Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
Watch the animations about the ESIA process. In 1,50 minutes each, the 6 steps of the ESIA process are introduced.
What is environmental assessment?
In just about every country in the world, it is required by law to conduct an environmental assessment before major commitments are made.
Environmental assessment can be conducted at two levels of decision making:
- Decision-making on projects, such as a dam, motorway, airport or windpark. This is called Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
- Decision-making on plans, programmes or policies, such as a land use plan or an energy plan. This is called Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) or Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA).
The main objectives and key stages of ESIA and SEA are similar. But the actual scope and relevant stakeholders can be quite different. Want to know more? Watch the short animations!
Step 1: Screening
Step 2: Scoping
Step 3: Assessment
Step 4: Review
Step 5: Decision-making
Step 6: Follow-up
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
Watch the animations about the how and why of the SEA process.