• Baseline data: Initial collection of data which serves as a basis

for comparison with the subsequently acquired data.

• Baseline Information
Refers to collection of baseline information on bio-physical,
Chemical, social and economic aspects of a project area.

• Project area: The area where environmental effects and

impacts are felt during construction or operational stages of a
project.
 Baseline Data Collection
Baseline information is important reference
point for conducting EIA. The term "baseline"
refers to the collection of background
information on the biophysical, social and
economic settings of proposed project area. The
task of collecting baseline data starts right from
the period of project inception, however, a
majority of this task may be undertaken during
scoping.
 Purpose of an Environmental Baseline Study
• An environmental baseline program must collect, assess,
and interpret enough physical, chemical, and biological
information for the review process to:
1. To provide a description of the status and trends of
environmental factors (e.g., air pollutant concentrations,
aquatic environment etc. ) against which predicted changes
can be compared and evaluated in terms of importance.
2. To provide a means of detecting actual change by
monitoring once a project has been initiated.
3. Determine impact pathways and mechanisms;
4. Predict the significance of impacts and the effectiveness
of proposed mitigation activities related to project
construction, operation, closure, and post-closure.
 Conti……..
5. Establish, ideally as part of the EA process, ecologically relevant and safe
thresholds for those parameters that are indicators of ecosystem health and
that will be used during the review process to determine potential project
impacts. These thresholds will also be used in writing discharge permits and
developing subsequent monitoring programs. For air and water quality,
thresholds may equal current provincial environmental standards/guidelines
(e.g., 2.0 mg/L molybdenum to protect freshwater aquatic life).
6. To facilitate the design of water quality and environmental effects
monitoring programs that will allow “before and after” comparisons and/or
comparisons between reference (or control) sites and influenced or “test
sites.”
7.To support the proponent’s prediction regarding the significance of potential
impacts, and to determine what strategies, if any, will mitigate those impacts
 Details about the baseline study depends
on the following :
• On the complexity of aquatic habitats and,
• The accuracy and precision needed to predict
differences
• Once construction is initiated, the objective of
the updated monitoring program is to measure
changes from baseline so that the concerned
authority can determine with a high degree of
confidence the operation’s effect on the
environment and the effectiveness of mitigation
measures. The permittee must be able to prove
that the contaminant concentrations in their
discharges remain within permitted levels.
 The Environmental Setting or baseline study

• Major environmental parameters to be considered in field.

1. Physical: topography, geology, soil types, surface and ground water condition,
watershed condition, pollution levels etc.
2. Biological: terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, types flora and fauna,
environmentally sensitive wetlands, prime agricultural land etc.
3. Socio‐economic: demography, development needs and potential, infrastructure
facilities, economic activities etc.
4. Cultural: location and state of archaeological, historical, religious sites

Note:
The level and type of information will vary depending on the nature of the project.
It is convenient to quantify the baseline information as much as possible
 Baseline study
• Data Sources
• Methods of Data Collection and Processing
 Data Sources and Methods of Collection

• Data Sources:
• Primary Sources: Result of the field and laboratory data collected
and analyzed directly
• Secondary sources: Data collected indirectly from published
records or documents such as project documents, village profile,
maps, photos, internet sources etc

• Methods of data collection:

• General methods: Literature review, map interpretation,
checklists (e.g. scaling and questionnaire checklists, matrices etc)
• Resource‐based methods: Scientific instruments and techniques
(inventory, species area curve, sampling techniques, PRA, RRA)
 Data Processing

• Raw data is converted into knowledge and information that is more easily
comprehensible. Tools such as tables, graphs, maps can be used for presentation.
1. For Physical data: graphs, tables, enumeration
2. For biological data: species numbers, volume, density, biomass can be
calculated.
Examples: According to forest Rules 1995,
• Tree volume = (girth2/16) x Height
• Biomass of a stem of a tree (pine sp.) = Vol x Density

Thickness of a forest:
• Dense: crown cover > 40%
• Open: crown cover between 10‐40%
• Degraded: crown cover < 10%
 Conti…….
• Species diversity (No. of species/Area sampled) can also be used for
processing biological data calculated through species richness of an
area.

• Species‐area relationship is given by:

Log S = C + Z Log A
(S= No. of Sp, A= Area, and C & Z are constants for a given area)

• Socioeconomic data: Data such as male/female, skilled/semi skilled

labour force for construction and operational activities can be
presented through, graphs, tables, population pyramids etc. which can
be collected through sampling (random, stratified or mixed).
 Collection of Baseline Data

• Baseline studies in EIA may take a long time,

hence EIA is blamed for higher costs and
delays in project implementation.
• Therefore, the studies should be focused on
those aspects that are likely to be affected.
• GEOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY BASELINE
• Area Characteristics and Climate
• Existing Site Characteristics
• Aesthetics
• Agriculture
• Air Quality
• Biological resources
• Cultural Resources
• Hydrology
• Hazard and Hazardous materials
• Land use and planning
• Mineral and geothermal resources
Recreation
Traffic
Utilities and Infrastructure
Mineral and Geothermal Resources
Noise
Population and Housing
• Land Use and Zoning
• Current Land Use Status
• Surrounding Land Use and Zoning
 EXample
• Nepal: Baseline Information and it role in Decision making (An illustration from Upper Modi
Hydropower Project in Nepal)
• There are four decision making points in the sequence of EIA implementation. The nature and the
extent of baseline information required at each of the decision points are quite different. The following
example of a hydroelectric development project, in relation to likely to impact on fish population will
illustrate the four critical decision points and the requirement baseline information, at each stage.
• A series of potential sites for generating hydropower has been identified at different stretches of the
Modi River in Nepal. The most promising site, where preliminary investigation has suggested a
possibility of 30 MW of hydropower generation.
• (a) Decision on the Project Approval
• Tor tor Ham (Sahar fish) a delicious long-distance migratory fish, is available in plenty in the entire
stretch of the Modi River. This species of fish has been reported to migrate upstream for breeding in
summer and downstream for feeding in the winter time. Most of the fisherman living on the river side
adopt traditional technology to catch the fish and sell their harvest to the local market.
• One of the major environmental concern of damming of the river is to impose an obstruction to the
upstream and downstream migration of the fish which in turn would like to create a number of issues.
• report from fishermen of the area indicated that the population of fish has declined recently due to
the excessive fishing,
• the obstruction likely to be created by damming would further reduces population and may destroy fish spawning area,

• the Sahar fish (Tor tor sp) is considered to be most delicious hills stream fish, liked by the local people

• the fish resources comes under the jurisdiction of Department of Fish and Fishery of the government; the current legislation does not
account for the regulation of river fish resources in Nepal. However, in absence of such, regulatory mechanism, it would be highly
relevant to consult the local fishermen and the local government about their consensus to proceed with the project, that are likely to
produce adverse effect for fish resources of the area.

• For justification of the issues, it is necessary to have sufficient information on the following parameters:
• data on current abundance of fish

• fish migratory pattern

• spawing characteristic,

• localities

• the current rate of fish exploitation, and

• the economic

• If information on above parameters are available, the second aspect is to design mitigation measures such as:
• carryout feasibility study in order to establish a fish hatchery to replace the possible loss of fish production,

• examine the feasibility for installing a fish ladder in order to facilitate the fish migration, and

• explore the possibility of opening-up the potential habitat and spawning ground by removing the obstacle in tributary river.
• On the basis of availability of above justifications the project should be approved by the authority.

(b) Decision on the Location of Project

• If the project is approved for implementation, then the second decision would be to find out an appropriate location for the
construction of a dam. Engineering feasibility might have proposed several sites for dam construction, and on the basis of
technical and economical consideration, the best site might have been identified. However, from the point of view of the
environment, particularly, in the case of fish resources, a more detailed and focused baseline study should have to be conducted
at each alternative sites proposed, mainly on:
• a) site for damming, which would be likely to have less effect on fish spawning grounds;
• b) site which would be likely to create more area for spawning; and
• c) site which would be likely to impose minimum obstruction for fish migration.

(c) Decision on the Project Design

• At this stage decisions and recommendations should be incorporated into the project design. Primarily the following aspects have
to be considered:
• the hydrological regime of the river should be well understood,

• a coordinated mechanism in the project design is necessary for maintaining the regular water flow downstream, and

• the design has to incorporate all recommended mitigation measures, and also a fish ladder to be included in the design, if
necessary.

• All considerations at the design stage should be backed by baseline information, and whether or not all measures recommended
in previous decisions have been taken into consideration in project design.

(d) Decision on the Operation of Project

• Consideration at the this stage of project, establishes monitoring and operational feedback system to ensure that the design
features built into the project are properly implemented. A number of study should be made at this stage. For example survival
rate at of juvenile fish above the dam should be compared with at unaffected parts of the river to see whether newly developed
habitat is being used to the extent predicted; and the relationship between fish production in the river, and commercial catch.
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