QCI-NABET accreditation of EIA consultant organisations (EIA Coordinator and Functional Area Expert approval)

India · National Accreditation Board for Education and Training, Quality Council of India · professional · unverified source

39practice questions written to this syllabus
1subjects

Format

Not a public written exam: organisations are accredited after document review and assessment, and individual EIA coordinators and functional area experts are approved through assessment interviews against sector-specific competence criteria.

Sections

Over the years

In India an EIA report for environmental clearance must be prepared by an accredited consultant, so this is the working credential of an EIA practitioner. Built from general knowledge; the scheme version and criteria change.

Official source: https://nabet.qci.org.in/

Subjects this exam draws on

Environmental Impact Assessment & Strategic Environmental Assessment39 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. Which sequence shows the generic EIA process in the usual order?

  1. Screening, scoping, baseline and prediction, mitigation, report, review, decision, follow-up
  2. Scoping, decision, screening, baseline, review, mitigation, monitoring and finally report writing
  3. Decision, construction, baseline, screening, scoping and finally public consultation
  4. Monitoring, audit, decision, screening, scoping, mitigation and report preparation
Answer and working

A. Screening, scoping, baseline and prediction, mitigation, report, review, decision, follow-up

EIA starts with screening, then scoping, baseline, prediction and significance, mitigation, the EIA report, review, decision and follow-up, with consultation through several stages. Placing the decision or construction before assessment defeats its purpose.

Environmental Impact Assessment & Strategic Environmental Assessment · History, purpose and principles of EIA

2. Why can a small project need full EIA when a larger one does not?

  1. Screening also weighs location: a protected area or wetland beside the site raises significance
  2. Small projects always have larger impacts than large ones per unit of output, whatever their location
  3. Screening thresholds apply only to large projects and never to small ones
  4. Small projects are exempt from all other permits, so EIA replaces them
Answer and working

A. Screening also weighs location: a protected area or wetland beside the site raises significance

Screening considers location: a modest project in or beside a protected area, wetland or densely populated zone can cause significant effects. Size is one criterion among several.

Environmental Impact Assessment & Strategic Environmental Assessment · Screening and categorisation of projects

3. In Indian EIA practice, how much primary baseline data is commonly required?

  1. Ten years of continuous monitoring data
  2. One day of sampling at each station
  3. One season, other than the monsoon
  4. No primary data, only secondary sources
Answer and working

C. One season, other than the monsoon

Indian standard ToR commonly require primary baseline monitoring for one season (about three months) other than the monsoon, supplemented by secondary data; ecology may need more seasons. Ten years or one day are unrealistic; secondary data alone are insufficient.

Environmental Impact Assessment & Strategic Environmental Assessment · Baseline data collection

4. Settlement and roadside businesses springing up along a new rural road are an example of what kind of impact?

  1. Direct impact
  2. Residual impact
  3. Induced impact
  4. Transboundary impact
Answer and working

C. Induced impact

Induced impacts arise from activities the project stimulates. Direct impacts are caused by the project itself (land take for the road); residual impacts remain after mitigation; transboundary impacts cross borders.

Environmental Impact Assessment & Strategic Environmental Assessment · Impact prediction and evaluation of significance

5. What is a post-project (EIA) audit?

  1. A financial audit of the consultant's invoices for the EIA study and the field survey costs
  2. A pre-approval check of the EIA report's formatting and length
  3. An inspection of the proponent's head office energy consumption
  4. A comparison of actual impacts and mitigation performance with those predicted in the EIA
Answer and working

D. A comparison of actual impacts and mitigation performance with those predicted in the EIA

An EIA audit after commissioning tests prediction accuracy and mitigation effectiveness and checks compliance with conditions. Financial, formatting and head-office checks are not EIA audits.

Environmental Impact Assessment & Strategic Environmental Assessment · Environmental management plans and monitoring

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