What is an environmental impact?

Environmental impacts are impacts on the natural environment. That is, they are impacts that affect landforms, land and soil; water resources; plants and animals; the atmosphere and climate; and the links between all of these elements.

Examples of environmental impacts include:

  • Altering the physical geography of an area: for example, your project might alter the physical geography of an area by:
    • Changing its physical characteristics
    • Affecting coastal or fluvial dynamics
    • Causing erosion
  • Generating pollution: for example, your project might:
    • Pollute water resources
    • Affect air quality
    • Result in the contamination of land
    • Generate hazardous waste
  • Impact on ecosystem functions and services: for example, your project might:
    • Introduce remove foreign organisms or species
    • Affect conservation areas or proposed conservation areas
    • Affect threatened or endemic species and their habitat
    • Affect mangroves

See our guidelines for some more specific examples of environmental impacts.

Contact Us

Port Vila Office

Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation,
Meteorology & Geo-Hazards, Environment,
Energy and Disaster Management compound, Nambatu
PMB 9063, Port Vila
Phone: (678) 25302 | 33430

Luganville Office

Sanma Provincial Government Council,
PMB 239,
Luganville,
Sanma

Location of DEPC Office

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