Environmental Tools

(Environment Handbook for Community Development Initiatives)

The environmental tools presented in this section are intended to assist in meeting CIDA's environmental requirements and helping to enhance the sustainability of development initiatives. This section outlines the following tools:

• environmental assessments;
• strategic environmental assessments (previously referred to as "program environmental analyses");
• environmental management systems.

Not all tools are required in every circumstance, and partners should consult Section 2 for guidance on CIDA's environmental requirements and procedures. In addition, these tools are not intended to be an exhaustive description of approaches for integrating environmental considerations and conducting assessments of environmental effects. Although certain minimum standards must be met to satisfy CIDA's requirements, partners are encouraged to use and adapt these tools to reflect their realities. The principles on which these tools are based are described in Box 2 below.

Environmental Follow-up/Monitoring Tools are also important for the integration of environmental considerations. The accompanying document to this handbook, "Additional Resources", includes a section dedicated to this topic.

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3.1 Environmental Assessments

An environmental assessment is both a tool and a process to assist in planning, environmental integration and decision-making. It serves to define an initiative's environmental dimensions (biophysical, cultural, socio-economic; as well as negative and positive) and to identify measures needed to prevent the initiative from causing ecological damage and generating social costs. It also serves to identify opportunities to achieve environmental benefits and positive environmental outcomes, even when the primary focus of activities is not necessarily environment-related.

An environmental assessment is specific to the initiative and its site, and must consider all components and phases of the initiative. By completing the assessment as early as possible in the planning process, it is possible to alter the design of an initiative to eliminate or minimize adverse effects, while optimizing environmental benefits.

Preferably, organizations will perform environmental assessments with their local partners. Participatory approaches recognize the importance of local community members' participation and help build local capacities to resolve environmental issues. The References section of this handbook provides additional references relating to participatory approaches. This handbook's accompanying document, "Additional Resources", also includes a section on participatory appraisal techniques for addressing environmental matters.


While environmental assessments are based on a broader theoretical foundation outside of CIDA (often referred to as environmental impact assessments), the tool presented here seeks to address a Canadian legal requirement (the CEAA) and CIDA's Policy for Environmental Sustainability. The References section of this handbook provides additional references relating to environmental assessments.

3.1.1 Contents of an Environmental Assessment

A typical environmental assessment report to CIDA generally consists of nine components:

1. Description of the Initiative
2. Host Country Legislation
3. Description of the Environment
4. Methodology
5. Analysis of Environmental Effects and Their Significance
6. Public Participation and Concerns
7. Mitigation Measures
8. Follow-Up and Monitoring
9. Conclusion of the Environmental Assessment

The appropriate level of effort and detail in an environmental assessment will depend on the nature, scope, and location of the initiative, as well as its relationship to the CEAA. This handbook's accompanying document, "Additional Resources", contains examples of environmental assessments that reflect different types of initiatives.

A) Description of the Initiative

This section is very important to convey an understanding of the initiative's context. It should describe the following:

• the type of initiative (e.g. construction of latrines, roads, housing) and its purpose;
• the initiative's components, technical specifications, products, and activities that may have environmental implications (including different phases, such as site preparation, construction, implementation, operations, and decommissioning) as well as the planned time frame for implementation;
• the initiative's relationship to the CEAA; if "physical works" are planned, their dimensions, scope, location, and proximity to water bodies and other vulnerable environmental components should be detailed (maps, drawings, and photos may be provided, showing the location, the arrangement of the structures, the site, and its surroundings);
• how the design of the initiative has incorporated environmental objectives and has sought to enhance environmental benefits and opportunities (e.g. an agriculture initiative that promotes organic farming; a microcredit initiative that strengthens the environmental capacities of persons responsible for attributing funds; a health clinic initiative that includes biomedical waste management and activities to raise awareness of the relationships between health and environmental conditions; an irrigation initiative that includes reforestation of the watershed; and so on).

For more complex initiatives, this section may also include the alternatives considered and the rationale for selecting a particular option.

Box 3 contains a brief example of an initiative's description. The purpose is not to describe the initiative's general objectives in detail, but rather to be as precise as possible concerning its components and activities that pertain to the environment. A complete description is important to allow the reader to understand the potential environmental implications of the initiative and determine whether the report appropriately addresses these issues.



B) Host Country Legislation

This section should:

• describe the host country's environmental legal requirements that pertain to the initiative (for example, major policies, required permits, applicable standards, environmental assessment requirements, the Local Agenda 21 that stems from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development - Rio Earth Summit);
• indicate how the initiative adheres to these requirements.

Any requirements of the host country in terms of the environmental assessment of the initiative must be respected. It is also important that the use of the relevant local legislation and procedures be promoted. It may be possible to complete a single report that addresses both local requirements and CIDA's requirements (including those related to the CEAA, where applicable). In these circumstances, organizations are encouraged to contact their CIDA manager and/or environmental specialists. Finally, multilateral environmental agreements ratified by the host country or Canada and related to the initiative should also be taken into account. Examples of multilateral environmental agreements include the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, and so on.

Table 1: Elements of Description of the Biophysical and Human Environment

Biophysical Environment

Human Environment

Type of environment (e.g. tropical forest, savanna, coastal zone, wetland) and natural resources; Main features of the landscape (lakes, rivers, forests, villages, farmland, and so on); Climate and characteristics of soils, topography, hydrographic network, and groundwater; Air quality; Flora and fauna, especially species that are rare, threatened with extinction, vulnerable, or migratory; Components presenting risks of natural disasters; Features that are particularly fragile, sensitive, or important from an ecological point of view (e.g. biological or cultural diversity, bodies of water, steep slopes, mangrove forests).

Human settlements (e.g. villages, roads, utilities); Agricultural, industrial, and other land use and plans; Socio-economic activities, activities generating income, and areas of resource collection; Quality of life; Security; Population density; Sanitary conditions; Social structure; Cultural values; Customs and ways of life; Sites of socio-economic, spiritual, heritage, historical, cultural, or archaeological significance.

C) Description of the Environment

This section describes the features of the environment, and specifies the current state of the environment, including the extent to which the environment has already been disturbed or is particularly fragile. It is important to focus on components of the environment that may affect or be affected by the initiative and that are particularly sensitive, or socially and ecologically important. The absence of such sensitive or important elements should be stated explicitly. Maps, drawings, and photos are often useful. The biophysical environment and the human environment must be covered (see Table 1 for examples). Without a comprehensive description of the environment, a reader cannot assess the accuracy of the environmental assessment.

D) Methodology

This section should describe where and how the information was collected, presented, and interpreted for conducting the environmental assessment, including the following:

• sources of information and references (e.g. documents and websites, government agencies, universities, local population, groups consulted, expertise of persons providing technical advice);
• information gathering methods (e.g. field visits, surveys, literature review, technical analyses, and methods for ensuring public participation);
• who conducted, and was involved in, the assessment;
• methods of assessing environmental effects and their significance (determining the significance is a legal requirement of the CEAA, which helps to justify the conclusion of the environmental assessment).

E) Analysis of Environmental Effects and Their Significance

This section is central to the objectives of an environmental assessment. It should describe the initiative's effects (for all components/activities and phases) on the environmental components and determine the significance of these effects. In particular, it should include the following:

• the initiative's positive and adverse effects on the biophysical and human environment;
• the environment's effects on the initiative (e.g. likely weather-related phenomena, such as cyclones and other tropical storms, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, and drought; as well as likely geology-related events, such as earthquakes, volcanic activity, and landslides);
• cumulative effects (e.g. the effects that are likely to result from the initiative in combination with other structures, initiatives, or activities that have been or will be carried out in the area);
• effects of potential accidents (e.g. the risks of pollution associated with chemical product spills) or malfunctions (e.g. the risks for workers' health and occupational safety in the event of machinery malfunctions).

This handbook's accompanying document, "Additional Resources", includes tools to help identify the environmental effects of specific activities and presents appropriate guidelines, mitigation measures, and environmental indicators associated with each sector of activity. Boxes 4, 5 and 6 present examples of various kinds of effects.

The significance of each of the predicted effects must be determined:

• First, an effect is qualified as being either negative or positive.
• Second, a scale is used to determine the severity of the effect; for example, an effect of low, medium, or high significance. It is not sufficient to simply state the significance of the effect. This determination must be justified, coherent, and documented, notably by a determination methodology, which must be described in the methodology section of the report.

There are many recognized methodologies to determine the significance of effects. One such example is presented in Box 7.



F) Public Participation and Concerns

This section should describe the following:

• the efforts made to engage the public and those affected by the initiative, to ensure social representation, and to promote sensitivity toward indigenous knowledge, and social and traditional values;
• demographic characteristics of the participants (e.g. gender, age, ethnic group, socio-economic group);
• public concerns and expectations with respect to the initiative;
• controversial points that have been raised;
• responses to public concerns (and additional meetings that may be conducted to ensure a thorough understanding of the initiative and the results of the environmental assessment).

G) Mitigation Measures

This section is also very important in relation to the basic objectives of an environmental assessment. It deals with the measures that will be implemented to avoid or reduce adverse environ-mental effects and to increase the positive environmental effects of the initiative. This section also deals with mitigating the effects of the environment on the initiative (for example, measures serving to prepare for natural disasters and/or to reduce the impact of natural hazards). This last aspect is also referred to as disaster risk management or a disaster preparedness strategy.

This section should describe the following:

• mitigation measures (see Table 2 for examples, including examples of disaster risk management / disaster preparedness strategy);
• residual effects (the effects that may persist in spite of the mitigation measures applied), their significance (as also mentioned under the section "analysis of environmental effects and their significance") and uncertainty factors.

The accompanying document, "Additional Resources", includes tools to help identify the environmental effects of specific activities and presents appropriate guidelines, mitigation measures, and environmental indicators associated with each sector of activity.

Table 2: Examples of Mitigation Measures

Environmental Effect	Possible Mitigation Measure
Adverse effects on fragile sites or sites of particular value (water bodies, drinking water source, steep slopes, cultural sites)	Locating the initiative far from fragile or valued site Establishing a vegetative buffer zone between development activities and fragile or valued site
Soil degradation/instability during construction (erosion, exposure to weather, excessive compaction, pollution from machinery)	Environmental ethics during construction work (such as minimizing vegetation clearing, protecting disturbed soils from wind and rain, minimizing use of heavy machinery, using anti-erosion or soil stability structures)
Deforestation and adverse health effects of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from firewood combustion	Improved stoves Alternative energies (such as solar energy) instead of fossil fuels Awareness or training in forest conservation Reforestation with indigenous (locally adapted) species
Soil degradation associated with intensive agriculture	Measures to reduce erosion and conserve soils (such as soil amendment, live hedges and agroforestry, anti-erosion structures) Appropriate crop rotation Use of locally adapted crop species or those that can restore nutrients to soil Environmental awareness or training in such measures or in organic agriculture techniques
Negative health effects from surface water degradation (both in quantity and quality) associated with nearby housing initiative	Measures to protect water bodies (such as monitoring water quality and flow, rehabilitating banks with vegetation, creating buffer zones, collecting garbage) Locating latrines and other pollution sources away from water bodies and steep slopes Avoiding the creation of stagnant water ponds to reduce risks of water-borne diseases Environmental/sanitation awareness or training
Water/soil pollution and human health concerns associated with solid waste generation	Environmentally friendly waste management practices (such as re-using paper and other products, recycling, source separation of biomedical wastes and their proper disposal) Composting organic wastes and use as a fertilizer Environmental awareness or training
Adverse health and safety effects associated with the use of harmful or dangerous products (agrochemicals, electronic wastes, machinery lubricants)	Minimize use of dangerous materials by seeking out alternatives to dangerous products Environmental awareness or training in the safe and rational use of dangerous products Proper storage of dangerous products
Adverse effects on human populations affected by an upstream water diversion initiative	Joint committees of local representatives to ensure fair distribution of the initiative's benefits and/or compensation to downstream users Determine and maintain adequate flow levels to ensure continued access to water of downstream populations (and ecosystem health)
Adverse effects of natural hazards on a housing initiative	Land-use planning that guides the expansion of human settlements away from high hazard zones Education and public awareness Establishment and enforcement of design and construction standards to ensure that the buildings are able to withstand extreme weather- or geology-related events Agricultural and land management practices that protect soils and water Forest management and watershed protection to reduce flood hazard

H) Follow-Up and Monitoring

Follow-up and monitoring activities aim to assess the real effects of an initiative and identify effects that may not have been predicted at the planning stage. Proper follow-up and monitoring also ensure that mitigation measures have been implemented and are effective. If necessary, follow-up and monitoring activities identify additional measures to address previously unforeseen effects.

Environmental follow-up and monitoring are integral to an initiative's overall management and sustainability. These activities also help to identify examples and lessons from the initiative to help improve efficiency and quality, and ensure the sound budget management of future interventions.

This handbook's accompanying document, "Additional Resources", includes tools to assist in conducting environmental follow-up/monitoring activities.

In the environmental assessment report, this section should describe the planned follow-up and monitoring of environmental characteristics.

• Items to be monitored

Potentially significant environmental effects, sensitive components of the environment, and any uncertainties are generally monitored (e.g. water quality, emissions, equipment maintenance, and risks of conflict). Monitoring should also determine whether or not mitigation measures were implemented and effective.

• Follow-up/monitoring methods and schedule

The intent is to describe how, where, and according to what schedule these activities will take place (e.g. monthly water samples, field visits, interviews, and so on, in close association with environmental indicators. It is important to build in sufficient flexibility to accommodate additional measures when necessary.

• Roles and responsibilities

The intent is to identify the persons responsible for implementing these tasks and ensuring that the results are acted upon (e.g. team leader, community committee, and so on).

• Reporting methods and schedule

The intent is to describe how and when follow-up/ monitoring results will be reported to enable the analysis of lessons learned and their feedback into future initiatives. Responsibilities for acting upon the results of follow-up/monitoring activities are also addressed.

Boxes 8, 9 and 10 provide additional information on planning for environmental follow-up and monitoring.







I) Conclusion of the Environmental Assessment

The conclusion of the environmental assessment report must indicate whether or not the organization expects that the initiative will have significant adverse environmental effects, in view of the mitigation measures that will be implemented.

Box 11 presents the items that generally serve to assess the quality of an environmental assessment report.

3.1.2 Environmental Assessment Under the CEAA

Section 3.1.1 presents the content for an environ-mental assessment that meets CEAA requirements and incorporates broader environmental considerations associated with CIDA's Policy for Environmental Sustainability. Given that CIDA is legally required to comply with the CEAA, there is no flexibility regarding certain elements of content in those cases where an initiative requires the completion of an environmental assessment under the CEAA (Section 3.1.2.1 outlines the types of initiatives that constitute a "project" as defined by the CEAA). The CEAA stipulates that an environ-mental assessment must consider factors such as the environmental effects of an initiative, comments from the public received in accordance with the CEAA, mitigation measures, the significance of the effects, and other relevant matters. However, to convey a proper understanding of the initiative and its environmental implications and to respect CIDA's Policy for Environmental Sustainability the environmental assessment report completed in accordance with the CEAA, for CIDA's purposes, must cover all items listed in Section 3.1.1.

There are also specific procedures with which CIDA must legally comply in cases where an environmental assessment is required under the CEAA. For example, environmental assessment reports conducted under this process must be completed, reviewed, and accepted before irreversible decisions are made, and before CIDA funds are committed to the implementation of activities related to the "project" as defined by the CEAA. CIDA will determine whether or not the initiative is likely to cause significant, adverse environmental effects, on the basis of the report provided by the organization and any other information that CIDA deems relevant. If the adverse environmental effects are significant and cannot be mitigated, or if there are major public concerns that remain unresolved, CIDA funds cannot be used to finance the initiative.

CIDA reserves the right to take any action necessary to ensure compliance with its requirements and those of the CEAA, when necessary. These actions include, but are not limited to, asking for additional information, terminating its participation in the initiative, or imposing any mitigation or follow-up measures necessary to reduce, eliminate, or control any adverse environmental effects of the initiative.

Environmental assessment reports completed under the CEAA will be placed in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry for consultation purposes (see Box 12), and mediation or assessment by a review panel may be employed, if necessary.

3.1.2.1 What is a "Project" under the CEAA?

The CEAA calls for the completion of an environ-mental assessment for initiatives that include any proposed construction, operation, modification, decommissioning, abandonment or undertaking in relation to a physical work, unless the activity is specified in the Exclusion List Regulations or is carried out in response to an emergency situation.

• A physical work is a physical structure in a fixed location. A physical work could include housing, clinics, schools, water provision and sanitary systems, dams, irrigation systems, aquaculture basins, roads, factories, buildings, and other civil engineering infrastructures. Training, capacity building, and technical assistance may require the completion of an environmental assessment in accordance with the CEAA in cases where such activities are intrinsically related to a physical work (e.g. training provided to people responsible for constructing or operating a specific dam or a specific irrigation system).
  
  
• The Exclusion List Regulations outline the physical structures that do not require the completion of an environmental assessment in accordance with the CEAA. These structures are generally small in scope or temporary in nature; thus, their environmental effects are considered relatively minor. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's website presents the details of this regulation. Box 13 presents some of the situations typically encountered for community development initiatives.
  
  
• An emergency situation refers to an immediate and imminent danger. For example, initiatives undertaken immediately in response to a hurricane (such as the provision of temporary shelter, construction of latrines, and so on) can be considered as emergencies. However, reconstruction and rehabilitation initiatives undertaken in the following weeks or months (e.g. involving housing, construction of a school, and so on) are not emergencies under the CEAA. In addition, droughts are usually not considered to be emergency situations under the CEAA, because they are more predictable and generally occur over a longer time scale. Such situations should be discussed with CIDA personnel on a case-by-case basis.

Regardless of CEAA applicability, the integration of environmental considerations is warranted in emergency response situations, as in other situations, because of the inter-relatedness of poverty, peace, security, and the environment. To address such complex issues in the context of emergency situations, the practice of rapid environmental assessments is gaining acceptance at the international level. The principal intent of such a process is to address the priority environmental issues and to avoid negative and irreversible effects.



A brief exercise is included in Appendix A to assist in determining which initiatives require the completion of an environmental assessment in accordance with the CEAA.

Please note that the CEAA is also accompanied by the Inclusion List Regulations, which describe activities that may require the completion of an environmental assessment, even though they are not necessarily physical works. This regulation can be accessed through the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's website. Community development initiatives are very rarely associated with these categories of activities. Nevertheless, organizations should be aware of this regulation.

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3.2 Strategic Environmental Assessments

The purpose of a strategic environmental assessment is to outline the environmental implications of a proposed policy, plan, or program and to demonstrate how environmental considerations are integrated. It also serves to identify opportunities to achieve environmental benefits and positive environmental outcomes, even when the primary focus of the initiative is not necessarily related to the environment. The strategic environmental assessment tool is based on internationally recognized theory and is proposed in line with CIDA's Policy for Environmental Sustainability. For CIDA's partners, this tool is very useful in demonstrating the potential environmental implications of initiatives that have a number of related sub-components.

CIDA supports a certain number of initiatives that are comprised of different sub-components. Program funding, mainly through CPB is one such example. A program consists of a series of interconnected activities or sub-components. Generally speaking, a program has a long time frame, a broad scope, and the sub-components may be in various countries or in different regions within a single country. In the first edition of this handbook, the strategic environmental assessment tool was referred to as a program environmental analysis.

There is no single method for conducting a strategic environmental assessment, and organizations are encouraged to adapt the tool to best reflect their realities. The main challenge is in assessing the environmental issues from a broader, holistic view, rather than at the level of a specific activity. This tool is used in the planning stages of an initiative to identify major issues that can be addressed before the individual sub-components of the initiative are designed. The strategic environ-mental assessment can also identify issues that will have to be addressed at the sub-component / site-specific level.

In the case of program-funded organizations that are potentially carrying out "projects" as defined by the CEAA, the strategic environmental assessment is also used to demonstrate that the organization has the required capacities to meet the CEAA-related responsibilities (see Box 1), as specified in the contractual document signed with CIDA.

The main elements of a strategic environmental assessment are set out in Table 3. A strategic environmental assessment may also include a comparative analysis of the different feasible options for delivering a policy, plan, or program. The level of effort required to complete this tool is flexible. The level of detail required will vary according to the nature of the activities. (CIDA personnel may be contacted for clarifications.) Where applicable, the strategic environmental assessment should include references to relevant documents, such as the organization's environ-mental management system (see Section 3.3) or other documents that guide the organization's activities in relation to the environment.

While strategic environmental assessments are based on a broader theoretical foundation outside of CIDA, the tool presented here has been adapted to reflect the context for CIDA's partners and the Agency's Policy for Environmental Sustainability. The References section of this handbook provides additional references relating to this tool.

Table 3: Strategic Environmental Assessment

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3.3 Environmental Management Systems

An environmental management system is a tool used to translate environmental commitments into practice. It is a systematic management tool that provides a framework for practices, procedures, and processes to implement an organization's environmental policy, and manage its environmental action plan, as well as document, communicate, and evaluate its environmental performance. It allows an organization to ensure that its environ-mental goals are being met effectively and efficiently and also sets out a comprehensive way to monitor progress toward those environmental goals.

This type of tool is recognized internationally and can be useful for any organization wishing to improve and document the environmental performance of its activities in the field, as well as its internal operations. CIDA strongly encourages organizations that receive program funding from CPB, and whose programming has substantial environmental linkages, to develop a basic environmental management system as a means of demonstrating their capacity to meet particular environmental requirements (as explained in Section 2.1). A basic environmental management system typically includes the elements presented in Table 4 below. The level of detail of an environ-mental management system varies between organizations, depending on the nature of operations. Fairly extensive systems are suggested for those organizations that carry out physical works "projects", as defined by the CEAA (for example, housing, water provision, and sanitary systems), or other activities that are closely related to the environment and natural resources (for example, forestry, agriculture, aquaculture). Please note that this tool can also be used in dealing with other CIDA branches to demonstrate environmental institutional capacity.

Although an environmental management system is a recognized tool outside of CIDA, the tool presented here is adapted to reflect CIDA's context and the principles of the Agency's Policy for Environmental Sustainability. The References section of this handbook provides additional references relating to this tool.

Table 4: Basic Environmental Management System

Environmental Policy	Environmental statement/vision Environmental objectives and indicators
Implementation Strategy or Environmental Action Plan	Strategy to attain the goals set out in the policy and to integrate environmental considerations in all aspects of decision-making and all stages of the initiative's cycle Environmental roles and responsibilities (within the organization and between the organization and its partners) and financial resources Environmental awareness and training programs Follow-up and evaluation mechanisms to ensure that the implementation strategy is effective Assessment of lessons learned (using results-based management) and method of re-integrating these lessons into the planning and/or performance monitoring process of initiatives
Associated Tools	Environmental guidelines and/or criteria for the selection and monitoring of initiatives Environmental assessment procedure in accordance with the CEAA to be applied early in the planning process, through a participatory approach and including a mechanism to capture "projects" requiring the completion of such an environmental assessment, as well as a reporting and filing process Other tools to assist the environmental assessment procedures or to facilitate the integration of environmental considerations (e.g. checklists)