Geospatial Modelling for Environmental Impact Assessment: Case Study of Lamu Coal Plant

Abstract

Global production systems are inseparable from mining of minerals. Mining activities involve processes that release potentially harmful compounds into the atmosphere, land, and water resources. Such processes require stringent analysis of the anticipated environmental impacts to allow for proper mitigation planning and compensation to the affected populations and environmental systems. Identification of these impacts involves complex processes that require specialized frameworks to ensure reduced social and environmental risks associated with mining activities. EIA provides such frameworks through its systematic process of identifying, predicting, and assessing potential negative and positive impacts due to operation of proposed developments on the environment. The capability of GIS techniques to collect, store, retrieve, manipulate, and visualize large spatial datasets should be utilized to ensure accurate and reliable information that is necessary for decision support. This study applied GIS methods through weighted overlay analysis to model potential impacts of coal mining on the environment and highlight the extent and magnitude of these impacts to guide the mitigation process. The specific GIS analyses applied were Land use and Land Cover Analysis to depict the nature of the specific land uses and cover, weighted overlay for analyzing the potential risk areas and kriging interpolation for assessing the effect of the coal mine on soil Ph. The results were then compared to the traditional non-GIS impact assessment applied in the actual environmental and social impact assessment of the proposed development of the Lamu Coal Plant. GIS analysis proved superior to the traditional methods by providing actual geographical extent and magnitude of the impacts expected from coal processing which were not highlighted in the traditional EIA study report. The research further concluded that coal mines are great contributors of the acidic nature in soil and is fueled by slope gradient. Areas that are of high risk and highly affected have their soils highly acidic. The study then recommended the use of GIS in the whole EIA framework to enable easy depicting of highly risky areas.Global production systems are inseparable from mining of minerals. Mining activities involve processes that release potentially harmful compounds into the atmosphere, land, and water resources. Such processes require stringent analysis of the anticipated environmental impacts to allow for proper mitigation planning and compensation to the affected populations and environmental systems. Identification of these impacts involves complex processes that require specialized frameworks to ensure reduced social and environmental risks associated with mining activities. EIA provides such frameworks through its systematic process of identifying, predicting, and assessing potential negative and positive impacts due to operation of proposed developments on the environment. The capability of GIS techniques to collect, store, retrieve, manipulate, and visualize large spatial datasets should be utilized to ensure accurate and reliable information that is necessary for decision support. This study applied GIS methods through weighted overlay analysis to model potential impacts of coal mining on the environment and highlight the extent and magnitude of these impacts to guide the mitigation process. The specific GIS analyses applied were Land use and Land Cover Analysis to depict the nature of the specific land uses and cover, weighted overlay for analyzing the potential risk areas and kriging interpolation for assessing the effect of the coal mine on soil Ph. The results were then compared to the traditional non-GIS impact assessment applied in the actual environmental and social impact assessment of the proposed development of the Lamu Coal Plant. GIS analysis proved superior to the traditional methods by providing actual geographical extent and magnitude of the impacts expected from coal processing which were not highlighted in the traditional EIA study report. The research further concluded that coal mines are great contributors of the acidic nature in soil and is fueled by slope gradient. Areas that are of high risk and highly affected have their soils highly acidic. The study then recommended the use of GIS in the whole EIA framework to enable easy depicting of highly risky areas.