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EV301 - Assignmnet 1

This document is a student assignment reflecting on the reconstruction of the Yaqara Bridge in Fiji. The student notes that while the $9.2 million project will benefit transportation, an environmental impact assessment was not conducted as required by law. Completion of the bridge could increase air pollution and carbon emissions by enabling more vehicle traffic. However, the project is nearly finished so the design cannot be changed. The student recommends afforestation around the bridge to mitigate increased carbon dioxide and improve air quality once the bridge opens.

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Praveet Chand
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31 views

EV301 - Assignmnet 1

This document is a student assignment reflecting on the reconstruction of the Yaqara Bridge in Fiji. The student notes that while the $9.2 million project will benefit transportation, an environmental impact assessment was not conducted as required by law. Completion of the bridge could increase air pollution and carbon emissions by enabling more vehicle traffic. However, the project is nearly finished so the design cannot be changed. The student recommends afforestation around the bridge to mitigate increased carbon dioxide and improve air quality once the bridge opens.

Uploaded by

Praveet Chand
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The University of the South Pacific

EV301: Environmental Impact Assessment


Semester 1, 2023

Assignment 1:
EIA- Personal Reflection and Current
Events
Name: Praveet Chand.
Student ID: S11196552.

The Impact of Yaqara Bridge from my Perspective.


Under the Fijian Government, the Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) have been working on re-
constructing and upgrading roads throughout the nation. One of the major projects of FRA
has been the re-construction of Yaqara bridge which is located along King’s Highway
between Tavua and Rakiraki, at the junction of Naseyani Road and the King’s highway. This
is a $9.2 million project which has reached its final stages of completion as reports by Waisea
Nasokia of Fiji Sun stated that the bridge would be accessible to the public by late 2022,
however, due to the recent election and reallocation of ministerial offices it could be
stipulated that the bridge maybe accessible to the public by mid-year 2023. After analysing
and considering the scope of the project, it can be ascertained that an Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) should have been complied under subsections Part 1 (a), (b), (j), of the
Schedule 2 of Environment Management Act 2005 of the Fijian Constitution. However, no
such report or assessment was retrieved online. This result is possibly due to the short 21
days of EIA publication limitation and review laws which fall under Section(28) (2-5) of the
EIA Process Regulations (2007), since this project had already commenced early 2022.
The Yaqara bridge re-construction may have been a crucial re-devolvement project for the
Government of Fiji and the Fijian citizens. However, it has had quite a number of impacts on
the people and myself that have gone unnoticed. These impacts include but are not limited to:
air pollution, noise pollution, waterway pollution, harm to marine life, and wastage of time
while travelling. The most adverse impact that this development has is actually the impacts
that it will bring once the project is complete, which is, increase in carbon footprint and air
pollution. Since this bridge is part of the main highway, it acts a filter for the vehicles.
Therefore, it can be postulated that the completion of the bridge will allow more vehicles to
travel across it allowing for more carbon to the be expelled in that region and increasing the
concentration of particulate matter in the region. This of course would lead to immediate
increase in the local temperature as carbon-dioxide concentrations are directly proportionate
to increase in temperature. This potential impact of the project would also play a factor in
more frequent rampant natural disasters and shift in the climate as well.
Although, this project brings much unnoticed adverse impacts onto the environment and the
people, the project design and processes cannot be changed or optimised as the project is
nearing completion. Nevertheless, there can be mitigating initiatives considered for the
increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the air. One of the most simple and efficient
manner to mitigate the impact would be to afforest the region. Afforestation would
accommodate for the reduction of carbon dioxide content as well as, improve the air quality
for the region. The potential effects of climate change air pollution that may arise due to the
completion of Yaqara bridge can be effectively mitigated by planting trees in the area and
maintaining a clear inventory of the surroundings of the region.

References
Nasokia, W. (2022, February 3). $9.2m new Yaqara bridge to be ready by late 2022. FIJI
SUN, p. 18.

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