Degree of intervention
Introduction
Development projects, which involve important interventions in large areas, can have important environmental impacts, which must be adequately evaluated from the first moment the intervention is planned. When defining the type of environmental evaluation to which they will be subjected, the World Bank recommends assigning them, in order to homogenize the analysis, one of the four categories described below, according to the nature, magnitude and sensitivity of the environmental problems involved in the project.
Category A
It usually requires an environmental assessment, as the project could have several important environmental impacts.
Category B
A more limited environmental analysis is appropriate, as the project could have specific environmental impacts.
Projects in this category typically require a more limited environmental analysis than the environmental assessment. A wide range of environmental guidelines developed by various organizations can be applied. Additionally, environmental pollution standards or design criteria can be developed for individual projects.
Category C
An environmental analysis is usually not necessary, as the project is unlikely to have significant environmental impacts.
These projects should look for opportunities to increase environmental benefits.
Category D
Contenido
Proyectos ambientales que no requieren una evaluación ambiental aparte, puesto que el medio ambiente es uno de los principales fines de la preparación del proyecto.
Es posible que proyectos con un gran enfoque ambiental no requieran de una evaluación ambiental aparte, puesto que el medio ambiente constituiría una parte principal de la preparación del proyecto.
Emergency recovery projects
Since emergency recovery projects (a) need to be processed quickly; and, (b) have the primary purpose of restoring existing facilities, they typically do not require a full environmental assessment. However, the degree to which the emergency was precipitated or exacerbated by inappropriate environmental practices must be determined, and corrective measures must be included within the emergency project or a future credit operation.
Reference Book for Environmental Assessment (Technical Work No. 139).
Volume I.
Intersectoral Policies, Procedures and Questions.
Environment Department of the World Bank.
Other forms of categorization
Other multilateral financing organizations, and many countries, have similar, although not identical, criteria.
For example, in Uruguay, the categories used in 2006 are: