Ecological Impact Assessment

From Screening stage to baseline data collection and impact assessment, EP Ecology has you covered.

What is an Preliminary Impact Assessment?

Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA) is a thorough assessment of the effects of a project or plan on biodiversity. Usually, EcIA goes through a “scoping” exercise where the key features (be they a species, a habitat, or designated site) are chosen to be assessed (“scoped in” or “scoped out”).

Surveys and data collection follow – be these physical on-site surveys for species and habitats or collection of existing information using online or other resources. These are then judged for their importance at a geographical scale using a mix of scientific resources and professional judgement.

The assessment then looks at whether there will be any effects on these receptors, what type of effects, and what scale or magnitude these effects will have on the key features. EcIA sets out a series of mitigation and compensation measures that are committed to by the developer to combat the effects of their development. These are then used to determine the residual effects of the development on the key features.

EP Ecology and our associates have extensive experience of ecological impact assessment for a variety of different schemes, be they housing developments, transport routes, or renewable energy.

Ecological Impact Assessment

What is an Preliminary Impact Assessment?

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