Location/site alternatives
Environmental Impact Assessment refers to the practice whereby the prospective environmental effects of a given plan are carefully evaluated while identifying alternatives to curtail any negative environmental effects (Barthwal, 2012, p. 70). Key methodologies are point by point in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 as vital instruments for abnormal state environmental administration and appraisal (Commonwealth Parliament & Parliament House, 2015).
They facilitate the Australian Government to work closely with state and domain governments in the arranging and evaluation process and consider the arrangement of state/an area and bureaucratic strategies and systems. Key methodologies give a sensible, streamlined and predictable way to deal with accomplishing great environmental results, and incorporate vital evaluations, preservation understandings, respective assertions, and bioregional arranging (Elliott, 2014, p. 69). This basically defines the need for an Environment Impact Assessment study before implementation of proposed plans on land use and/ or modifications. This paper seeks to address 5 alternatives to Endora Inc Development Company’s (EIDC’s) plan by conducting a comprehensive impact assessment of such alternatives in leasing a 500-acre land surrounding Menehune Bay in Hawaii.
300 acres of this land is reported to have been in cultivation, about 10 acres were occupied by Hawaiian fishponds, and about 40 acres lied an untouched marsh. Nearly 30 acres surrounding Menehune bay were beach parks open to all but exclusively accessible to employees of Sierra Sugar Company. The beaches provide attractive and safe swimming with the popular beach park being very popular on weekends and holidays. These beaches were maintained by the sugar company. Scuba divers used the beach as a jump-off point to nearby reefs while on the shores, local fishers were busy with their fishing activities. This, however, is no longer the case as the beach has been closed down since the lease came to effect. The EICD plans to develop a three thousand room world-class destination area.
In the EIA process, consideration of alternatives is among the most critical elements so as to have a basis for sound decision making while adhering to the sustainable development principles (“Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), Project Management”). The 5 alternatives for considerations in this paper shall entail:
- Location/ site alternatives
- Routing alternatives
- Site layout alternatives
- Demand alternatives
- Input alternatives
Location/ site alternatives
Clearly, the proposed plan by EICD to transform the area into a world-class destination is not a component of an all-encompassing strategic planning initiative of the area based on the glaring data and information regarding the usage of the land on the proposed area/zone(“Environmental Impact Assessment: Definition, Roles and Classification”, 2014, p. 5). Implementation of the proposed plan by the EICD poses most sensitive consequences and real life disruption on the land use, economic activities in the area, drainage, recreational activities, social amenities (Harris & Spickett, 2011, p. 174) as well as ecological modifications, just to highlight but a few.
Routing alternatives
Implementation of the plan on the proposed site means that cultivation infrastructures such as irrigation ditches assess and service roads, as well as ponds, will be completely be destroyed or neglected hence a blow to cultivation practice by the inhabitants around the area. The Hawaiian fish ponds occupying about 10 acres will be done away with compromising the food basket supply of fish in the region while also limiting economic activities in the region especially for the farmers hence joblessness. Reduced or no supply of fish due to the closure of these fish ponds means that the demand will shoot as supply will be near to none hence the residents may have to buy fish at high prices hence increased cost of living.
Also, implementation of the plan at the proposed site which happens to be within the 40 acres of untouched marsh would mean draining of the marsh which would result to disruption of the water table within the area hence compromising water reservoir and availability in the region. The implantation of the plan also would mean closure and building over the beach park serving the community with exclusive access to Sierra Sugar Company’ employees. There would not be accessible to outdoor facilities, parking, changing rooms, and pavilion, toilet and shower areas for the Sierra Sugar Company employees hence greatly compromising and limiting such facilities and provision of such amenities essential for the larger community and the employees.
Again, sporting activities such as scuba diving and fishing will be greatly hampered if the proposed plan at the proposed site is implemented. Based on these considerations, it would only be suitable that an alternative site or location of the plan is considered as it greatly affects the community around negatively such as by rendering majority jobless, disruption of their economic activity and means of livelihood, limit their access to recreational services and sites, disruption of water table hence poor drainage and uncertainty in water availability as well as access. An alternative site or location would, therefore, be much feasible.
Routing alternatives
The entire area of the estate land comprises of 2 lane highway, access roads and 5 miles away to the four-lane highway. Implementation of the plan on the proposed site would demand improved infrastructures especially roads networks, power lines, pipeline routes (Macintosh, 2010, p. 12). Based on the scale of development of the resorts in the proposed area, if such infrastructure is not to be provided, there would be strain on the limited capacity of area resulting in power rationing or shortages or the need to generate own power, traffic problems, and poor access etc. implementation of the plan would, therefore, need to put measures in places to provide such infrastructure within and around their proposed facilities. If such deliberations are not considered, the proposed plan should not be implemented.
Site layout alternatives
Site layout alternatives
The plan to develop room hotels along the shoreline is a fascinating one. The ocean view would be such a comfort as well as easy access to ocean beaches by the visitors. However, there is a need to consider the safety of such structures especially during high waves and upwelling waters. The plan should be implanted considering the layout of these room hotels so as to ensure the safety of the structures at such times (Geneletti, 2013, p. 33). A site layout of hotel rooms away from the shoreline and facing the 2 lane highway would ensure prominent siting of the structures to attract attention and lure potential visitors. The site layout should also be in such a way that the aesthetic impacts are well enhanced.
Demand alternatives
To meet the demand for hotel rooms and a resort in the area, other alternatives could be explored. For instance, vacation rentals. This alternative is likely to promote social networking as well as preserve the natural habitat of the area (Vankhede, 2012, p. 227). To the visitors, vacation rentals have been noted to offer numerous benefits including a chance to live like a local, having kitchen facilities, unique surrounding, and relatively cheap rates. Also, another alternative would be the provision or development of boathouses by the waterside and places speckled with canals (Wathern, 2015, p. 45). Another interesting fact of these alternatives that it would not interfere with the local land use pattern of the area while also providing more market for their produce and employment opportunities.
Input alternatives
Inputs to be used in the construction of the proposed facility such as building stones, sand, labor, capital etc. should be sourced locally rather than importing or hiring from other sources beyond (Wilkinson, 2014, p. 101). For instance, the EIDC should consider using sand from nearby sources so long as they attain the specified properties. This will create more employment opportunities for the local settlement through sand harvesting. Also, personnel and supply of the materials should be sourced from within except in cases where their supply is inadequate or unsuitable (Wood, 2014, p. 7). This would, in the long run, be cheaper, accessible hence affordable implementation of the plan.
Conclusion
In summary, a variety of alternatives may exist in different plans at its conception, actual planning, feasibility studies and assessments, implementations of such plans, their supervisions, usage as well as maintenance. It is only wise that such alternatives are carefully considered and evaluated so as to ensure that the actualization of the proposed plan is carried out in the most efficient, practical and environmentally friendly and sustainable way.
In this case, such alternatives would include looking for a more suitable site or location for the implementation of the plan, provision of adequate and comprehensive infrastructural framework within and around the area for the implementation of the proposed plan, site layout of alternatives especially layout of the hotel rooms, use of vacation rentals as well as development of boathouses to bridge the demand for accommodations and exploring and/ or considering the use of local inputs in implementation of the proposed plan.
References
Barthwal, R.R., 2012. Environmental impact assessment. New Delhi: New Age International.
Commonwealth Parliament and Parliament House, 2015. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT [online]. Home – Parliament of Australia. Available from: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Completed inquiries/1999-02/enviropowers/report/c05 [Accessed 12 Nov 2018].
Elliott, M., 2014. Environmental Impact Assessment in Australia [online]. Bookdepository.com. Available from: https://www.bookdepository.com/Environmental-Impact-Assessment-Australia-Mandy-Elliott/9781862879454 [Accessed 12 Nov 2018].
Environmental Impact Assessment: Definition, Roles and Classification [online], 2014. [online]. YourArticleLibrary.Availablefrom: https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/environment/environmental-impact-assessment-definition-roles-and-classification/27468 [Accessed 12 Nov 2018].
Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), Project Management [online], 2018. [online]. Rapleys. Available from: https://rapleys.com/environment-impact-assessment/ [Accessed 12 Nov 2018].
Geneletti, D., 2013. Ecosystem services in environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 40, 1–2.
Harris, P. and Spickett, J., 2011. Health impact assessment in Australia: A review and directions for progress. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 31 (4), 425–432.
Macintosh, A., 2010. Best Practice Environmental Impact Assessment: A Model Framework for Australia. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 69 (4), 401–417.
Vankhede, G., 2012. Environmental impact assessment. New Delhi: Biotech Books.
Wathern, P., 2015. Environmental impact assessment: theory and practice. New York: Routledge.
Wilkinson, L., 2014. Environmental impact assessment in Australia: theory and practice (6th edition). Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 33 (2), 167–168.
Wood, C., 2014. Environmental impact assessment: a comparative review. London: Routledge.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
