1. General EIA Actors And Their Roles In Malaysia
1.1. The Project Initiato
1.1.1. The individual or organisation proposing and implementing the prescribed activity.
1.1.2. The project initiator can delegate the task of conducting the EIA to a consultant, but he remains responsible for the content of the EIA.
1.2. The Assessor
1.2.1. The assessor is the individual who may be a leader of a team who conducts or coordinates the EIA study.
1.2.2. He is responsible to the project initiator to complete the task of preparing the EIA report
1.3. Environment related Agencies
1.3.1. The main agency responsible for implementing EIA is the DOE. However, other agencies are involved in five areas, as follows:
1.3.1.1. Providing information to the assessor
1.3.1.2. Formulating the terms of reference (TOR) of the EIA study
1.3.1.3. Giving comments on the EIA study
1.3.1.4. Reviewing the EIA report
1.3.2. Monitoring and auditing compliance of the project initiator to the agencies’ requirements and project impact
1.4. The Review Panel
1.4.1. An independent body of experts and representatives.
1.4.2. The panel is responsible for making comments and recommendations to the project authority with regard to the environmental cost and benefits of the project
1.4.3. Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment Report (PEIA), the state DOE officers and other government agencies undertake the review internally
1.5. The Approving Authority For The Project
1.5.1. According to the DOE (2007, p. 7) the projects approving authority includes
1.5.1.1. The National Development Planning Committee for federal government sponsored projects
1.5.1.2. the respective state planning authorities for state government sponsored projects
1.5.1.3. the region development authorities of the State Executive Committee (EXCO)
1.5.1.4. the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MiTI) for industrial projects
1.6. The Public
1.6.1. The central actors in the EIA process and will be involved during the scoping process
1.6.1.1. profiling (data collection)
1.6.1.2. impact identification
1.6.1.3. during Detail Assessment EIA report review
1.6.1.4. the public may be the NGOs, PAP or other interested parties
2. Meaning Of Environment
2.1. PHYSICOCHEMICAL
2.1.1. LAND –landforms, soil profile, soil composition, slope stability, land use, buffer zone etc.
2.1.2. SURFACE WATER- shoreline, water quality, drainage pattern, flooding
2.1.3. ATMOSPHERE – Flow regime, water quality
2.1.4. NOISE – intensity, duration and frequency
2.2. BIOLOGICAL
2.2.1. SPECIES AND POPULATIONS – terrestrial vegetation, terrestrial wildlife, aquatic/marine flora, fish
2.2.2. HABITATS AND COMMUNITIES- Terrestrial habitats, terrestrial communities, aquatic habitats, aquatic communities
2.3. HUMAN
2.3.1. HEALTH AND SAFETY- physical safety, physiological wellbeing, parasitic disease, physiological disease
2.3.2. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC – employment, housing, education, utilities and amenities.
2.3.3. AESTHETIC AND CULTURAL – sense of community, man –made objects, religious places of structures, landscape, composition
3. Introduction EIA Concepts
3.1. What Is An Impact?
3.1.1. An impact/effect that are likely to arise due to the proposed development.
3.1.2. For example,noise/odour/water/visual/soil erosion/flood/social conflict/land use conflict etc. (See, Mohamad Said, 2001, p.113).
3.2. Who Are The EIA Stakeholders?
3.2.1. A person, group or organization that has interest or concern in an EIA project. Stakeholders can affect the organization's actions, objectives and policies or vice versa
4. Development Trends In EIA
4.1. As of 19th May 2003, Vanclay (2004, p. 274), for example, has shown that 100 different types of expanded forms or hybrids of EIA
4.2. The extension of EIA can de divided into three main group
4.2.1. THE MACRO IMPACT ASSESSMENT GROUPS
4.2.1.1. EIA
4.2.1.2. SIA
4.2.1.3. Technology Assessment
4.2.1.4. Policy Assessment
4.2.2. THE TOOLS OF IA
4.2.2.1. Economic and Fiscal Impact Assessment;
4.2.2.2. Demographic Impact Assessment;
4.2.2.3. Health Impact Assessment (HIA);
4.2.2.4. Ecological Impact Assessment;
4.2.2.5. Risk Assessment (RA); and,
4.2.2.6. Public Involvement.
4.2.3. THE TOOL FOR THE FUTURE OF EIA
4.2.3.1. Climate Impact Assessment;
4.2.3.2. Development Impact Assessment; and,
4.2.3.3. Environmental Sustainability.
5. “Social Impact Assessment includes the processes of analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any social change processes invoked by those interventions (Vanclay, 2003a, p. 6)
6. A goal or vision, an attempt to steer a process, the application of a set of tools, a more philosophical exercise seeking to identify and establish new outlooks, and much more (Barrow, 2015, p. 4)
6.1. the system that anticipates and avoids or solves environmental and resource conservation problems
6.2. Management using strategies to mitigate that aim to mitigate and adopts our activities in …ecosystem (Islam and Jorgensen, 2018,
7. Environmental Managers
7.1. Academics
7.2. Regional or national decision makers and planners
7.2.1. Development
7.2.2. A goal or a vision, application of a set of tools, or an attempt to steer a process (Barrow, 2015, p. 4)
7.3. Non-governmental organisation (NGO) staff
7.3.1. Developer
7.3.2. A set of groups or individuals as environmental managers. (Barrow, 2015, p. 4).
7.4. Company executives
7.5. International civil servants
7.6. Individuals or groups who are environmental stakeholders in some way using natural resources – herders, farmers, fishermen and so on (Barrow, 2015, p. 4
8. Concept Of Environmental Management
8.1. All individuals play roles in environmental management because their activities ultimately have an impact
8.2. Some individuals are more actively involved in resource use and interact more with nature
8.2.1. Fishermen
8.2.2. Pastoralists
8.2.3. Special interest groups
8.2.4. Academics
8.2.5. Applied researchers
8.2.6. Administrators
8.2.7. Government advisers
8.2.8. Town Planner and so on.
8.3. Environmental managers generally seek
8.3.1. To understand the structure and function of the environment
8.3.2. The way humans relate to their physical surroundings and to one another
8.3.3. To monitor change, predict future developments
8.3.4. To ensure there is maximum human benefit and minimal environmental damage
9. Environmental Managers Roles
9.1. To make deliberate efforts to steer the development
9.2. To take advantage of opportunities
9.2.1. To manage the natural resources including the environment, tools that can anticipate development proposals need to be introduced and these include the EIA, SIA and SA
9.3. To ensure no critical limits of development are exceeded
9.4. To avoid threats from development
9.4.1. The IA difference from conventional techniques as it is a proactive approach ; it anticipates the impacts before the proposal been implemented, thus not reactive
9.5. To mitigate problems; and prepare people for unavoidable difficulties
9.6. To improve adaptability and resilience of the development and society (Erickson and King, 1999 cited in Barrow, p. 15)
9.6.1. The EIA, SIA and SA are the aid tools for decision-making process – whether to approve or reject the development proposals
10. Social Impact Assessment (SIA)
10.1. HISTORICAL INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT OF SIA
10.1.1. SIA emerged worldwide in the early 1970s because of the introduction of the NEPA in the USA (Burdge and Vanclay, 1995; Vanclay, 2004)
10.1.2. It became popular when the protests of native Alaskans on the proposed Trans-Alaskan pipeline project erupted
10.1.3. This incident awakened the EIA community to realise the importance of SIA in EIA studies
10.2. THE PRIMARY PURPOSES OF SIA:
10.2.1. To bring about a more sustainable and equitable biophysical and human environment (vanclay, 2003, p. 2).
10.2.2. It minimises local resistance to projects, and therefore reduces disruption.
10.2.3. It increases project success, and it prevents major planning disasters and associated costs (Vanclay and Bronstein, 1995, p. 33).
10.3. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS IN SIA: SOCIAL CHANGE PROCESSES
10.3.1. A set in motion by project activities or policies.
10.3.2. They take place independent of the local social context
10.3.3. Resettlement, for example, is a social change process, set in motion by, for example, the activity of land clearance (for a road or an agricultural project), or by inundation of an area by dam construction (Vanclay, 2002, p. 191
11. Admnistrative Arrangement Of EIA In Malaysia
11.1. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is the highest body at the ministerial level
11.1.1. The EQC functions:
11.1.1.1. Advising the Minister of MNRE on matters pertaining to the EQA as well as on any matters questioned by the Minister.
11.1.1.2. The EQC also provides policy guidance to the DOE in the formulation of policies and strategies on environmental management
11.1.1.3. The Council members are appointed by the Minister from academia, state governments, federal agencies, the industrial sector and NGOs.
11.2. Since 2000, the DOE has been placed under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE).
11.2.1. The Federal DOE
11.2.1.1. To assist and give advice to project initiators as well as
11.2.1.2. o assess and review EIA projects.
11.3. This is done through the evaluation section -the responsible unit for handling and coordinating EIA matters, including report reviews.
11.4. The DOE as the main leading government agency is responsible for overseeing EIA implementation in general
11.5. DOE, other agencies are also involved (See the previous discussion on actors involved in the review process).
12. The Basic Statutory Requirements Of EIA In Malaysia
12.1. No specific mention in the Constitution of whose responsibility EIA
12.2. EIA mainly involves the use of the natural resources, like river, land, agriculture and forest, and these items mainly fall under the State List
12.3. THE BASIC STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS FOR EIA IN SARAWAK
12.3.1. Section 10 of the Ordinance empowers the NREB to order a project proponent or developer to undertake or adopt measures that undertaking prescribed activities that could have any impact on the environment and natural resources must conduct an EIA study and submit the EIA report to the Board (NREB, 1995, p. 3)
12.4. In the State of Sarawak, the main legislation governing EIA is The Natural Resources Environmental Ordinance (NREO)
12.5. THE BASIC STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS OF EIA FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MALAYSIA
12.5.1. No legal provision directly dealing with public participation
12.5.2. For example in the Order 1987, the requirement for public participation was only implemented in 1996 when the DOE made it compulsory, as stated in the EIA Handbook, a manual for EIA preparation
12.5.3. It states that the preparation of the TOR and the DEIA were required for public participation
12.5.4. It also stated that the EIA reports must be displayed and inspected by the public (DOE, 2009, p. 24 & 28)
12.5.5. The public must be informed about the places and dates the DEIA reports are to be reviewed so that they would be able to make comments.
12.5.6. Notification should be done through the mass media and website of the DOE
13. EIA Procedure In Malaysia
13.1. The DEIA is prepared based on two conditions
13.1.1. Those projects for which the PEIA has shown that significant impacts will be arise or when there are unknown impacts (residual impacts), thus requiring detailed studies
13.1.2. Those projects which, based on experience and knowledge of the DOE, will give rise to significant environmental impacts
13.2. The TOR for DEIA should detail out the purpose of the assessment and streamline the likely impacts that have been previously identified by the PEIA.
13.3. Members : DOE, other technical agencies and academicians
13.4. The Director-General (DG) of the DOE chairs the Review Panel.
13.5. The Review Process aims to
13.5.1. critically review the EIA reports
13.5.2. .evaluate the development and environmental costs and benefits in the final project plan
13.5.3. formulate recommendations to the relevant approving authorities on the project proposal.
13.6. The total time taken for the DEIA review normally amounts to 12 weeks
13.7. The process takes a maximum of two months from the date the public notices are posted.
13.8. Normally the first month is spent reviewing the DEIA and the second month Is used to review the comments made by the public and concerned environment-related agencies
14. Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)
14.1. The evaluation of the effects which are likely to rise from the major project (or action) which significantly affect the natural and man-made environment’ (Wood, 2003, p. 1)
14.2. A policy for reducing the negative environmental consequences of development activities, thus it would promote sustainable development” (Lee and George, 2000, p.1)
14.3. Formal EIA Through The Order 1987
14.3.1. During the administration of Malaysia’s Fourth Prime Minister (Mahathir Mohamad)
14.3.2. The industrialisation and urbanisation activities intensified during his premiership
14.3.3. The need for Malaysia to develop a comprehensive environmental strategy and effective approach
14.3.4. In the Ninth Malaysia Plan (2006–2010)
14.3.4.1. Closer cooperation between the stakeholders in addressing the environmental concerns were made
14.3.4.2. The government also stressed there should be increased application of EIA as an environmental planning tool for evaluating and mitigating the environmental impacts of development activities (GOM, 2006, p. 453).
14.4. EIA Process In Malaysia
14.4.1. ESTABLISHING THE NEED FOR THE PROJECT
14.4.1.1. Justification of the project is required, including highlighting the social, cultural and economic benefits gained from the project’s implementation.
14.4.2. CONSIDERATION OF PROJECT OPTIONS
14.4.2.1. Assessing the proposed project, including its technical, economic and environmental considerations. The project proponent should also include a no project option
14.4.3. SCREENING
14.4.3.1. Determining whether an EIA study is necessary for the particular project. In Malaysia, this is made based on 19 prescribed activities.
14.4.4. SCOPING
14.4.4.1. A process of deciding the scope of the potential and significant impacts to be considered within the EIA study
14.4.5. CONDUCTING THE EIA STUDY AND PREPARATION OF THE REPORT
14.4.5.1. Carrying outan EIA study: collecting data, and assessing and predicting theimpacts basedon the appropriate methods and techniques. The report is then preparedin order to present the findings.
14.4.6. REPORT REVIEW AND APPROVAL
14.4.6.1. At this stage the report is reviewed by the public through public participation.
14.4.6.2. The report is also reviewed by the technical and non- technical agencies, which include the PAP.
14.4.7. THE EIA STUDY: APPROVE OR REJECT
14.4.7.1. The EIA report will either be approved or rejected. The decision and reasons for approval will be attached, together with the conditions of approval. If the EIA report is rejected, the reasons will be stated
14.4.8. POST-MONITORING AND AUDIT
14.4.8.1. The project proponent monitors and audits the project implementation based on the conditions of approval, and other conditions as stated by the authorities