The Environment Consultant

The ESIA report is a comprehensive document that presents the findings of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment process. It summarizes the key results from each stage of the assessment, including the identification of potential impacts, proposed mitigation measures, and strategies for managing and monitoring environmental and social risks throughout the project’s lifecycle.

Typically, the ESIA report includes the following components (not strictly in the same order):

1. Non-technical Summary: Summarizes the entire ESIA report in a way that is easily understood by a non-technical audience — such as affected local communities and other stakeholders. It highlights the impacts identified in the assessment, how they are addressed and minimized, and how the developer will ensure those impacts are managed during construction and in the operational phase of the project.

2a. Introduction: Provides the background information and a quick summary of the project. It states the purpose, objective, and scope of the ESIA. It describes the risks, assumptions and limitations, and provides the structure of the report.

Note: the Introduction could be merged and be part of the Project Description.

2b. Project Description: Gives an overview of the proposed project, including location, area of influence, categorization, proposed pre-construction, construction and operational activities that may have environmental or social implications.

3. Project Alternatives: This part is a key component of the ESIA Scoping Report or Terms of Reference (TOR) that should have been submitted and approved to the authorities before carrying out the full ESIA. The evaluation considers feasible alternatives to the project and what would be their impacts. By considering alternatives, the project proponent (developer), the regulator, and the environmental consultants can have a clear idea that the project is environmentally, socially and economically viable as it is.

The analyzed alternatives could include:

• Alternative project locations: can a road be moved away from a vulnerable habitat present in the proposed site?
• Alternative design: can the proposed glass façade of a building be changed to avoid a greenhouse effect — and reduce energy consumption for cooling?
• Alternative mode: instead of building power lines to supply electricity to a remote town, could solar energy be a better solution?
• Alternative construction methods: instead of using an electric wired fence, should the project use a barbed wire fence to reduce costs and long-term maintenance efforts?
• No-go option: is the fencing really needed?

4. Regulatory Framework: Describes the national and international policy, legal and administrative framework specific for the project’s sector (e.g. laws for mining are different to laws for real estate development). In a national context, the regulatory policy might include statements in the country’s Constitution, the Environmental Law and Environmental Policy, the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), and other national policies.

The international framework — especially if the project is founded by international lenders, includes regional guidelines and regulations for which the country is a signatory. Important guidelines include the World Bank EHS Guidelines, the Equator Principles, and the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards.

5. Assessment Methodology: Describes what has been done during the Screening and Scoping phases, how the literature review, fieldwork, and stakeholder engagement was conducted, and what are the metrics to evaluate the data, and identify impacts, mitigation. The methodology describes carefully how the baseline assessment was conducted, and what are the standards and regulations followed.

6. Stakeholder Identification and Analysis: Lists the relevant stakeholders based on analyses conducted within the TOR. It elaborates on the stakeholder’s interests and expectations from the project, how they might influence it positive or negatively, how their livelihoods could be impacted, and how the stakeholders were involved in the ESIA process.

7. Environmental and Social Baseline: A detailed analysis of the existing environmental and social conditions of the project area, including data on ecosystems, air and water quality, socio-economic conditions, and cultural heritage.

For a general context the assessment requires consulting secondary data. To understand the context at the project site, it is usually necessary to collect tailored comprehensive data.

For some environmental receptors — such as air, soil and groundwater, the field assessment should comply with regulations. This includes collecting samples with regulator-approved equipment only, or analyzing the samples at a regulator-approved laboratory.

8. Impact Identification and Assessment: This step is the heart of the ESIA. It provides a thorough examination of the potential positive and negative impacts of the project on the environment and local communities. This section assesses several type of impacts: direct and indirect, as well as cumulative effects.

The evaluation is done separately for each environmental receptor, each type of impact, and at each phase of the project (e.g. cumulative impacts on air quality during the construction phase; direct impacts during the operational phase).

9. Mitigation Measures: Provides recommended strategies for avoiding, reducing, or offsetting identified negative impacts, along with specific actions for their implementation during the project’s construction, operation, and decommissioning phases. This step only summarizes the measures, rather than detailing specific methodologies for the mitigation.

10. Environmental and Social Management and Monitoring Plan (ESMP): This section provides a framework for monitoring and managing the environmental and social performance of the project. This framework ensures that mitigation measures are effectively implemented and that compliance with environmental regulations is maintained.

The ESMP is a very important document that will set the stage for the monitoring that should be conducted in the future, during construction and operation of the project. It consists of a set of mitigation and monitoring strategies that when applied correctly, ensures control of the impact magnitude found during the ESIA.

Depending on the project impacts, the ESMP could include a series of specific plans as required by regulators. This could include Resettlement Action Plans, Indigenous Peoples Plans, Biodiversity Action Plans, Species Relocation Plans, Cultural Heritage Management Plans, etc.

Based on the management strategy described in the ESMP, the developer can have an idea of how much will cost to conduct the monitoring, including this consideration in their budgets, as well as within the development schedule (for example, no construction would be allowed before species relocation from site when stated in the ESMP).

Conclusion:

The ESIA Report serves as a key tool for stakeholders, including regulatory authorities, project developers, and the public, to make informed decisions about the potential risks and benefits of the project. It is often made available for public review to ensure transparency, and address concerns from affected communities and other interested parties.

Want to learn more? Check this IUCN ESIA Guidance Note.