adhered.

Note: See annex for sample of monitoring plan

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Topic Environmental Auditing

The term audit is usually associated with finance and accounting, but actually refers broadly to
the examination and assessment of certain type of performance. In the case of an EIA, an audit
assesses the actual environmental impact, the accuracy of prediction, the effectiveness of
environmental impact mitigation and enhancement measures and the function of the monitoring
mechanism. An audit should be performed after a project has been in operation for some time
and is usually performed once or twice in the entire project cycle.

Types of Audit

It is recommended that following types of audit are implemented in different phases of EIA
process

1. Decision point: it examines the effectiveness of an EIA as a decision making tool

2. Implementation: it ensures that the approved conditions have been met

3. Performance: it examines the responses of the agencies concerned with project

management

4. Project Impact: examines environmental changes arising from project

5. Predictive: it examines the accuracy and utility of predictive techniques by comparing

actual against predicted environmental impacts. It also examines the methods and
approach adopted during EIA study.

Timeframe for conducting an audit

The audit should be carried out by agency which approves the project, with assistance from
relevant organizations if required. It should be scheduled immediately after project construction
is completed or at another point in project cycle at which it seems essential. In Nepal, MOFE is
responsible for auditing, which conducts it with concerned agencies and the project proponent.

The audit gives clear idea of ways to reduce or present unwanted consequences that may be seen
during implementation.

Audit obtains information of following areas:

 The condition of natural, social and economic resources

 Effectiveness of mitigation measures

 Restoration of landscape damaged due to implementation of project

 Impact of boom- bust scenario among workforce involved

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  The project effect on economy

Information collected while monitoring outputs should be utilized for carrying out and
environmental audit.

Topic EIA Study and Report Approval Process (Administrative Procedure in Nepal)

• Proponent

• National Environmental Impact Assessment Guideline, 1993

• Physical, Biological and Socio-economic cultural environment

• Desk study (Literature review)

• Field study

Scoping Phase:

1. Delineation of the project area

2. Collection of baseline data

3. Interaction with the stakeholders

4. Identification and prioritization of the issues

ToR phase:

1. Methodology

2. Prioritized issues

3. EIA format

EIA phase:

1. Detail study of baseline environment

2. Identification, Prediction and evaluation of the impacts

3. Proposing enhancement and mitigation measures along with environmental management

cost

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 4. Public hearing

5. EIA Report Review & Approval Process of Nepal

 Desk Study/Field study, preparation of draft EIA report based on the approved ToR

 Conduction of a public hearing by the proponent in the area of VDC/municipality (new

local bodies), where the project has been proposed to be implemented, to collect public
opinion /comments/suggestions on the proposal

 Collection of recommendation letters from all concerned VDC’s/municipalities (new

local bodies)

 Submission of EIA report by the proponent to the concerned Ministry

 EIA report forwarded to MoFE by the concerned Ministry along with

comments/suggestions or recommendations for approval

 Review EIA report by committee members of RSC,

 Send a letter to the proponent for revision of EIA as per suggestions of RSC and EIA
section of Ministry,

 Submission of revised EIA to MoFE by proponent

 Notification to the concerned Ministry about the conditional/unconditional

approval/disapproval

EIA Report Format

Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
List of Annexes
Executive Summary
sfo{sf/L ;f/f+z
Acronyms
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
1.2 Project Proponent
1.3 The Consultant
1.4 Objectives of EIA Study
1.5 Rational of the Study
1.6 Limitation of the Study

CHAPTER TWO: PROJECT DESCRIPTION

CHAPTER THREE: STUDY METHODOLOGY

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CHAPTER FOUR: EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION

CHAPTER FIVE: POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

CHAPTER SIX: ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS

CHAPTER SEVEN: POTENTIAL MITIGATION AND ENHANCEMENT MEASURES

CHAPTER EIGHT: RELEVENT POLICIES, ACT AND REGULATIONS

CHAPTER NINE: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

CHAPTER TEN: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

References

Topic Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA)

The benefits of EIA are now widely accepted and there is a growing belief that the EA of
policies, plans, and program may also be necessary to ensure that alternatives and impacts which
cannot be fully considered at project level are adequately evaluated.

This is a consequence of the growing belief that project EIA may occur too late in the planning
process to ensure that all the relevant alternatives and impacts are adequately considered.

Such an assessment of policies, plans, and program is termed strategic environmental assessment
(SEA). It can also be applied to enable cumulative impacts between projects, policies, and
program to be taken into consideration.

Partly because the advantages of project EIA are so widely recognized, the desirability of taking
the environment into account earlier in the planning process has gained acceptance worldwide.

Steps of SEA

The tasks involved in SEA are similar to those in EIA and many EIA methods can be adapted to
SEA methods.

There exists a tiered forward-planning process which starts with the formulation of a policy at
the upper level, is followed by a plan at the second stage, and by a programme at the end.

The tiered EA process can permit relevant alternative approaches and cumulative, synergistic,
global, and non-project impacts to be assessed. The tiered process can be applied at the national
as well as local levels. It can apply to sectoral actions and physical planning actions.

Potential Benefits of SEA

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Encourages the consideration of environmental objectives during policy, plan and program
making activities within non-environmental organizations

• Facilitates consultations between authorities on, and enhances public involvement in evaluation
of environmental aspects of policy, plan and program formulation.

• May render some project EIAs redundant if impacts have been assessed adequately.

• May leave examination of certain impacts to project EIA.

• Allows formulation of standard or generic mitigation measures for later projects.

• Encourages consideration of alternatives often ignored or not feasible in project EIA.

• Can help determine appropriate sites for projects subsequently subject to EIA.

• Allow more effective analysis of cumulative effects of both large and small projects.

• Encourages and facilitates the consideration of synergistic effects.

• Allows more effective consideration of ancillary or secondary effects and activities.

• Facilitates consideration of long range and delayed impacts.

• Allows analysis of the impacts of policies which may not be implemented through projects.

Need for SEA

There are several reasons for the perceived need for SEA. Alternative approaches, cumulative
impacts, and synergistic impacts (which may be cross-sectoral in nature), ancillary impacts,
regional or global impacts, and non-project impacts (for e.g., impacts resulting from management
practices) may all be better assessed initially at policy, plan, or program level rather than at the
project level.

Differences between Project Level EIA and SEA

The main elements of the EIA process and its most tangible output (the EIA report) are in
principle applicable to all levels of decision-making including policies, plans, and program.
However, in practice, it is likely that the scope and purpose of the EA of policies, plans and
program will be different from that of projects in five main ways:

• The precision with which spatial implications can be defined is less;

• The amount of detail relating to the nature of physical development is less;

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• The lead time is greater;

• The decision-making procedures and the organizations involved may differ, requiring a greater
degree of coordination;

• The degree of confidentiality may well be greater.

Methodologies for SEA

SEA methodologies are not well developed. However, nearly all the tasks involved in SEA are
similar to those in project-level EIA. As with project EIA, the skill of the assessor comes to bear
in selecting an appropriate mixture from different approaches, tools, and techniques available.
The key considerations that assessors should bear in mind in designing their approach to SEA are
listed in Table 9.6.

Effectiveness of SEA

Like EIA, SEA faces a number of important political and institutional barriers, in fact more so
since setting policies is a political issue. Currently, SEA processes vary considerably. They may
be formal or informal, comprehensive or more limited in scope, and closely linked with or
unrelated to either policy or planning instruments.

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 Topic Life Cycle Assessment:

A broader approach to deal with environmental impacts in manufacturing is called life cycle
analysis. This approach recognizes that environmental concerns enter into every step of the
process with respect to the manufacturing, of the products and thus examines environmental
impacts of the product at all stages of the product life cycle.

This includes the product design, development, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, usage
and disposal. LCA is concerned with reducing environmental impacts at all these stages and
looking at the total picture rather than just one stage of the production process. Through utilizing
this concept, firms minimize the life cycle environmental costs of their total product system.
LCA gives sufficient scope to think about the alternatives which are lower at cost.

From the above discussion, it is clear that EIA shall be integrated at all the levels i.e. strategic,
regional, sectoral and the project level. Whereas, the strategic EIA is a structural change, the
regional EIA refers to substantial information processing and drawing complex inferences.

The project-level EIA is relatively simple and reaches to meaningful conclusions. As we

progress and the resource planning concepts emerge in our decision- making process, the
integration of overall regional issues will become part of the impact assessment studies.

Unit 1 and Unit 12

Plans/Policies, Acts, Rules/Regulations, Guidelines and Conventions Related to

Environment

Introduction
Nepal integrated environment aspects in all its development activities and projects only from
early 1980s.
Environment conservation was included in the policies since the Fifth Plan (1975-1980).
The second milestone was taken during the Sixth Plan. The Sixth Plan under the environment
and land use policy emphasized the integration of environmental aspects into the construction of
large-scale development projects.

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Then finally, in the Seventh Plan it was stated that developmental programs would be
implemented only after an approved EIA/IEE report.
The Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Five Year Plans have further emphasized the making of more
effective EIA systems.
The formulation of Sectoral Guidelines, promotion of participatory EIA/IEE system and
inclusion of mitigation cost into the total project cost were some of the activities included in
these three five year plans.

The Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2063 (2006)

Article 35(5) of the Interim Constitution requires the State to give priority to the protection of the
environment and also the prevention to its further damage due to physical development activities
by increasing the awareness of the general public environment cleanliness.

The state shall also make arrangements for the special protection of the environment and rare
wildlife. Provision shall be made for the protection of the forest, vegetation and biodiversity, its
sustainable use and equitable distribution of the benefit derived from it.

Plan & Policy

Nepal Environmental Policy and Action Plan, 2050 (1993) and 2055 (1998)

Nepal Environmental Policy and Action Plan (NEPAP) were endorsed to further institutionalize
environmental protection in the development processes. The NEPAP recognize that a growing
number of people are exposed to pollute from industrial enterprises.

The NEPAP identifies the following factors as contributing to this process: Industrial plan
inappropriately cited close to population centers insufficient emphasis on fuel efficiency little, if
any pollution abatement equipment used for reducing emission, and a total lack of industry
pollution standards.

Hence, the NEPAP emphasizes the need for mitigating adverse environmental impacts to address
urban and industrial development, air and water pollution and infrastructures development.

Forestry Sector Policy, 2000

The Forest Sector Policy of Nepal such as the National Forestry Plan, 1976, Master Plan for the
ForestrySector, 1988, Periodic Five Year Plan and Forestry Sector Policy, 2000 has emphasized
people’s participation in the forestry management.

Nepal’s main forest management is based on people’s participation and various management
models are underway.
Similarly, Forestry Sector Policy, 2000 stresses on conservation of biodiversity, ecosystem and
protection of land degradation by soil erosion, landslide, floods desertification and other
ecological disturbances.

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The Public participation in forest management is sought through community forestry,
collaborative forest management, leasehold forestry etc.
The mitigation measures such as plantation, NTFP program and other social and community
support program proposed by the project will be implemented by mobilizing the local people
which is in line with the Forest Sector Policy.
The procedural guidelines for the use of forest land for other purpose stated that feasibility study
will be carried out with no use of forest land to the extent possible. If it is not possible, the
alternate will be considered with minimum use of forest land.
This guideline also stated that the project proponent will be responsible for the plantation of two
tree species for the loss of one tree and their management for 5 years and handing over to the
concerned forest office of the district.

Hydropower Development Policy, 2058 (2001)

The Hydropower Development Policy was promulgated in 2001. The main objectives of the
policy include producing clean energy through the development of hydroelectric projects and to
help conserve the environment.
It is stipulated that one of the policies is to extend the use of electricity for achieving a reduction
in the utilization of fuel wood and to render necessary assistance in the conservation of forest and
environment.

Acts

Aquatic Animals Protection Act, 2017 (1961)

This Act provided legislative protection of the habitats of aquatic species. Under this Act, it is
offence to introduce poisonous, noxious or explosive material in to a water source or destroy any
dam, bridge, fish ladder or water system the intent of catching or killing aquatic life. The Act
was amended in 1988 to prohibit the use of unsafe pesticides.

Land Acquisition Act, 2034 (1977)

One of the important acts that have a bearing on the implementation mechanisms and mitigation
adverse impacts of power projects is the Land Acquisition Act, 2034. This Act covers all aspects
of land acquisition and compensation of land and other assets. It authorizes the government to
acquire land for public purposes by providing compensation to the private land owners.
Land acquisition and compensation has not been a major issue in the rural electrification in the
past because the area required for erection of a pole is so small that it has not been an issue.

4.4.3 Soil and Watershed Conservation Act, 2039 (1982)

In order to manage watersheds of Nepal, the Soil and Watershed Conservation Act, 1982was
enacted. The act is devoted to the protection of watersheds.
Under Section 10 of SWCA, power is extended to the Watershed Conservation Officer to grant
permission to construct dams, drainage ditches and canals, cut privately owned trees, excavate
sand, boulders and soil, discharge solid waste and establish industry or residential areas within
any protected watersheds. The Act outlines the essential parameters necessary for proper
watershed management.

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Water Resources Act, 2049 (1992)
The objectives of the Water Resources Act, 2049 is to make legal arrangements for determining
beneficial uses of water resources, preventing environmental and other hazardous effects thereof
and also for keeping water resources free from pollution.
The Act strives to minimize environmental damage to water bodies, especially lakes and rivers
through environmental impact assessment studies and the proponents who wish rosewater
resources for various purposes should prepare IEE report before a license can be granted.

The Act stipulates that soil erosion, flooding, landslides or any significant impact on the
environment should be avoided in all uses of a water resource. The provisions made in Water
Resources Act, 2049 (1992) is mandatory in case of the implementation of the proposed project.
As per the provision, the environmental impact mitigation and enhancement measures have been
proposed in view of environment conservation.

Electricity Act, 2049 (1992)

Electricity Act, 2049 is related to survey, generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.
Electricity includes electric power generated from water, mineral oil, coal, gas, solar energy,
wind energy etc. Under Section 3 of the Act it is stated that survey, generation, transmission or
distribution of electricity without obtaining a license is prohibited.

The Electricity Act, 2049 also contain provisions to minimize soil erosion, flood, air pollution
and damage on environment while producing electricity and transmission of the power
(Article24).
Forest Act, 2049 (1993)
The Forest Act, 2049 (Amendment 2055) recognizes the importance of forests in maintaining a
healthy environment.
One of the major objectives of the enhancement and enforcement of the Forest Act is the
promotion of a healthy environment.

The Act requires decision-makers to take account of all forest values, including environmental
services and bio-diversity.
It emphasizes the development and implementation of an approved work plan for different
categories of forest, i.e. Community Forests, Leasehold Forests, Private Forests and religious
forests.
This Act is relegating case of the proposed project as the project will acquire an area equivalent
to 23.1046 ha forest land belonging to community, and national. It is mandatory to follow the
Forest Act, 2049 (1992) while proposing the mitigation measures and also in implementation
phase.

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Labour Act, 2049 (1993)

This act is enforced by GoN in 2049/2/2. This Act classified below 15 years as child and
‘anabolic’ for the age group of above 14 years and below 18 years. The Act has also made
provision of labour court and department of labour. The Act clearly mentions that the
appointment letter should be issued for all the employees which include their working hours,
working time, wages and other benefits.

The Act allows for the time bond contract for the manpower required for development work. The
Act specifies that working hours for the Anabolic and women must be within 6 AM to 6 PM
which clearly restrict to deploy women in night works. The Act also state that equal opportunity
shall be given to women as men.
Similarly working period for the other employees must not exceed 8 hours a day and 48hours in
a week. If some people work beyond that period, over-time allowances must be paid which is
150% of the normal per hour wages and such over-time must not exceed 4 hours in a day.
According to this act the wage rate of the employees shall not be less than the rate fixed by the
concerned offices of GoN.
Environment Protection Act, 2053 (1997)

Nepal has enacted a comprehensive and umbrella type Act, the Environment Protection Act,
1997 (EPA, 97) which is now enforced through appropriate regulatory measures. The EPA
provides a legal basis for the concerned authorities for regulation an initial Environmental
Examination (IEE) or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Section 3 of the Act requires the proponent to conduct an IEE or EIA in relation to the prescribed
proposals. The Act uses the word proposal instead of Projects which makes the scope of the Act
much broader in relation to environmental studies.

Proponent includes any government, semi government or non-government agency or

organization submitting an application for the approval of a proposal and possessing the
responsibility to work according to such a proposal or implementing the proposal.

According to the provision in Section 6 (1) of the Act, the relevant agency is empowered to grant
approval for the IEE and EIA report, only if it finds that no significant adverse effects will be
caused to the environment by the implementation of the proposal.

Implementation of any proposal without the approval of the relevant agency is prohibited by the
Act. As per EPA, 1997, the proposed project has obligation to carry out IEE study prior to the
implementation of the proposed project.

Local Self-Governance Act, 2055 (1998)

The Local Self-Governance Act, 2055 contains several provisions for the conservation of Soil,
forest and other natural resources and implementation of environmental conservation activities.
Section 28 and 19 of the Act provide that the Village and the District Development Committees
are responsible for the formulation and implementation of the programs related to the protection
of the environmental bio-diversity.

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 Section 96 stipulates that it is the duty of the municipality to protect the environment through
the control of air, water and sound pollution. It also obligates the Municipality to maintain
environmental cleanliness through the implementation of solid waste management, flood and
landslide control programs.

This Act is relevant as the proposed project will utilize natural resources and carry out
development activities in the project affected VDCs. Hence, it is mandatory to the project for
proposing mitigation measures.
Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2056 (2000)
The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2056 is enacted and enforced adopting ILO
Convention concerning Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labor and Minimum Age
Convention. This Act has defined the ‘Child’ as a person who has not achieved the age of16year.

Article 3 bans the employing a child below the age of 14 to work as a laborer and engaging a
child in the hazardous and risky works listed in the Schedule of the Act.

The proponent is mandatory to follow the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act,
2056(2000) during the project implementation phase.

The project requires 255 manpower including skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled for the
construction activities. Priority will be given for local employment. The contractor may use child
labour during construction period. Hence, the contractor will be instructed to follow the Child
Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2056 (2000).

Rules and Regulations

Electricity Rules, 2050 (1993)

Regulations on electricity sectors have been formulated for the implementation of the provisions
made in the Electricity Act, 2049.

The Electricity Rules, 2050 emphasize environmental analysis, which should include
environmental mitigation measures to minimize adverse impacts likely to occur while
developing hydro-electricity (Rule 12 and 13).Rule 12 (f) and Rule (g) are related to the EIA/
IEE process which emphasize that the IEE report should include measures to be taken to
minimize the adverse effects of the project on social, biological and physical environments and
should also elaborate utilization of local labour, source of materials, benefits to the local people
after the completion of the project, training to local people in relation to construction,
maintenance and operation, facilities required for construction site and safety arrangements.
Water Resources Rules, 2050 (1993)
It is mandatory under Rule 17(e) of the regulation that any person or corporate body, who desires
to obtain a license for utilization of water resources must state in his application that appropriate
measures will be taken to lessen the adverse effects due to the project on the overall
environment.
Rule 19 stipulates that the water resources committee shall publish a notice giving detail
information about the project to the people.

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Environment Protection Rules, 2054 (1997)
The Environment Protection Rules (EPR) was endorsed in June 1997 and was made under the
provisions of the Environment Protection Act.

The EPR has been amended several times and the recent was done in 2010/01/27. The recent
amendment states that transmission line projects up to 400 kV voltage level requires only IEE
unless it traverses through protected area, buffer zone or national parks.

The EPR adopts the environmental assessment criteria mentioned in the EIA guidelines.
However, the EPR establishes the administrative framework for assessing, exhibition and
determination of the EIA/IEE, in terms of issues needing to be addressed and the format/layout
of the EIA/IEE document.

Under section (18) of EPA, any person who contravenes any of the provisions of the Act, or the
Regulations or the guidelines issued under the Act, shall be punishable with a fine up to Rs
50,000.

If a proposal is implemented without the approval of the Ministry of Environment (in case of
IEE, Ministry of Energy) or relevant government agency, or the person implementing the
proposal is not complying with the conditions of the approval or license, the authorized official is
empowered to close down that activity and may impose fine of up to Rs. 100,000 on such person
or organization.

This Act is relevant to the proposed project. Under this Rules, the IEE study of the proposed
project has to be carried out by the proponent and get approval from the Ministry of Energy prior
to the project implementation.

Local Self Governance Rules, 2056 (1999)

Local Self Governance Rules, 2056 empower the local bodies to coordinate and implement
development program and for rationale utilization of local natural resources.

Article -7 (69) empowers the VDCs for monitoring and supervision of development work
implemented in the VDC. The Article - 4 of DDC has provision of 3 members (Agriculture,
Forest and Environment) committee to look after the concerned issues. Article-6 (206) specifies
that the need of social, economic, environmental and public facilities should be considered while
planning the project.

Article-7 (210) focuses on environmental studies and stresses due consideration while
implementing the project like sand quarry, stone quarry, coal mines and others.

Guidelines and Conventions

Biodiversity Convention, 1992
The convention contains a series of far reaching obligations related to the conservation of
biological diversity and sustainable uses of its components. One of these obligations is the
requirement for environmental study. The purpose of an environmental study in relation to
biodiversity conservation is to identify in advance:

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the aspects of the project which is likely to have significant adverse effects on biological
diversity at genetic, species and ecosystem level, and

the steps to be taken to avoid or minimize significant adverse effects to ensure that the proposed
project comply with existing environmental legislation.

the GoN has included 17 species of plants and 39 species of wild animals in the protection list.

If the project area is in the core habitat of these species and project activity will likely to affect
them, mitigation measures shall be proposed and be implemented to avoid and/ or mitigate the
adverse impacts. Nepal is a party to the convention of Biological diversity and in accordance to
the article 14, adequate attention should be given to minimize and or avoid the impacts.

National Environmental Impact Assessment Guidelines, 1993

The National EIA Guidelines, 1993 developed by the National Planning Commission in
conjunction with IUCN, set out the process for the environmental review and management of
infrastructure projects in all sectors and the respective roles of certain GoN agencies and project
proponents.

The guideline was part of a comprehensive program to develop the national and sectoral
guidelines for establishing a national system for Environmental Impact Assessment which was
part of GoN's National Conservation Strategy. The EIA Guideline was endorsed by GoN on 27
September 1992 and gazette on 19 July 1993.

The schedules attached to the Guidelines include:

Schedule 1: Projects requiring an IEE Report

Schedule 2: Projects requiring an EIA
Schedule 3: EIA based on project sites
Schedule 4: Projects requiring an IEE Report
Schedule 5: Format for Terms of Reference
Schedule 6: Environmental Impact Report Format

It is mandatory to follow the National Environmental Impact Assessment Guidelines,

2050(1993) during the IEE study. Following the guidelines the environmental impact prediction
and evaluation of the proposed project has been done on physical, biological and socioeconomic
and cultural environment of the project area. The guideline is used for analysis of significant
issues.

EIA Guidelines for Forestry Sector, 1995

The GoN in keeping with the spirit of the National Environmental Impact Assessment
Guidelines, 1993 framed EIA guidelines for the forestry sector in 1995.

The Guideline aim to facilitate the sustainable use of forest resources for socio-economic
development and meeting basic need to the community regarding the forest products, to make

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proposals socio culturally acceptable, economically feasible, and environmental friendly to
conserve genetic resources and biodiversity and minimize environmental damage in forest areas
and facilitate in identification of positive and negative impacts of programs to be implemented
by other agencies in forest areas.
The guideline emphasized the need of carrying out an EIA/IEE study of development projects
and programs proposed for implementation in forest areas.

Forest, Production, Collection and Sales Distribution Guidelines, 2057 (1998)

The Clauses 3 to 10 of the Guidelines have specified various procedure and formats for getting
approval for vegetation clearance, delineation of lands for vegetation clearance, evaluation of
wood volume etc. and government offices and officials responsible for the approval, delineation
and evaluation. These provisions have a direct relevance to the development of the project and
need compliance to these provisions. These provisions have a direct relevance to the
development of the project and need compliance to these provisions.

The project requires to fell down an estimated of 5875 trees (size having DBH greater that 10
cm) from national and community forests and some 1760 privately owned trees. Hence, it is
obligation to the project for getting approval in view of vegetation clearance and evaluation of
wood volume from district forest office prior to the construction phase.

Community Forest Guidelines, 2058 (2001)

This guideline has been prepared by including amendments of acts, rules by officials of GoN and
related experts.
Through these guidelines persons involved in the development and management of community
forest like facilitators, user Groups, forester and managers etc will get help to understand about
the process and stages of development of community forest. Forest Users Group, forest officials,
NGOs and INGOs are getting benefit by this guideline. Till date, more than 15000 Community
Forests have been handed over to the Community Forest Users Groups.

Community Forest Inventory Guidelines, 2005

The guideline for inventory of community forests advice to classify the forest into timber trees,
pole size trees and regeneration on the basis of diameter. It has recommended using 20m x 20m
size of quadrant for timber trees, 10m x10m for shrub and 5m x 5m for regeneration plots in the
community forest.
Plants having DBH (Diameter at breast height, i.e. 1.3m above ground) greater than 30 cm are
considered as trees. Trees having DBH between10 to 30 cm are categorized as pole and plants
having less than 10 cm DBH belong to regeneration species.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora

Nepal became a contracting party to the convention on June 18; [Link] aims to control the
trade of certain wildlife species to prevent further endangered of their survival.

CITES classified species according to the following criteria:

 Species threatened with extinction
 Species which could become endangered
 Species that are protected

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As Nepal is party to the convention related to species conservation, attention should be given to
evaluate the impacts of the project activities on meeting their obligation. It is relevant to IEE
study that species protection list could also be used to evaluate the significant of the identified
and predicted impacts. Plant and wild animal species under legal protection provides a basis to
purpose EMPs for their conservation and for least damaging them during project
implementation.

Nepal is signatory to this agreement, which classified species according to criteria where access
or control is important (eg. I-species threatened with extinction; II-species which could become
endangered; III-species that are protected).

International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention of Indigenous and Tribal

Peoples (No.169)
Nepal ratified ILO Convention No. 169 on September 14, 2007. In 2007 the UN Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly.

The declaration reaffirms the importance of the principle and approaches provided for under
Convention No.169 and its adoption therefore provide a fresh impetus for promoting the
ratification and implementation of 169. ILO Convention No. 169 highlights the need to
recognize indigenous and tribal people’s specific knowledge, skills and technologies as the basis
for their traditional economies and self determined development process.

Topic Responsible Institutions in EIA Implementation in Nepal

The concerned agency for the implementation of the environmental impact assessment in
Nepal’s case is the Ministry of Environment (Ministry of Environment in Nepal was established
in 1995).

The responsibility owned institutions in the environmental impact assessment process are:

 Parliament, Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Management (PCEM),

 The Cabinet,

 National Planning Commission (NPC),

 Environmental Protection Council (EPC),

 Ministry of Forest and Environment,

 Department of Environment

 Ministry and Associated Departments/Agencies,

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  Local Governments, donor agencies and NGOs/private sector,

Even though EIA has become mandatory under the EPA, many private sector and governmental
developers still escape their responsibility, in that many projects which were supposed to
undergo EIA have not undertaken the process.

National EIA requirements are only structurally complied in those cases where projects are to
undergo EIA as per donor agency’s requirement. In most cases, the National EIA Guidelines
1993 are followed while conducting EIA, except for those matters which are covered by the EPR
.

Major Constraints on Implementation of the EIA System

In Nepal’s EIA system, National EIA Guidelines 1993 and Environmental Protection Act 1996
and its regulation 1997 are being used as policy level documents.

ANNEX 1:

ANNEX 2:

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Madan Thapa , Purbanchal University College of Environment and Forestry( PUCEF) Page 49
 Network

Simple checklist

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 Questionnaire checklist:

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Madan Thapa , Purbanchal University College of Environment and Forestry( PUCEF) Page 52
 Environment Management Plan

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Some Model Questions

Group A 5- mark Questions

1. What is EA? What are the objectives and importance of EA in environmental conservation?

2. What is project screening? What information is required for screening? What is it important?

3. What does scoping mean in EA study? Describe its objectives and methods.

4. What is environmental monitoring? Describe the types of monitoring with examples?

5. What is SEA? How it differs from project level EA? Give to two examples of SEA

6. Describe briefly evolution of EIA in Nepal.

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 7. What are the major provisions of Environment Protection Act ,2053 and Environment
Protection Rule , 2054

Group B 10- Mark Questions

1. How impact differs from effect? Write with examples. What are methods of impacts identification?

2. What is alternative analysis? What are types of alternatives in EIA process? Describe with examples?

3. What are environment management plan and mitigation measures? Describe types of mitigation
measures and monitoring with examples?

4. What is baseline information EIA study? Describe components of existing environment condition with
examples.

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