Environmetnal Impact Assessment-BASELINE STUDIES

BASELINE STUDIES IN EIA

 ·    The term usually refers to the collection of background information on the environmental and socio- economic setting for a proposed development project and it is normally one of the first activities undertaken in an EIA.

·    Whether it involves the collation of existing information or requires the acquisition of new data through field sampling, baseline studies frequently account for a large part of the overall cost of an EIA.

·     There is an almost universal problem with baseline studies as applied in EIA; that is they are undertaken without clearly defined objectives.

·        Seldom is there an understanding of  why data are being collected or to what problem they will be applied

·        In order to cover all potential requirements, an effort is made to gather some information on all aspects of the environment. This inevitably leads to superficial surveys that provide only reconnaissance- level information.

·        In the end, mush of the investment in time and resources is wasted

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BASELINE AND MONITORING

·        Baseline data could be used to characterized the pre project state

·        Cause and effect studies would then be undertaken to predict how stated variables would change as a result of projected activities.

·        Subsequently following start up of the project, monitoring would be used to determine actual impact conditions

 MITIGATION MEASURES

 ·       Mitigation measures aim at reducing the scale and or significance of impacts to a more acceptable level

·        The incorporations of measures, therefore constitute an essential components of EIA and ideally, the following steps should be considered:

·        Incorporation of mitigation measures is undertaken as an interactive part of development design rather than as an afterthought

·        Consideration of alternatives is carefully addressed

·        The potential for mitigation of most adverse impact is considered

·        Description of mitigation measure options where available is considered

·        Description of mitigation measures be precise and

·        Residual impacts are given proper attention