Environmental & Social Impact Assessment and Audit

Environmental impact assessment is a planning process that aims to predict, evaluate and mitigate the impact on the environment of a proposed project, program or policy prior to its commencement, and to approve only environmentally acceptable undertakings. EIA is hence a mechanism for avoiding or mediating some of the potential costs of development. The purpose of this course is to help delegates develop a comprehensive and critical understanding of the theory and practice of EIA. The course examines EIA in general and in specific jurisdictions. It also examines the technical and policy issues involved in the production and the appraisal of environmental impact assessments. Using a broad definition of “environment”, various components of EIA are addressed, with an emphasis on principles, legal and institutional frameworks, stages in the process, and specific analytical techniques.
Additionally, the course will focus on the ecology of human societies and the social impact of development on communities and regions. The ecology of human societies is about connections between  ecological and human social, cultural, and organizational processes.
Main Modules
Environmental Impact Assessment
 The EIA process
 History of EIA
 Screening
 Scoping
 Alternatives in EIA Impact prediction
 Mitigation measures
 Preparing EIA reports
 Quality and Review of EIA reports
 Consultation and participation
 EIA and decision-making
 Monitoring and auditing
 The future for EIA
 Practitioner’s Views of EIA, such as; local authority, consultancy, statutory body
Concepts in Environmental Law
 An introduction to law and the environment
 A discussion of key environmental principles, focusing on sustainable development and public participation
in environmental decision-making
 An evaluation of the law relating to climate change, and an analysis of the political/economic/social dimension
of reaching agreement on global climate change law and policy
 A critical analysis of traditional regulatory mechanisms, most notably command and control or direct
regulation and its enforcement
 A critical evaluation of the ‘new’ governance mechanisms utilized in the climate change context, focusing on
emissions trading and reflexive forms of governance
Strategic Environmental Assessment
 Extending environmental assessment to the strategic level: policies, plans and programmes
 The SEA process
 SEA methods
 The European directive on SEA
 UK approaches to SEA
 International and agency examples of SEA
 Sectoral responses to SEA
 Current developments in SEA
Appraisal and Auditing
 Outline and overview – distribution and explanation of problem based exercises.
 Methods for appraisal
 Cost-benefit analysis, social impact assessment, health impact assessment
 Integrating appraisal methods
 Environmental Auditing:
 Audit types
 Objectives and benefits
 Conducting the audit
 Case studies
 Risk auditing
 Workshop
 Environmental Management Systems
 Certification
 EMS planning and structure
 Workshop
 Application and links to other environmental tools
Planning for Environmental Change
 The nature of environmental concern
 Understanding the root causes of environmental change
 Theories and politics of sustainability
 Climate change adaptation; planning and decision-making tools
 Challenges of long-term planning for sustainable energy
 Ecological design and the circular economy
 Urban green spaces and Green Infrastructure
 Landscape dynamics and the management of change
 Decision making and complexity – post normal science and community engagement
GIS & Environmental Applications.
It provides the theoretical and practical foundations for carrying out spatial analysis of environmental applications
using GIS. It is delivered through lectures and practical’s projects.
Environmental Monitoring and Modeling
 Measuring environmental phenomena
 Environmental monitoring
 Models and modeling
 Model validation
Way forward After the Training
Participants will develop a work plan through the help of facilitators that stipulates application of skills acquired in improving their organizations. ASPM will continuously monitor implementation progress after the training.
Training Evaluation:
Participants will undertake a simple assessment before the training to gauge knowledge & skills, another assessment will be done after the training in-order to monitor knowledge gained through the training.