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4.0 ESTABLISHING THE ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE AND

IMPACT IDENTIFICATION
Baseline:

• Collection of background information on the biophysical, chemical, social, cultural

and economic environment of proposed project area.
• Information is obtained from secondary sources when there exists a facility of
database.

Sources of Baseline Data:

1. Primary sources
2. Secondary sources
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Purpose of Baseline Data Collection

• To provide a description of the status and trends of environmental factors (e.g.

air pollutant concentrations) against which predicted changes can be
compared and evaluated in terms of importance and

• To provide a means of detecting actual change by monitoring once a project

has been initiated.

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Environmental Setting
• The environmental setting includes the characteristics of the area in which the
proposed action would occur.
• The major environmental parameters of the proposed project area for which the
existing baseline information are required to be assessed:
o Physical environment – topography, geology and geo-dynamics, surface and underground water
condition, soil types and productivity, land use pattern, watershed condition, air and water quality,
pollution and noise level etc.
o Biological environment – ecosystem, flora and fauna, habitat, wetland, agricultural land,
protected and sensitive areas, endangered and rare species, forest etc.
o Socio-economic environment – population and demography, infrastructure facilities, social
service facilities, , economic activities, land and property acquisition etc.
o Cultural environment – archeological, historical and religious sites, cultural and religious
practices etc.
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Methods of Baseline Data Collection

1. General methods:
a. Literature review
b. Map interpretation
c. Checklists
d. Matrices
e. Questionnaire
2. Resource-based methods
a. Physical – GPS, topo map, land use map, geological map, soil sample test, audiometer
for noise level, laboratory test etc.
b. Biological – forest loss, flora and fauna etc.
c. Socio-economic – questionnaire, HH survey, RRA, PRA, interview, record of school and
health post etc.
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Importance of Baseline Data Collection

1. Decision on the project appraisal

2. Decision on the location of the project

3. Decision on the project design

4. Decision on the operation of project

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Methods of Impact Identification

1. Ad-hoc method : used for BES and IEE, not used for EIA
2. Checklists
a. Simple checklist: provides a list of env. parameters with no guidelines on how they are to be measured & interpreted, can be also used to
summarize the results of an EIA.
b. Questionnaire checklist: a set of questions to be answered
c. Descriptive checklist: includes an identification of env. parameters & guidelines on how to measure data
d. Scaling checklist: similar to descriptive checklist with additional information on subjective scaling of the parameters, impact is rated on a
scale of -5 to +5.
e. Scaling weighting checklist (SWC): similar to scaling checklist with additional information for the subjective evaluation of each parameters
w.r.t. all other parameters, requires more expertise to prepare SWC.

3. Matrices: simple matrix, display project activities on one axis & env. factors on another axis
a. Leopold Matrix (LM): developed by Leopold et. al. (1971), matrix with 100 specified actions & 88 env. items
b. Modified Graded Matrix (MGM): relative weights are assigned to each activity
c. Impact Summary Matrix (ISM): covers all the aspects, provides a complete overview of EIA in summary form, guide for decision-makers

4. Networks
5. Overlays and GIS
6. Calyx Expert systems: Calyx is a computerized software which contains a set of impact rules first developed in
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Canada, contains database of impact rules and mitigation measures as well as monitoring procedures.

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Ad-hoc method:
• Used for BES and IEE, not used for EIA

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Simple
checklist:
Organized
by Impact
Area

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Simple
checklist…

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Simple
checklist…

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Simple
checklist…

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Questionnaire
checklist:

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Descriptive
checklist:

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Scaling
checklist:

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Scaling checklist…

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Scaling weighting Checklist (SWC):

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Leopold Matrix (LM):

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Leopold
Matrix
(LM):

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Leopold
Matrix
(LM)…

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Impact Summary Matrix (ISM):

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Impact
Summary
Matrix
(ISM):

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Impact
Summary
Matrix
(ISM):

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Networks:

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Networks…

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Methods of Impact Identification…

Overlays
& GIS:

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Methods of Impact Identification…

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