3D simulation for voluntarily EIA by community
NPO Workshop for Sustainable Community
Chairman and Director: Hiroo Kasagi
This paper will introduce case examples of a NPO working with business operators to assist
in conducting voluntary environmental impact assessment (EIA) for smaller scaled projects.
Here, we employ 3D virtual reality technologies to visualize the potential overall impact of theproject and invite local residents into the discussion to ensure environmental preservation
through effective communication.
１．What is voluntary EIA（Fig 1）

We define voluntary EIA as self-initiatedenvironmental assessments for smallerscaled projects that are not subject tomandatory EIA under governmental
regulations, which is conducted by business
operators to communicate with local
residents over the environmental impacts ofvarious business activities and projects.
This can avoid risks to the environment andalso give the locals an opportunity to voice
any concerns or ideas to reflect on the design
proposals, which leads to improved
environmental awareness and contribution tocommunity planning.

Fig 1

Status of voluntary EIA

２．How the voluntary EIA works（Fig 2）

Since the EIA activities described here arecompletely voluntary, there are no rigid rules
or procedures to follow. What is mostimportant for business operators is to commit
themselves to listen to the residents’ opinion
on environmental preservation measures.
Normally, these voluntary EIA excluding
post-project analysis would take around ahalf-year period. If it is considered there is noneed for further EIA at the stage of priorassessment, publication of its reasons andalready made efforts is recommended.

Fig 2 How voluntary EIA works

３．Real World Examples (company names undisclosed)【Case 1】Quarry Site（around 8 hectares of land）

Despite the proposed quarry site was only 1/3 of the size subject to mandatory EIA, thecompany still chose to perform voluntary EIA out of concerns of potential opposition from thelocals. The company proactively chose to visualize and simulate through a 3D VR environment
over elements such as landscape changes, sunshine and shades, airflow changes (fig 3), and themovements of industrial vehicles. The simulations results are published on the Internet andvarious seminars and discussion forums were held and encouraged the inhabitants to raise anyconcerns.
Although the project was
eventually abandoned due toreasons unrelated to the EIA
itself, this voluntary EIA drew
the warm attention of the local
municipal government, paving
way to a second example to be
described in Case 2.
Fig 3 Wind analysis simulation【Case 2】Solar Power Plant A（around 900kW of power）

Another subsidiary under same parent company from Case 1 drafted a plan to convert an exfish hatchery reservoir into a solar power plant. The municipal government at first deemed thesite “unsuitable”, out of concerns over potential negative landscape impacts. Undaunted anddetermined to persuade the governing bodies, the company voluntarily subjected themselves to
EIA and openly discussed with the local residents their visions of the projects. Similar to Case
1, they also willingly publicized various 3D VR simulation results such as landscape changes,
sunlight reflection issues, and movements of large industrial vehicles over the Internet. Various
seminars and discussions with the local residents were held to find workarounds or innovations
to improve the designs
without adversely affecting
the environment. The locals
and the company ultimately
reached a new proposal
which was well thought out
enough to finally receive thego-ahead sign from themunicipal government.
Fig 3 Landscape simulation
Fig 4 Landscape simulation

【Case 3】Solar Power Plant B（around 500kW）

Considering that photovoltaic
power plant near the site wassued by local residents, a
subcontractor from the project inCase 2 performed self-EIA toeffectively communicate withthe plaintiffs. They made similar
efforts to Case 2 and explained
traffic safety features so theconstruction will not endanger
an elementary school nearby(Fig 5). It resulted in satisfactory
launch of the plan.

Fig 5 Image of road safety management【Case 4】Waste Incinerator Construction and Operation – Site Environmental Supervisor (OngoingProject)

The NPO’s service was sought for an interjurisdictional tender project to propose plans forthe construction and operation of a waste disposal incinerator. Elements and concerns such as
the final project appearance that cannot be represented through standard EIA protocols wererecreated through 3D-VR visualizations. All books and record related to the plan are currently
publicized and explained to the residents at the meeting, to improve overall project clarity andtransparency.
４．Establishment of the Simplified Self –Assessment Website

To encourage more businesses to perform self-EIA, the Simplified Self-Assessment Website
was launched on April, 2015 (Fig 6). The website has mainly 3 features:① A simple checkup over the necessity of EIA for the company or project of interest.
Sets of industry-specific Q&A questionnaires are filled out by the user to determine
whether EIA is necessary. Various environmental consideration checklists and suggested
procedures to perform the self-EIA will be generated by the system（Fig 7）.
②Development and distribution of free software that can assist in EIA and environmental
diagnosis.
＊“Solar Panel Reflection Check” allows the inputting of parameters such as longitude,latitude, and panel angles, to retrieve sunlight reflection angles, categorized by different
dates and times, including solstices（Fig 8）.
＊“Green Coverage Rate Calculation” can calculate the coverage rate of visible green areas
within the visual range（Fig 9）.
＊“Environmental Diagnosis Result Mapping Support” feature assembles the site photos
taken from smart devices and reflect them on maps for better understanding.

Fig 6(right) Simplified check for each sector

Fig 7(left) Front page of assessment website

③References and Background Materials: Introducing the details of various case studies andinformation helps to design and implementation of the assessment site.
This website can be freely accessed by anyone, which also allows governmental agencies or
local residents to also evaluate the any proposals they may have at hand, or as a part of businessplanning.
In order to popularize the idea of self-EIA, various activities such as seminars andenvironmental facilitator education lessons are also held via the aid of online materials or cloudservices.

Fig 8 Sunlight reflection checkFig 9(right) Green coverage rate calculation service
http://npo.ommachi.org/