ABSTRACT
The United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Ofžce for West Asia and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Ofžce for the Eastern Mediterranean published an expanded version of this chapter in 2008 (UNEP 2008). The UNEP (2008) document is divided into three parts. In part A, an introduction to the concept, methodology, and practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA)
6.1 Potential Environmental Impacts of Desalination Projects .......................... 156 6.2 Concept and Methodology of EIA in General and in Desalination
Projects .......................................................................................................... 156 6.2.1 Introduction to Development of an EIA............................................ 156 6.2.2 Systematic EIA Process for Desalination Projects ........................... 157
6.2.2.1 Step 1: Screening of the Project ......................................... 157 6.2.2.2 Step 2: Scoping of the Proposed Desalination Project ...... 161 6.2.2.3 Step 3: Identižcation and Description of Policy and
Administrative Aspects ...................................................... 167 6.2.2.4 Step 4: Investigation and Description of the Proposed
Desalination Project ........................................................... 168 6.2.2.5 Step 5: Investigation and Evaluation of Environmental
Baseline .............................................................................. 168 6.2.2.6 Step 6: Investigation and Evaluation of Potential
Impacts of the Project ........................................................ 169 6.2.2.7 Step 7: Mitigation of Negative Effects ............................... 171 6.2.2.8 Step 8: Summary and Conclusions .................................... 172 6.2.2.9 Step 9: Establishment of an Environmental
Management Plan............................................................... 172 6.2.2.10 Step 10: Review of the EIA and Decision-Making
Process................................................................................ 173 6.3 Summary and Recommendations for EIA.................................................... 174 References .............................................................................................................. 176
for desalination projects is given, and a 10-step EIA approach is proposed. Part B outlines a possible modular structure of an EIA report and gives an overview on a wide range of thematic issues that may be relevant to desalination projects. Part C discusses the potential impacts of desalination plants on the environment, based on a comprehensive literature review, and evaluates the identižed impacts in terms of their signižcance and relevance for EIA studies. In the following, the main results from part A are summarized.
