GEOG 332 : Introduction to Resource Analysis

Lecture 6

Environmental Impact Assessments

April, 2014

Section 1

Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6

Definition and Functions of Environmental Impact

Assessment
Principles of Environmental Impact Assessment
Pre-Project Analysis
Post-project Analysis
Environmental Impact Assessment Process in Ghana
Principles for Parties in Environmental Impact
Assessment Process in Ghana

What is Environmental Impact Assessment?

Resource exploitation and many other development projects can have negative
impacts on the environment, e.g. creation of the Akosombo dam in Ghana, for
instance, resulted in the destruction of farms, plants and animal species; also,
local people living at Obuasi in Ghana have been complaining about how mining
activities are affecting the environment and livelihoods. Environmental impact
assessment aims at identifying and mitigating some of these problems.
The International Association for Impact Assessment (1999:2) defines
environmental Impact Assessment as the process of identifying, predicting,
evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects
of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and
commitments made. This definition places emphasis on pre-project
assessments (i.e. assessments that are done for proposed projects). On a few
occasions, however, assessments are done for already existing projects. These
are called post-project assessments or analyses.
A definition of environmental impact assessment that incorporates both preproject and post-project assessments is provided by Mitchell and Turkheim

(1977: 47) who argued that environmental impact assessment represents a

legislative or policy-based concern for possible positive/negative,
short/long term effects on our total environment attributable to proposed or
existing projects, programs or policies of a public or private origin.
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is one of the environmental
management tools that has the potential to contribute towards the sustainable
use of environmental resources. In a nutshell, environmental impact
assessments can be used to minimize disruption to the environment by proposed
projects. Lessons may also be learned, however, by reviewing past experiences.
Evaluations or hindsight reviews of existing projects are essential if impact
predictions are to be sharpened.

Objectives of Environmental Impact Assessment

According to the International Association for Impact Assessment (1999:2) the
main objectives of environmental impact assessment are:

To ensure that environmental considerations are explicitly addressed and

incorporated into the development decision making process;

To anticipate and avoid, minimize or offset the adverse significant

biophysical, social and other relevant effects of development proposals;

To protect the productivity and capacity of natural systems and the

ecological processes which maintain their functions; and

To promote development that is sustainable and optimizes resource use

and management opportunities.

Functions of Environmental Impact Assessment

There are various ideas concerning what a good environmental assessment
should do. Dorney (1977; 184) provided a good summary of the main functions of
an environmental impact assessment when noting that it should:
1. Identify and articulate the environmental goals and objectives of the
project.
2. Identify human concerns.
3. Describe the proposed action or impact.
4. Describe alternatives.
5. Describe what changes will occur without intervention.
6. Describe the nature and magnitudes of environmental effects.
7. In any weighting or aggregating process of various environmental factors,
provide a clear statement as to the procedure followed and a clear

indication of the values incorporated into the solution or recommended

action.
8. Identify remedial action.
9. Identify any positive results that can be developed by direct or indirect
spin-off from the project.
10. Identify any trade-offs necessitated.
11. Develop a baseline inventory capable of conversion to a monitoring
system.

Section 2 Principles of Environmental Impact Assessment

According to the International Association for Impact Assessment (1999),
Environmental Impact Assessment should be:
Purposive - the process should inform decision making and result in appropriate
levels of environmental protection and community well-being.
Rigorous - it should apply best practicable science, employing techniques
appropriate to address the problems being investigated.
Practical it should result in information and outputs which assist with problem
solving and are acceptable to and able to be implemented by proponents.
Relevant - the process should provide sufficient, reliable and usable information
for development planning and decision making.
Cost effective it should achieve the objectives of EIA within the limits of
available information, time and resources.
Efficient - the process should impose the minimum cost burdens in terms of time
and finance on proponents and participants consistent with meeting accepted
requirements and objectives of EIA.
Focussed - the process should concentrate on significant environmental effects.
Adaptive - the process should be adjusted to the realities, issues and
circumstances of the proposals under review.
Participative - the process should provide appropriate opportunities to inform
and involve the interested and affected societal actors. For instance, if a mining
project is to be located within a farming community, it will be useful to involve all
the local farmers in decision making.
Interdisciplinary - the process should ensure that the appropriate techniques
and experts in the relevant bio-physical and socio-economic disciplines are
employed, including use of traditional knowledge where necessary.

Credible - the process should be carried out with professionalism, fairness,

objectivity, impartiality and balance, and be subject to independent checks and
verification.
Integrated - the process should address the interrelationships of social,
economic and biophysical aspects.
Transparent - the process should have clear, easily understood requirements for
EIA content; ensure public access to information; identify the factors that are to
be taken into account in decision making; and acknowledge limitations and
difficulties.
Systematic - the process should result in full consideration of all relevant
information on the affected environment of proposed alternatives and their
impacts, and of the measures necessary to monitor and investigate residual
effects.

Operating Principles of Environmental Impact Assessment

In relation to the operating principles, the International Association for Impact
Assessment (1999) has stated that the EIA process should be applied:
As early as possible in decision making and throughout the life cycle of the
proposed activity;

To all development proposals that may cause potentially significant

effects;

To biophysical impacts and relevant socio-economic factors, including

health, culture, gender, lifestyle, age, and cumulative effects consistent
with the concept and principles of sustainable development;

To provide for the involvement and input of communities and industries

affected by a proposal, as well as the interested public;

In accordance with internationally agreed measures and activities.

Specifically the EIA process should provide for:

Screening - to determine whether or not a proposal should be subjected to EIA
and, if so, at what level of detail. Screening is the process of determining whether
or not a proposal should be subject to environmental impact assessment and, if
so, at what level of detail
Scoping - to identify the issues and impacts that are likely to be important and to
establish terms of reference for EIA. Scoping refers to the process of identifying
the issues and impacts that are likely to be important and to establish terms of
reference for environmental impact assessment.
Examination of alternatives - to establish the preferred or most environmentally
sound and benign option for achieving proposal objectives.
Impact Analysis - to identify and predict the likely environmental, social and
other related effects of the proposal.
Mitigation and Impact Management - to establish the measures that are
necessary to avoid or minimize predicted adverse impacts and, where
appropriate, to incorporate these into an environmental management plan or
system.
Evaluation of significance - to determine the relative importance and
acceptability of residual impacts (i.e., impacts that cannot be mitigated).
Preparation of environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or Report - to
document clearly and impartially impacts of the proposal, the proposed measures
for mitigation, the significance of effects, and the concerns of the interested
public and the communities affected by the proposal.
Review of the EIs - to determine whether the report meets its terms of
reference, provides a satisfactory assessment of the proposal(s) and contains
the information required for decision making.
Decision Making - to approve or reject the proposal and to establish the terms
and conditions for its implementation.
Follow up - to ensure that the terms and condition of approval are met; to
monitor the impacts of development and the effectiveness of mitigation
measures; to strengthen future EIA applications and mitigation measures; and,
where required, to undertake environmental audit and process evaluation to
optimize environmental management. It is desirable, whenever possible, if
monitoring, evaluation and management plan indicators are designed so they

also contribute to local, national and global monitoring of the state of the
environment and sustainable development.

Section 3 Pre-Project Analysis

Let me start by explaining to you the characteristics of an ideal pre-project
assessment technique. First, it should be able to identify all impacts and
indicate their timing and duration. Not only should individual impacts be
identified. Those arising from the interaction of two or more separate impacts
should also be noted. Once impacts are identified, the technique should be
able to measure the magnitude (high, medium, low) of the impacts. With the
magnitude known, the technique should then suggest the significance of the
impacts. I want to stress that an impact with high magnitude may not necessarily
have strong significance. Conversely, a low magnitude impact could have serious
social significance. For instance, the impact of a dam project that will inundate
about 1000 ha of unfertile land may not affect rural livelihoods as a project that
will inundate just about 300 ha of very fertile farming land.
An assessment technique should be comprehensive and accurate. It should
also generate results which are easily understandable. At the same time, the
technique should not be so demanding of manpower, money, time, expertise
and technological facilities that it is beyond the capacity of agencies to
apply it.
Is there any perfect technique? It is unlikely that any one assessment technique
will have all the desirable characteristics listed above. Given that various
techniques have their own strengths and weaknesses, a combination of
techniques can be chosen to meet the needs of a particular problem.

Techniques for Pre-Project Assessment

Many techniques have been developed for estimating the environmental impact
of proposed development activities (Mitchell, 1989).They include the following:
checklists, overlays, matrices and networks.
Checklists
Checklists represent the simplest approach to environmental impact assessment.
These techniques usually focus on a range of items to be considered when
preparing an impact assessment statement. For instance, the Battle Institute in
the United States developed a checklist of 78 specific environmental
considerations which were grouped into four general categories of ecology,
environmental pollution, aesthetics and human interest (Mitchell, 1989). The
idea of the approach was to ensure that a broad range of considerations would
be examined, and that key impacts would be highlighted.

In their basic form, checklists do not consider the interaction, magnitude or

importance of impacts. A major advantage of checklists is that they draw
attention to significant concerns. The major weakness of the approach is that it
generates a voluminous amount of information which is not integrated into an
overall plan of analysis. Again, checklists tend to consider only direct impacts.
Overlays
The overlay approach to environmental assessment is usually associated with
McHarg (1969). It involves several phases. In the first phase, the study area is
divided into units based either upon a grid system, topographic features or
different land uses. Using aerial photography, topographical and resource
inventory maps, field observations, public meetings and discussions with local
scientific and cultural groups, data are collected for climate, historical geology,
physiography, hydrology, soils, plant associations, animals and land use. In the
second phase, the above categories of information are examined for their
positive, negative or neutral effect on prospective development, or for the effect
of development upon them. Once values have been decided upon for the eight
categories, they are mapped on transparent overlays. Categories assigned high
values are given dark shading; intermediate values are coloured in grey; low
values are lightly shaded or left clear. When the various overlays are
superimposed, the cumulative effect of shading highlights those areas where
impact would be the greatest and the least.
The overlay approach has many merits. It generates an effective visual display.
The resource manager can explore the impact of proposed development by
changing the values assigned to different overlay maps, and by varying the
number of features included in the analysis, with weighting and mapping done by
a computer. However, the approach is not without limitations. Its application
normally requires considerable information which may not always be readily
available. Again, once data are collected, the overlay system can become
confusing when large numbers transparencies are superimposed.
Matrices
There are various versions of this approach. Some are similar to checklists whilst
others are very sophisticated. Regardless of level of complexity, they have
several common characteristics: they force consideration of the impact of each
aspect of a proposal for a range of environmental concerns; and they consider
both the magnitude and importance of impacts. The matrix technique actually
represents a step beyond checklists. However, like checklists, matrices tend to
consider only direct or first order impacts. Interactions of impacts are hardly
considered when this approach is used.
Networks

The intent of network techniques is to identify the chain of interactions which may
be triggered by proposed development. It is based on the assumption that a
change in one environmental characteristic may lead to other environmental and
social consequences. For instance, the destruction of forests may lead to soil
erosion, which in turn can increase sediment levels in water bodies and affect
organisms in the water. It is such interactions in ecosystems that network
techniques seek to trace. An advantage of the network approach is that they are
comprehensive and considers both direct and indirect impacts. Network
techniques are however too difficult to develop as they consider several
interactions.
Which of the Techniques is Superior?
In theory, the network approach is superior to those based on checklists,
overlays and matrices. This is because the network approach identifies the
magnitude and significance of impacts. The sequence of interactions is also
considered. Operationally, however, the network approach frequently falters due
to lack of basic knowledge. In many instances, understanding of cause-andeffect relationships is not sufficient to predict chains of events. Even where
variables and relationships are known, they frequently have been difficult to
measure and monitor.
Given these problems, many investigators have turned to techniques which are
conceptually less sophisticated but operationally more feasible. Checklists and
overlays are often used during initial stages to identify environmental concerns.
At subsequent stages, a matrix or simplified network approach is used to assess
the consequences of development at a specific site. As explained already, no
technique is perfect. The investigator must, therefore, choose the one, or a
combination of techniques, that closely satisfies the needs for a given
development proposal.

Section 4 Post-project Analysis

Importance of Post-Project Analysis
Impact assessments conducted for proposed projects may not be able to
accurately predict all social and environmental impacts. One way to improve
predictions of environmental impacts arising from resource development is to
study developments which have been completed. This is also sometimes
referred to as hindsight evaluation of projects. It has been argued that
environmental and social impacts of resource development projects could be
triggered at several stages of development, ranging from planning, construction,
operation, to termination. As a result, there is a need for an extensive historicotemporal perspective in environmental impact research. Such a perspective can
only be obtained by monitoring a project throughout its lifetime (Mitchell, 1989).
This line of argument constitutes the basis for post-project analysis. Insights
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gained from such assessments can be applied to estimating the impacts of future
projects. Thus, post-project impact analysis helps to ensure that some of the
problems of existing or completed projects are not repeated in future projects.
Post-project analysis has assumed greater importance following reports that
most resource development projects often have generated unexpected and
negative results. In the field of water development, such assessments have
revealed very serious ecological and social impacts of man-made lakes. These
include the Kariba dam which was completed in December 1958 and the Volta
project (Akosombo dam) which was completed in 1965. Post-project analysis of
these projects revealed that little effort was made to estimate project impacts in
the planning phase. Investigators found that weeds became established in both
the Kariba and Volta reservoirs. These weeds provided favourable habitats for
disease vectors. The weeds in Lake Volta provided a home for the vector of
bilharzias (Kalitsi, 1973). The scale of the African man-made lakes had a
substantial impact upon residents of the areas which were inundated. Postproject studies revealed that officials were preoccupied with the power
generation aspects of the dam projects. Local requests for ecological surveys to
identify potential resettlement areas were ignored (Scudder, 1968). These
studies and others have contributed to a growing interest in post - project impact
analysis.
Post-project analyses have also been conducted on agricultural projects. The
consequences from development of energy resources have also been studied in
the Soviet Union and Norway (Mitchell, 1989). The findings of all these postproject studies indicate that such work has the potential to aid environmental
impact assessments in at least two ways. First, by monitoring actual interactions
over time, this evaluation should improve understanding of relationships and
processes in the environment. At the same time, experience and understanding
acquired from earlier developments should make the design and implementation
of future ones more effective.

A General Framework for Hindsight Evaluation of

Environmental Impacts
The general framework for the hindsight evaluation of environmental impacts
involves several stages (see Mitchell, 1989). The first stage involves
identification of the social values and main objectives underlying project
actions. This step is based on the argument that without knowing original project
objectives, the investigator cannot differentiate between intended and unintended
effects. The second stage, therefore, involves the acquisition of benchmark
data (i.e. data that informs us about environmental and social conditions before
the project started). This is sometimes referred to as data about the project
environment. These data about the project environment are used in addressing
two questions. What would the environment have been like without the project?

Which changes are attributable to natural and cultural processes, and which are
due to the project itself?
The next stage involves examination of legislation and administrative
structures to determine responsibility for and constraints on actions. These
aspects are usually labelled institutional arrangements. Subsequently, the
investigator documents actual project actions with attention to type of activity
(construction, operation) as well as to time and monetary expenditure required.
With appreciation of values and objectives, project environment, institutional
arrangements and project actions, it is then necessary to account for project
impacts. The impacts may be ecological or social. Intended and unintended
effects should also be differentiated. In this manner, the investigator traces the
chain of interactions caused by a project.
The next stage is to judge the adequacy of the project and the significance
of the impacts. In explaining adequacy or otherwise, the investigator should
study processes which have influenced the development of the project. These
may range over resource allocation procedures, perceptions, attitudes,
institutional arrangements and policy processes. The final stage is for the
investigator to see in what manner his/her findings can be applied to
improve project effectiveness. Usually, this step involves discussions among
project evaluators, administrative agencies, and interested parties.

Section 5 Environmental Impact Assessment Process in Ghana

Although the formulation of environmental protection laws in Ghana dates back
to the colonial era, environmental protection became topical in Ghana after the
1972 Stockholm Convention on the environment. This led to the establishment of
the Environmental Protection Council (EPC) in 1974. It was later transformed to
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1994. Today, the Environmental
Protection Agency is responsible for conducting impact assessments in the
country. Procedures now exist which have evolved over time, since
Environmental Impact Assessment became a requirement in Ghana in 1989, to
screen and evaluate all projects and programmes which have the potential to
give rise to significant environmental and social impacts. Environmental impact
assessment is done within the framework of the national environmental policy,
which aims at ensuring a sound management of resources and the environment.

Purpose of Environmental Impact Assessment in Ghana

According to the EPA, the purpose of environmental impact assessment in
Ghana is:
To support the goals of environmental protection and sustainable
development;

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 To integrate environmental protection and economic decisions at the

earliest stages of planning a project;
To predict the consequences of a proposed project or undertaking from
the environmental, social, economic and cultural perspectives and to
develop plans to mitigate any adverse impacts;
To provide avenues for the involvement of the public, proponents (project
developers) and government agencies in the assessment and review of
proposed undertakings/projects.

The Environmental Impact Assessment Process

(Procedures) in Ghana
The process of environmental impact assessment in Ghana is in line with the
principles presented section 2. The stages are discussed below.
Step 1: Registration
It is required that every undertaking/development project that may have an
impact on the environment must be registered with the EPA. First, the proponent
(person or organization which owns, manages, controls or finances the
undertaking/project) must complete a special form (Registration of Proposals),
which is available at EPA offices, the Registrar Generals Department, the District
Assemblies and Metropolitan Authorities.
Step 2: Screening
Upon receiving a registration proposal, the EPA decides whether or not the
proposal should be subjected to environmental impact assessment and, if so, at
what level of detail. As you learned in section 2, this process is called screening.
In making the decision at this stage, consideration is particularly given to the
following: the location, size and output of proposed project; the technology to be
used; concerns of the general public; land use considerations. A screening report
will be prepared summarizing the decision reached which could be one of the
following four decisions (a) objection to the project; (b) no objection to the project;
(c) Environmental Preview Report will be required; (d) Environmental Impact
Assessment will be required. I wish to explain that environmental preview report
is a document which provides detailed information than is contained in the
Registration Form, especially concerning the effects which a project would have
on the environment as defined in the screening report. This form is required
when the EPA wants more detailed information on the proposed project.
Step Three: Scoping

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If the screening result of the initial registration of the proposal or a subsequent

environmental preview report indicates that significant adverse environmental
impact may result from the proposed project/undertaking, the proponent will be
required to undertake a thorough fact finding evaluation of the proposed site(s),
and to consult with interested and affected parties such as government officials,
traditional authorities and members of the public. The objective is to determine
how their concerns will be addressed in the terms of reference for the
environmental impact assessment. As noted in section two, this process is
referred to as scoping, and it generally aims to identify the issues and impacts
that are likely to be important and to establish terms of reference for
environmental impact assessment.
Step 4: Terms of Reference
After scoping, the proponent/developer then prepares draft Terms of Reference
(TOR) and submits copies to EPA. The Terms of Reference must highlight the
main issues that the environmental impact statement will cover. Generally, the
draft TOR must indicate that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will
contain:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.

a description of the proposed undertaking/project and an analysis of

the need/reason for the undertaking;
the objective of the undertaking;
other options of carrying out the undertaking;
alternatives to the undertaking
a description of the present environment that would be affected,
directly, or indirectly;
a description of the future environment, predicting its condition if the
undertaking did not take place;
the impacts that may be caused to the environment by the undertaking;
proposed measures to prevent or mitigate all adverse impacts;
an evaluation of opportunities and constraints to the environment of the
undertaking;
a proposal for an environmental management programme to cover
constructional, operational and decommissioning stages of the
undertaking;
proposals for a programme of public information.

The draft TOR will be studied by EPA and where necessary a visit to the site will
be made. The outcome of the study on the TOR which could either be a rejection
or revision/modification or acceptance/approval, will be communicated to the
proponent.
Step 5: Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Preparation

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On approval of the TOR, the proponent commissions detailed Environmental

Impact Assessment study involving baseline survey, potential impact
identification and prediction and mitigation considerations as well as a relevant
environmental management programme. In the course of gathering data for the
EIS, the proponent is required to initiate a public information programme for the
area likely to be affected by the undertaking. Through such programme, local
residents will be fully informed of the nature of the undertaking and its effects on
the environment. Public notice of the assessment process for the undertaking will
be issued by EPA through newspaper advertisement and/or by announcements
posted in appropriate public place.
Step 6: Environmental Impact Statement Review
Once the final draft of the environmental impact statement is completed, the
proponent shall submit copies to EPA. Copies shall also be made available to
appropriate District/Metropolitan Assemblies. A 21-day public notice of the EIS
publication shall be served by EPA for public information and reaction, through
newspaper advertisement as part of the review process. EPA will collate public
views and shall undertake field/site verification exercise if considered necessary.
If a strong public concern over the undertaking is indicated and impacts are
extensive, EPA shall appeal to the ministry responsible for the environment to
hold public hearing relating to the assessment. The minister would appoint a
Board who will organize the public hearing on the proposed undertaking. The
chairman must not be resident of the area affected by the undertaking, but at
least one-third of the membership should reside in the geographic area, and the
hearings will be held there. The information received at these hearings, together
with the final report and any recommendations of the Board may be made public.
Step 7: Environmental Permitting Decision (EPD)
Where the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) is found to be acceptable,
the proponent shall be notified to finalize the EIS. Following submission of copies
of the final EIS, the proponent shall be issued an Environmental Permit for the
proposed undertaking. If the EIS is not acceptable, the proponent may be
required to re-submit a revised statement at a later date or to conduct further
studies to modify the statement as necessary.
It must be stressed that if the decision indicates that no further information is
required beyond the registration proposal stage, then the proponent will be
issued with an Environmental Permit for the undertaking. It is also important to
note that there is time limit on the validity of the environmental decision by EPA.
The decision is effective for a period of one year from the date that the proponent
is advised of the decision. If work has not commenced on the undertaking within

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that period, the original decision becomes void and the undertaking must be reregistered.
Post -Audit
EPA shall undertake evaluation of positive and negative impacts of the
development during implementation of project activities. This will allow for
compliance enforcement as well as learning from mistakes. It will also facilitate
impact management and handling unanticipated impacts to aid in the
improvement of EIA process and practice.

Section 6 Principles for Parties in Environmental Impact

Assessment Process in Ghana
Principles for Assessing Authority (EPA)
As explained already, the EPA is the main state agency responsible for
environmental impact assessment in Ghana. The principles for the EPA in this
context are as follows:
a. Provide clear guidance on types of proposals likely to attract
environmental impact assessment and on levels of assessment.
b. Provide proposal-specific guidelines focused on key issues and
incorporating public concerns; and a clear outline of the EIA process.
Amendments to guidelines should only be based on significant issues that
arise after guidelines have been adopted.
c. Provide guidance to all participants in the EIA process for environmental
acceptability of potential impacts.
d. Negotiate with key participants to set an assessment timetable on a
proposal-specific basis.
e. Seek and promote public participation throughout the process.
f. Ensure that the total and cumulative effects of using or altering community
environmental assets (for example water and air) receive explicit
consideration.
g. Report publicly on the assessment of proposals.
h. Ensure predicted environmental impacts are monitored, the results
assessed by a nominated responsible authority and feedback provided to
improve continuing environmental management of proposals.
i. Ensure that educational opportunities inherent in the Environmental
Impact Assessment process are actively pursued.

Principles for Proponents

The following are the principles for the proponents:
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a. Take responsibility for preparing the statement required for assessment of

a proposal.
b. Consult the assessing authority (EPA) and relevant stakeholders as early
as possible.
c. Incorporate environmental factors fully into proposal planning, including a
proper examination of reasonable alternatives.
d. Take the opportunity offered by the EIA process to improve the proposal
environmentally.
e. Make commitments to avoid adverse environmental impacts where
possible. Otherwise take necessary steps to minimize such impacts.
f. Modify environmental management practices in accordance with
environmental monitoring results.
g. Identify and implement responsible corporate environmental policies,
strategies and management practices, with periodic review.

Principles for the Public

As the adverse impacts of projects affect the general public, it is desirable to
include the public in environmental impact assessment. The following are the
main principles for the public.
a. Participate in the early stages of the process and evaluation of proposals
through offering advice, expressing opinions, providing local knowledge,
proposing alternatives and commenting on how a proposal might be
changed to better protect the environment.
b. Take a responsible approach to opportunities for public participation in the
EIA process, including the seeking out of objective information about
issues of concern.

Challenges to Environmental Impact Assessment

There are a number of challenges to Environmental Impact Assessments. The
common challenges are:
Lack of autonomy of state environmental agencies: As you may be aware,
the characteristics of state agencies conducting environmental impact
assessments may go along way to ensure the sanctity of assessments. If
agencies are independent of government manipulations, then political
considerations do not affect the quality of assessments. In most developing
countries, however, officials of state agencies responsible for impact
assessments are not entirely independent. National governments are able to
influence their decisions.
Corruption: Corruption tends to affect the judgment of officials responsible for
environmental impact assessments. Thus, corrupt environmental protection

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officials may collect bribes from developers. In such cases, negative

environmental impacts are ignored by the public officials.
Resource constraints: If environmental impact assessments are to be carried
out effectively, there must be financial and technical resources for the work of the
impact assessment agencies. Like other state agencies, environmental
protection agencies in most developing countries do not have adequate
resources for effective impact assessment.
Difficulty in predicting environmental impacts: The argument here is that
humankind lacks adequate knowledge about many natural and social systems.
This means that it is not very easy to describe accurately the likely biophysical,
economic and social impacts of projects. Another related argument is that even if
impacts could be identified, it is not very possible to measure their importance to
facilitate social evaluation. Similarly, it is not easy to provide descriptions of all
practical alternatives.
Q. State any two challenges to environmental impact assessments in Ghana
(i) Corruption; resource constraints; (ii) difficulty in predicting environmental
impacts; (iii) lack of autonomy on the part of state agencies responsible for
impact assessments.
Assignment
Government of Ghana in partnership with a donor agency is contemplating
establishing a wind energy/salt project in a coastal community. Describe the
environmental impact assessment procedures which should guide the project
implementation

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