Identifying and Evaluating Impacts - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 420

Expert Opinion

Professional judgements will always form an intrinsic part of environmental assessment.
No matter what method is applied for identifying and evaluating impacts, it is not possible
to conduct an environmental assessment without relying on expert opinions. For this rea-
son alone, team selection is crucial to the success of any EIA. Although expert opinion is
not a method, it can be considered a tool for assessing complex project impacts. The ability
of standard checklists and other generic tools is limited to the accurate identii cation of a
wide range of indirect impacts that may occur because of a project activity. Consider, for
example, the range of potential impacts on an aquatic ecosystem due to mine water dis-
charge. These include, but are not limited to (USEPA 2000): (1) death of i sh, invertebrates,
plants, domestic animals, or wildlife; (2) abnormalities in life forms, such as tumours,
lesions, parasites, disease; (3) altered community structure, such as the absence, reduc-
tion, or dominance of a particular taxon (including increased algal blooms, loss of mus-
sels, increase of tolerant species, etc); (4) loss of species or shifts in abundance; (5) response
of indicators designed to monitor or detect biological, community, or ecological condition,
such as the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) or the Invertebrate Community Index (ICI);
(6) changes in the reproductive cycle, population structure, or genetic similarity; (7) altera-
tion of ecosystem function, such as nutrient cycles, respiration, and photosynthetic rates;
and (8) alteration of the geographic extent and pattern of different ecosystems, for exam-
ple, shrinking wetlands, change in the mosaic of open water, wet meadows, sandbars, and
riparian shrubs and trees. It is clear that even the most experienced aquatic biologist would
be challenged to identify all potential impacts prior to further site-specii c studies.
Most impact assessments involve more than one scientii c discipline, which emphasizes
the need for a team approach. Sound professional judgement means engaging specialists
from appropriate disciplines, with enough experience, at the right time, for a sufi cient
duration, and with adequate resources. Because specialists tend to work in isolation, care
should be taken to ensure there is sufi cient and effective discussion between them. In fact
it is this interaction between members of a multi-disciplined team that provides the most
effective impact assessment. While one specialist postulates an impact or evaluates its sig-
nii cance, other team members contribute from their own specialized view-points while
others may act as 'devil's advocates'. As a result, the evaluations are likely to be well con-
sidered and the conclusions robust, well before they are subjected to scrutiny by regulators
and the public. Recognizing the importance of such 'brain-storming', some jurisdictions,
notably Indonesia, identify the Environmental Impact Assessment Workshop as a specii c
step in the Environmental Impact Analysis process.
The number of experts and their areas of expertise can be adapted to suit the particu-
lar mining project. Key to success of expert opinion is the appointment of an experienced
team leader, identifying the requirements for specialist expertise, and ensuring cooperation
between team members.

Professional judgements will
always form an intrinsic part of
environmental assessment.

Sound professional judgement
means engaging specialists from
appropriate disciplines, with
enough experience, at the right
time, for a suffi cient duration, and
with adequate resources.

9.6 EVALUATING PROJECT IMPACTS

Once environmental impacts are identii ed, there is a need to evaluate their signii cance.
Establishing signii cance is by no means an easy task and uncertainties will remain. Impact
evaluation makes it possible to roughly rank impacts. Equal ranking of major and trivial
impacts will suggest lack of judgement. If major impacts are omitted and minor ones are
given too much attention that too is a warning that the environmental assessment process
is l awed. Signii cant impacts command more attention, minor impacts less.

Signifi cant impacts command
more attention, minor impacts less.