Environmental Baseline Survey for Geothermal Development: Case Study Kibiro Geothermal Prospect, Uganda

Abstract

The shift to environmentally friendly energy sources is one of the main items on the agenda of global environmental debates. Geothermal energy is one of the resources that often are located in remote, forested and wildlife areas, whose environment is a source of social and economic necessities for Ugandans. Therefore, in order for government and stakeholders to assess the impact of geothermal projects on the environment, the developer must prepare a detailed Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the project. The current state of physical, social and economic environments is defined in baseline surveys before a project begins and are necessary for the design and assessment of any project. The potential impacts of a project cannot be determined without knowing the existing state of the environment. Baseline surveys will also be used to monitor the effects of projects during operation, such as physical, biological and socioeconomics aspects. The baseline data is built through collection and analysis of existing data, community consultation programs and specific field surveys. An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is then carried out to discover early enough, if there would be any adverse effects on the environment and local ecosystems. An ESIA would ensure that any developments undertaken are environmentally benign and socially acceptable to stakeholders including geothermal energy development partners. In this article the Kibiro geothermal project serves as example. This project is anticipated to have both positive and negative environmental impacts based on baseline studies. However, the negative impacts can be contained through recommended mitigation measures.