Leather/Skin/Hide Processing Industry - Environmental Clearance

Conceptual Facets of EIAThe aim of this model is to curb over-consumption and unacceptable environmentaldegradation. But because of limitation in available scientific basis, this definitionprovides only general guidelines for determining the sustainable use of inputs andoutputs. To establish the level of significance for each identified impact, a three-stageanalysis may be referred:First, an impact is qualified as being either negative or positive.Second, the nature of impacts such as direct, indirect, or cumulative is determinedusing the impact networkThird, a scale is used to determine the severity of the effect; for example, an impact isof low, medium, or high significance.It is not sufficient to simply state the significance of the effect. This determination mustbe justified, coherent and documented, notably by a determination methodology, whichmust be described in the methodology section of the report. There are many recognizedmethodologies to determine the significance of effects.2.9.1 Criteria/methodology to determine the significance of the identifiedimpactsThe criteria can be determined by answering some questions regarding the factorsaffecting the significance. This will help the EIA stake-holders, the practitioner inparticular, to determine the significance of the identified impacts eventually. Typicalexamples of such factors include the following:Exceedance of a Threshold: Significance may increase if a threshold is exceeded. e.g.,Emissions of PM10 exceed the permissible threshold.Effectiveness of Mitigation: Significance may increase as the effectiveness ofmitigation measures decreases. e.g., control technologies, which may not assureconsistent compliance to the requirements.Size of Study Area: Significance may increase as the zone of effects increases.Incremental Contribution of Effects from Action under Review: Significance mayincrease as the relative contribution of an action increases.Relative Contribution of Effects of Other Actions: Significance may decrease as thesignificance of nearby larger actions increase.Relative Rarity of Species: Significance may increase as species becomesincreasingly rare or threatened.Significance of Local Effects: Significance may increase as the significance of localeffects is high.Magnitude of Change Relative to Natural Background Variability: Significance maydecrease if effects are within natural assimilative capacity or variability.Creation of Induced Actions: Significance may increase as induced activities alsohighly significant.Degree of Existing Disturbance: Significance may increase if the surroundingenvironment is pristine:For determining significance of impacts, it is important to remember that secondary andhigher order effects can also occur as a result of a primary interaction between a projectactivity and the local environment. Wherever a primary effect is identified, theTGM for Tanneries August 20102-17