ABSTRACT
The focus of Chapter 5 is on the central steps of impact prediction, evaluation, mitigation and enhancement. Prediction is at the heart of the EIA process; indeed, the whole EIA exercise is about prediction. Yet, despite its importance, studies tend to underemphasize it at the expense of more descriptive baseline studies. The chapter examines the dimensions of prediction (what to predict), the methods and models used in prediction (how to predict) and the limitations implicit in such exercises (living with uncertainty). Evaluation follows from prediction and involves an assessment of the relative significance of the impacts. Methods range from the simple to the complex, from the intuitive to the analytical, from qualitative to quantitative, from formal to informal. The chapter concludes with a discussion of approaches to the mitigation of significant adverse effects. This may involve measures to avoid, reduce, remedy or compensate for the various impacts associated with projects. There is also a discussion of the increasingly considered aspects of impact enhancement, and trading off impacts.
