Environmental Impact Assessments
Environmental Impacts Assessments (EIA) are carried out as a major step
in the early planning of projects that are likely to affect biological
resources, habitats and the surrounding environment. The EIA shall secure
that the environmental effects of the project are taken into consideration
in planning and design.
EIA is based in national
legislation, international conventions and agreements. EIA requires a
multi-disciplinary and holistic approach, involving identification of
vulnerable resources and areas of conflict based on a thorough evaluation
of the type and extent of impact factors related to the project (particularly
area occupation, emissions and discharges, waste generation and
associated infrastructure development).
Akvaplan-niva has worked with EIA's both in Norway and abroad. Offshore activities have so
far made up the majority of these projects, but we also have also carried
out impact assessments related to shipping, pipeline construction, industry,
infrastructure development, nature protection and aquaculture.
Akvaplan-niva has participated in the development
of the unified Norwegian approach to Environmental Risk Assessment related
to oil spills for offshore
activities (the MIRA method). The method is currently implemented as a
standard tool for oil industry. Also within the development of the
risk assessment tool EIF for sediment, Akvaplan-niva has played a
central role.
A key feature of Akvaplan-niva's operations is regional adaptation
and optimization of tools to Arctic areas. To amend the logistic
and practical problems connected to data gathering in
remote Artcic areas like the
marginal ice zone (MIZ), Akvaplan-niva has developed a GIS based tool to
(The Ice Edge Resoure Module IERM) to predict the location and distribution of resources along the Ice
Edge. This tool is currently being adjusted to fit a joint Arctic risk
assessment and Evaluation tool (AURORA).
Project examples
- Aligning of Russian, Norwegian and Russian rules and regulations on
EIA
- Snøhvit LNG; Baseline documentation report for EIA
Contact for more information
Lars Henrik
Larsen
JoLynn Carroll
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