Trang chủOn a global scale, there is increasing awareness of the vital importance of biodiversity and its role in maintaining sustainable development of lives, livelihoods and economies. . Since then, biodiversity conservation has received more attention, reflected in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) along with the policies and laws of each country, including Vietnam.
In essence, biodiversity is the foundation for ecosystem processes and functions that provide ecosystem services necessary for human life. Ecosystems are defined as dynamic complexes of plants, animals and microbial communities and their abiotic environments that interact as functional units. The interaction of functional units creates ecosystem services, defined as the benefits that the ecosystem provides for human well-being. The services provided by ecosystems range from concrete harvestable goods such as timber, fish and water to more abstract regulatory services such as plant pollination, regulation of water supply flows and control of water supply. flood control, carbon sequestration, biodiversity maintenance… It is clear that at the highest level, the loss or degradation of ecosystem services will threaten human survival.
Biodiversity impact assessment is a content of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and EIA report according to the provisions of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP dated January 10, 2022 and Circular No. 02/2022 /TT-BTNMT January 10, 2022. Biodiversity impact assessment in EIA aims to identify biodiversity factors during the implementation stages to minimize negative impacts of the project on biodiversity and promote solutions for biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and sharing. Fairly share the benefits of biodiversity and environmental protection during the implementation of projects
Biodiversity impact assessment
Content
Biodiversity impact assessment is part of the entire EIA process, and the final EIA report should clearly set out all relevant information for environmental decision-making. Ideally, the report should comply with legal regulations, and be structured according to the requirements specified in Circular No. 02/2022/TT-BTNMT. In some cases, especially when biodiversity impact assessment has not been fully considered in the main EIA report, a supplementary EIA report must be carried out to focus on biodiversity factors.
When preparing the biodiversity content of an EIA report or when preparing an independent biodiversity impact assessment report to supplement the EIA report, include: Project description; Describe the current status of biodiversity; Identify impacts on biodiversity at different levels; Mitigation and impact management; Monitoring plan.
The report should also clearly identify the sources of biodiversity information and the methods used in additional biodiversity surveys when necessary. Consulting with stakeholders and accessing local and indigenous knowledge is also important.
Principles and approaches when conducting biodiversity impact assessment
The assessment of impacts on biodiversity needs to be considered and implemented in accordance with the following principles:
Identify and assess impacts on wildlife habitat types and conditions: Assess threats and pressures from development projects to manage and improve habitat conditions of wildlife species. wild species.
Identify and assess impacts on endangered species: Assess impacts at locations with endangered species.
Ensure that the project phases do not lose the real value of biodiversity: Apply all measures to prevent and minimize the project’s impact on biodiversity, carry out on-site restoration and compensate for remaining damages. (if any) after applying prevention and mitigation measures on an appropriate geographical scale to maintain the real value of biodiversity.
Biodiversity loss must be prevented during project preparation, implementation and operation to avoid irreplaceable biodiversity loss or other biodiversity loss that must be compensated (in terms of quality and quantity). quantity). When an ecosystem service is lost that cannot be restored, but in some cases can be ‘replaced’ with appropriate technology, opportunities to enhance biodiversity need to be identified and supported in project implementation stages.
Principle of prevention: Preventing biodiversity loss is an activity that should be carried out first, even when the project’s impact has not been fully scientifically determined.
The precautionary principle requires a cautious and risk-avoiding approach in cases where impacts cannot be predicted with certainty and/or where there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of mitigation measures impact on biodiversity. If the project’s impacts on biodiversity (in particular, important natural ecosystems) cannot be determined with certainty, then activities will be suspended until sufficient information is available, or ‘worst case scenario’ exists. Although it has an impact on biodiversity, there are solutions to minimize risks to an acceptable level and effectively control and manage negative impacts on biodiversity. This principle is applied in a harmonious way to ensure benefits in terms of environmental protection, nature and biodiversity conservation and the effectiveness of the project for socio-economic development.
Identify and evaluate indigenous, local and traditional knowledge in the project area: identify and record indigenous, traditional or local people’s knowledge on biodiversity conservation and use. utilize natural resources for use in biodiversity impact assessment.
Participation: Mobilize stakeholders including local communities, conservation organizations and private sectors that use natural resources to understand the importance of biodiversity and its methods. how to use them to minimize impacts, manage and compensate biodiversity during project implementation.
Steps to consider biodiversity in EIA
Step 1: Screening
Screening is used to identify projects that must undergo EIA and exclude projects that do not have harmful impacts on the environment and biodiversity. Screening criteria must include biodiversity considerations and the potential risk of significant biodiversity impacts from project activities. The result of the screening process is a decision on the level of biodiversity survey implementation.
Screening of projects subject to EIA is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and Article 25 of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP. Accordingly, all EIA projects must have BD IMPACT ASSESSMENT.
According to the provisions of Article 30 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, subjects that must carry out EIA include: (i) Group I investment projects specified in Clause 3, Article 28 of the Law on Environmental Protection; (ii) Group II investment projects specified in Points c, d, dd and e, Clause 4, Article 28 of the Law on Environmental Protection.
Determining projects with environmentally sensitive elements specified in Point c, Clause 1, Article 28 of the Law on Environmental Protection is specified in Clause 4, Article 25 of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP.
Screening regulations for projects implemented in Biosphere Reserves according to the law on environmental protection in Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP are as follows: Projects using land, land with water surface of the reserve biosphere with a scale of 1 ha in the core zone and 20 ha in the buffer zone will require an EIA report. The authority to appraise and approve this EIA report belongs to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; Projects that require conversion of land use purposes, land with water surface in the core zone of the biosphere reserve and from 5 hectares of buffer zone of the biosphere reserve will have to make an EIA report. The authority to appraise and approve EIA reports belongs to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; Projects that use land or water surface land of biosphere reserves with a scale of less than 1 hectare of the core area and less than 20 hectares of the buffer zone will require an EIA report. The authority to appraise and approve this EIA report belongs to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Projects that require conversion of land use purposes or land with water surface less than 5 hectares in the buffer zone of the biosphere reserve will require an EIA report. The authority to appraise and approve this EIA report belongs to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
Thus, according to the above regulations, projects that use land, land with water surface, and projects requiring conversion of land use purpose, land with water surface in the core zone and buffer zone of the reserve biosphere must make an EIA report and submit it to competent authorities for appraisal and approval. As for projects implemented in the transition zone of the biosphere reserve, they will comply with the regulations on the list of Group I and Group II investment projects that have the risk of causing environmental pollution and require an EIA report.
The screening result is to provide options for the project to implement:
The proposed project is “extremely dangerous” because it is not in accordance with national and international conventions, policies or laws. The decision was made to convince the project owner not to pursue this project. If the project owner still wants to continue, an EIA must be carried out including biodiversity impact assessment;
The project must carry out EIA and biodiversity impact assessment: The content of the EIA report is as prescribed in Form No. 04 Appendix II issued with Circular No. 02/2022/TT-BTNMT dated January 10, 2022 of the Government. Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The project does not require the implementation of EIA or biodiversity impact assessment.
Step 2: Determine the scope of project implementation
The step of determining the scope of the project aims to identify important issues that need to be implemented in biodiversity impact assessment. Determining the scope of the impact assessment on biodiversity needs to be done from the perspective of biodiversity conservation, including determining the level of consideration of biodiversity and ecosystem service value. Specifically, projects using land or appropriating land in the core zone of world biosphere reserves and natural heritage areas will have a different impact on biodiversity than development investment projects in buffer zones and transition zones. continuation of the World Biosphere Reserve, natural heritage.
Content determining the scope of the project affecting biodiversity:
– Describe the project type, identify potential implementation options and project activities that have the potential to affect biodiversity and ecosystem services; The level of impact of the project on the partitions of biosphere reserves and natural heritage areas according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 20 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020.
– Determine the spatial and temporal scope to conduct biodiversity impact assessment;
– Identify relevant parties that need to be consulted in biodiversity impact assessment;
– Identify affected objects and level of impact: Natural ecosystems, including: Terrestrial ecosystems, wetland ecosystems, marine ecosystems; Biological species, including: Endangered, precious and rare species; endemic species; indicator species.
Step 3: Describe the current background situation
The purpose of this step is to describe the current conditions and status of biodiversity in the area affected by the project, as identified in the scoping step. Describing the baseline conditions of biodiversity is very important for the next EIA steps. Biodiversity in areas that are expected to be significantly affected needs to be described in sufficient detail to identify and assess impacts.
The description of the current situation should include the different ecosystems and habitats in the impact area. Impact areas within or near protected areas/core zones of recognized natural heritage areas need to be recorded and converted into maps. Ecologically sensitive factors need to be taken into account. Satellite imagery is useful for characterizing habitat, although this imagery needs to be verified through on-site investigations.
In addition, environmental pressures related to biodiversity need to be considered to predict potential impacts on biodiversity. It is important to describe current pressures and trends in biodiversity without the project.
The current status of biodiversity is described based on information provided by consultants, background information sources and results of additional surveys and surveys conducted during the EIA process. The relationship between biodiversity and the socio-economic characteristics of the project area must be carefully determined either based on the results of previously conducted studies, or by a combination of conducting surveys. investigate this association in additional investigations. Description of the current situation is usually done mainly using existing data and information, however some additional predictive analysis may be required to predict development trends and changes in biodiversity, for example under the impact of climate change.
Depending on the scope of the project’s influence on the natural heritage zones, the level of description of the current situation and background information is different due to different levels of biodiversity. In particular, for projects that directly affect the core area of a natural heritage area, it is necessary to describe in detail and full information about the current status of biodiversity and ecosystem services of the area.
Step 4: Forecast impact
The types of impacts assessed include direct, indirect, secondary, cumulative, short-term, medium-term and long-term, permanent and temporary, positive and negative impacts arising from the project. Indirect and cumulative impacts as well as direct impacts related to biodiversity are particularly important.
After determining the scope and assessing the importance and current status of biodiversity, direct impacts or potential impacts of the project on biodiversity will be identified, forecasted and evaluated.
Assessing the impact on biodiversity is a process of preliminary identification of impacts, detailed assessment of impacts and design and comparison of implementation options and measures to minimize impacts on biodiversity. The content of analysis and assessment of impacts on biodiversity includes: Improve understanding of potential impacts identified during the screening and scoping process and described in the terms of reference. This includes identifying indirect and cumulative effects, and possible cause-effect chains; Review and redesign implementation plans; consider mitigation and enhancement measures, as well as compensation for remaining impacts; impact management planning; impact assessment; and compare implementation options; Identify indirect and cumulative impacts and possible cause-effect chains on biodiversity in project implementation areas or surrounding project areas…
Step 5: Minimize impact
Mitigation is the ongoing action taken to eliminate or reduce adverse impacts, by controlling the sources of impacts, or minimizing the influence of biological components and ecological factors from impact of stages in project implementation.
Step 6: Minimize and manage
Mitigation is the ongoing action taken to eliminate or reduce adverse impacts, by controlling the sources of impacts, or minimizing the influence of biological components and ecological factors from impact of stages in project implementation.
Mitigation in EIA seeks to achieve project objectives while avoiding or reducing negative impacts to acceptable levels, as well as enhancing environmental benefits, and to ensure that the community The community does not have to bear costs greater than the benefits the project can bring. The purpose of the mitigation step in EIA is to identify measures and options to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services of the project implementation area or areas surrounding the project. Mitigation is considered in both the preparation and implementation phases of the project to: Develop measures to prevent, mitigate, overcome and compensate for significant adverse impacts of the project on biodiversity and biodiversity. designed by affected communities according to the principles: 1) Avoid impacts on biodiversity and increase opportunities for biodiversity conservation when possible by selecting and adjusting designs; 2) If impacts cannot be avoided, it is necessary to determine the best feasible plan to minimize and enhance to ensure no significant damage to biodiversity; 3) Compensation should be considered as a last resort…
Step 7: Monitor
Programs, plans and management systems with clear objectives, assigned responsibilities and appropriate monitoring programs need to be developed, to ensure that measures to minimize impacts on biodiversity are effectively implemented. , negative impacts and trends on biodiversity are fully discovered and resolved, benefits and positive impacts of the project are achieved as expected.
The biodiversity management plan is part of the overall environmental management plan, and needs to be budgeted and funded by the project owner. Implementation costs should be included in the overall cost of the project.
Biodiversity monitoring and auditing is carried out to check what actually happens to biodiversity after the project has begun implementation. It is necessary to monitor the predicted biodiversity impacts and the effectiveness of proposed mitigation measures in the EIA report. Proper environmental management should ensure that anticipated impacts are reduced to expected levels, that unanticipated impacts are managed before they become severe, and that expected benefits are achieved when project implementation.
Current status of biodiversity impact assessment
For biodiversity impact assessment in EIA, legal regulations have been formed, developed and adjusted and supplemented to suit the actual situation in Vietnam. The Department of Biodiversity has achieved important achievements. Legal documents, processes and procedures for EIA appraisal in general and biodiversity impact assessment in particular are clearly and transparently regulated in the direction of administrative reform, ensuring the quality of appraisal. . The content and quality of biodiversity impact assessment reports are increasingly improving. Based on the EIA report appraisal process, a number of investment projects in different fields had to change locations or were not approved because they did not meet the requirements for biodiversity conservation and forest area conversion. nature. Thus, it can be seen that EIA becomes a useful tool when attaching project owners’ responsibilities to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. At the same time, scientists, media agencies and the whole society are increasingly interested in biodiversity impact assessment. Community consultation when implementing EIA has become a mandatory requirement, demonstrating democracy, humanity, science… and is gradually approaching international experience.
In addition, a number of existing limitations need to be researched, widely discussed and solutions proposed to meet the requirements in the new situation: The quality of biodiversity impact assessment reports also depends on the subject. investment, consulting unit, project type, implementation resources, council, appraisal agency. In some cases, because of economic growth pressure, some sectors and localities overlook the role of biodiversity impact assessment. In addition, there are also cases where the biodiversity impact assessment process has not properly predicted or anticipated sensitive and complex environmental issues of the project. Budget investment for biodiversity impact assessment is still limited, there is not enough funding to build a database on biodiversity. Data information on biodiversity on a national scale is still scattered, incomplete and unsystematic, while this is very important information serving the assessment of biodiversity impacts…
Propose solutions and recommendations
Solution
Firstly, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive study on the current status of biodiversity impact assessment in Vietnam through systematic review and evaluation of legal documents; Evaluate implementation conditions and resources; Systematize existing problems, difficulties and challenges, and lessons learned in recent times. In addition, conduct research and refer to the biodiversity impact assessment system of some countries around the world that have been successfully applied.
Second, it is necessary to view each biodiversity impact assessment as a collection of in-depth studies on ecological environment components; about forecasting science… Thus, each biodiversity impact assessment requires the participation of many experienced experts.
Third, screen and decide on project investment based on instilling the perspective of sustainable development – economic development associated with biodiversity protection. Eliminating the view that EIA is an administrative procedure to obtain a license or investment approval, instead, it is necessary to determine that EIA is a scientific – technical – legal tool, one of the important bases. important to decide whether or not to invest in the project or to change another plan for the project.
Request
It is necessary to issue detailed technical instructions for biodiversity impact assessment in EIA so that investors, consulting units organizing the development of EIA reports and competent agencies appraising EIA reports have a basis. implementation.
Open many training classes related to biodiversity impact assessment, instructions on how to approach and steps to integrate biodiversity impact assessment in EIA, measures to minimize impacts and manage biodiversity, content of appraisal and assessment Biodiversity impact assessment integrated in EIA.
Issue a set of national biodiversity indicators as a basis for collecting data, assessing the current status and assessing impacts through comparing the level of biodiversity change compared to the current status before project implementation.
Specific regulations on the content of public consultation on biodiversity in EIA reports and how to collect information and local knowledge on biodiversity.
Specific technical guidance on biodiversity monitoring.
Associate Professor. Dr. Le Xuan Canh
Vietnam Association for the Protection of Nature and Environment
(Source: Article published in Environmental Magazine, No. 8/2022)