Environmental analysis for Project

The purpose & Essence of environmental analysis

The modern practice of project implementation has recognized that it is cheaper to supplement project planning with environmental analysis than to ignore this point and pay for environmental errors in the future.

Most projects for the development of industry, infrastructure and agriculture are a potential source of pollution, which, as a rule, adversely affect the environment. Careful pre-planning can help minimize and even avoid pollution and irreversible changes in the environment. Therefore, special attention of analysts should be paid to the relationship between the choice of the technological process or its development and the potential to minimize waste or use them again, in order to reduce the direct impact on the environment.

When assessing the impact of the project on the environment (air, water, land, flora and fauna of the district, ecosystems), the project analysis should primarily take into account the impact on the health of the nation and the safety of jobs, as well as on the social and cultural values of society.
Successful development of the project implies the presence of confidence that the potential negative or adverse impact on the environment will be determined and evaluated in such a way that it can be avoided or reduced by making appropriate changes to the project.

The aim of the environmental analysis is to establish the impact of the project on the environment, to assess all benefits and costs incurred as a result of this impact, and to formulate measures necessary to mitigate or prevent environmental damage during the project.

The consequences of the project's impact on the environment represent a new state of the components of the natural-production system, which arose as a result of violations or pollution of one of the elements of the ecological system. Forms of violations or pollution, as a rule, are obvious, are detected immediately after exposure, but the consequences of violations can affect the components of the ecosystem for a long time. In the project analysis, the impact of the project is assessed when it is possible to determine individual ecosystem indicators before the project is implemented and after or in the project range and beyond.

For an analyst who prepares environmental analysis, the main documents are environmental requirements determined by the regulatory framework. These include:

environmental norms and rules of design and construction, where the values of the maximum permissible impact on the environment are established;
measures to prevent pollution of water bodies, atmospheric air, earth, subsoil and noise control. (Insufficiently developed in Ukraine are the norms and rules for the protection of the animal and plant world, but they are also a functioning base);
project description in the geographical, environmental, social and time aspects that accompany the project (e.g. access roads, power plants, water supply, storage facilities for raw materials and products);
current and expected parameters of physical, biological and social-ecological conditions directly related to the project.

Content of works on environmental analysis

Elements of environmental analysis of the project are present at each stage of its life cycle, that is, environmental research is carried out both at the stage of determining the possibilities of the project implementation (preliminary identification) and at the stages of selection of alternatives to the project implementation, current monitoring and final evaluation of the project. Consider the content of the work of an environmental analysis analyst at each stage of the project.

At the stage of generating the idea of the project, the category and type of project are determined. This allows you to assess the scale of environmental analysis, the qualitative and quantitative composition of the project environmental analysis team, the scale of work that should be performed by analysts in the preparation of environmental analysis of the project. Depending on the degree of negative impact on the environment, there are four categories of projects:
Category A - projects that rarely have a negative impact on the environment, as a rule, are implemented in the social sphere, cover rehabilitation projects, as well as projects in the field of education and healthcare, market infrastructure. The need for environmental analysis in such projects is minimal;
Category B — projects with significant negative impact on the environment, but to which measures aimed at mitigating this negative impact can be quickly applied. construction of roads, communications, development of underground minerals, carrying out transmission lines, mini-hydraulic networks, etc. For such projects, environmental analysis should include a specification of environmental protection measures based on current legislation and regulations;
Category B — projects with significant negative impact on the environment that require detailed environmental assessment. Such projects, as a rule, cover: large-scale irrigation and management of water resources, development of year basins, drainage projects, development of new lands for agriculture and urban construction, laying new paths, especially through forests or other sensitive environmental areas; construction of new airports, large bridges and harbors; large-scale water supply, sanitary projects for soil recovery and purification, medium and large-scale projects for the production of electricity; construction of industrial plants, large reservoirs, etc. Environmental analysis for these projects should be carefully developed at the stage of project preparation. It is an integral part in the study of the possibilities of the project implementation;

Category D - projects aimed at the environment. projects related to fisheries and agriculture; integrated actions in the framework of the fight against agricultural workers and parasites; protection of wildlife and creation of reserve and national parks (reserves), environmental protection institutions. Environmental analysis and monitoring development are an integral part of such projects.

At the stage of determining the idea of the project, the main aspects related to the environment and the assessment of natural resources are in the spotlight. Analysts carefully study the country's development programs, the possibility of using national resources, the degree of possible pollution and negative impact on the environment.

At the stage of formulation and preparation of the project, it is necessary to analyze it in view of the environment. This allows you to supplement project planning with the necessary information and avoid further consideration of environmentally dangerous projects, the implementation of which will be expensive for society, and the consequences are difficult to correct. The next step should be to consider the potential consequences of the project for the environment, which requires initial environmental expertise. In determining the need for further research, a detailed analysis of the conditions of the existing environment, the potential impact of the project on it and the possibility of its improvement are carried out.

When developing the project, environmental analysis is combined with the definition of technical, institutional, social and financial aspects. Depending on the size and category (type) of the project and the sensitivity of the location during the analysis of the potential impact on human and natural resources, a comprehensive and comprehensive analysis may be required. At this stage, alternative project options or measures to control or reduce the negative impact on the environment are usually developed.

Detailed analysis of the project should take into account all types of costs arising from the implementation of environmental protection measures and control technology, as well as the final impact on the environment. We emphasize that environmental analysis should be carried out as a component of pre-investment research, when investment opportunities are studied in parallel with the technical justification of the project.

This is due to two reasons: first, the results of environmental analysis can be taken into account in the technical assessment as possible costs, since additional research, study of alternatives, development of measures and implementation of new, environmentally acceptable methods of project implementation can increase costs and slow down the implementation of the project; Secondly, in the analysis of the environment can be effectively used collected during technical analysis detailed information, which will avoid duplication of the efforts of analysts who prepare the project.

It should be remembered that the choice of the project is carried out not only according to the criterion of its commercial profitability, but also viability in relation to the environment.

Not every positive or negative impact on the environment can be immediately quantified and financially, so decisions must be made on the basis of current environmental standards or permissible environmental correlations between explicit cash inflows and implicit benefits and costs arising in relation to the environment.

Proper implementation of environmental control and measures to reduce the negative impact of the project on the environment is extremely important for its success. The responsibility for the implementation of the project is borne by interested persons and institutions that oversee the project in order to make sure that the provided environmental measures, reservations and control are active.

Environmental supervision of the project includes monitoring of its regular daily operation, recklessness and accidents. The monitoring program provides feedback on the actual environmental condition and environmental impact compared to what was planned at the analysis stage.

This allows you to determine the need for changes in the conditions of the project in order to overcome unacceptable impact or negative changes. The implementation of the project can take place under both internal and independent control in order to increase confidence in compliance with environmental requirements and control the evaluation of project results, which is necessary to improve the planning and development of future projects.

The degree of consequences for the environment depends not only on the category of the project. The environment is also affected by the location of the project, and this impact can be invulnerable or critical. Although projects that require a comprehensive analysis of environmental impacts are more likely to be large-scale, their number is relatively small. However, this does not mean that smaller-scale projects should be carried out without reference to the environment. The consequences of implementing small projects can be very significant on a local scale, and the accumulated effect, taking into account the number of small projects, is of wide importance.

Regardless of the category of the project, its environmental analysis is carried out according to a certain scheme.

Stages of environmental analysis of the project

The first stage is the characteristic and analysis of the environmental conditions in which the project will be carried out, which requires the analyst to give a description of the natural and geographical environment of the project, its physical and biological balance, all aspects directly related to the implementation of the project.

The next step in the research is to identify the positive and negative consequences that will occur in the event of the project, as well as the development of measures to eliminate negative consequences that cannot be eliminated. At this stage, measures aimed at environmental protection are being developed.
The third stage involves identifying and analyzing alternative project implementation opportunities, such as locations, the use of project technologies, etc. For each alternative, it is necessary to determine the benefits and costs using economic ratios, institutional suitability of local conditions and requirements.

After identifying alternatives to the project, it is necessary to develop measures aimed at reducing the negative impact on the environment. The action plan should determine economically justified in terms of costs measures that can reduce negative consequences to a permissible level. This plan also provides for compensation measures if it is found that reducing the negative impact is impossible or too expensive given the costs.

An important step in the environmental analysis of the project is the preparation of management and specialists who would be responsible for the environmental safety of the project, implement measures to protect and control the environment. At this stage, it is possible to create separate environmental departments on the ground in those agencies and institutions that are interested in implementing the project in environmental safety conditions.

The final stage of environmental diagnostics of the project is the development of a plan for monitoring (current control) of the environment and the impact of the project on it. The plan specifies the type of current control, determines the persons and institutions that should carry it out, assesses the cost of control measures.