Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of CPEC road project by following EIA index approach for sustainability

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a framework to provide all the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of mega projects for sustainability. Section 12 of Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA) 1997 regulates EIA procedure for mega projects that need to be approved by the respective Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce environmental impacts. This study identified inadequacies linked with EIA procedures of CPEC western road project initiated from Rehmani Khel to Kot Balian (package-2A). To evaluate EIA procedures for the selected road project, an EIA index has been formulated based on questionnaire responses. The respondents of this study included environmental experts, social experts, and consultants from the relevant departments. The secondary sources involved a comprehensive literature review and approved EIA reports of CPEC road project. For testing variables, statistical analysis, i.e., the gamma test, correlation analysis, and factor analysis were used. The current study revealed the environmental impacts of CPEC road project, i.e., vehicle emissions, land degradation, loss of biodiversity, and atmospheric pollution. The calculated EIA index was 0.47, which identified the deficiencies among EIA stages, i.e., environmental management efficiency index, environmental impact statement index (EISI), and mitigation index for selected road projects. Statistical analysis indicated an insignificant relationship among the variables for environmental sustainability for the road project. This study will provide an EIA index for implementation of EIA procedures to reduce environmental degradation and contribute to EIA literature for long-term sustainability.