Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Environmental Impact Assessment is an environmental management tool. It helps to regulate and recommend optimal use of natural resources with minimum impact on ecosystem and biotic communities. It is used to predict the environmental consequences of future proposed developmental projects (example: river projects, dams, highway projects) taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and human-health impacts. It reduces environmental stress thus helping to shape the projects that may suit local environment by ensuring optimal utilization of natural resources and disposal of wastes to avoid environmental degradation.

The benefits of EIA to society

·        A healthier environment

·        Maintenance of biodiversity

·        Decreased resource usage

·        Reduction in gas emission and environment damage

1. Biodiversity Impact Assessment (BIA)

Biodiversity Impact Assessment can be defined as a decision supporting tool to help biodiversity inclusive of development, planning and implementation. It aims at ensuring development proposals which integrate bio-diversity considerations. They are legally compliant and include mechanisms for the conservation of bio-diversity resources and provide fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of bio-diversity.

Biomonitoring

The act of observing and assessing the current state and ongoing changes in ecosystem, biodiversity components, landscape including natural habitats, populations and species.

An agricultural drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle applied to farming in order to help increased crop production and monitor crop growth. Agricultural drones let farmers see their fields from the sky. This bird’s eye-view can reveal many issues such as irrigation problems, soil variation and pest and fungal infestations. It is also used for cost effective safe method of spraying pesticides and fertilizers, which proves very easy and non-harmful.

Bio-diversity impacts can be assessed by

·        Change in land use and cover

·        Fragmentation and isolation

·        Extraction

·        External inputs such as emissions, effluents and chemicals

·        Introduction of invasive, alien or genetically modified species

·        Impact on endemic and threatened flora and fauna.