Environmental Assessment is carried out by the Bank for all its financing activities, in order to ensure that these are environmentally sound and sustainable before committing to finance them. Environmental Assessment takes into account the natural environment, human health and safety, as well as transboundary and global environmental aspects. It is initiated as early as possible in operation appraisal and is integrated closely with the economic, financial, and technical analysis of the proposed operation. The objective of Environmental Assessment during the Operation Appraisal and Due Diligence stage is to determine whether or not an operation is environmentally acceptable as defined in the Environmental Policy, and if so, the way in which environmental issues should be incorporated in operation financing, planning and implementation. This is achieved by analyzing the environmental aspects of the operation, identifying environmental risks and impacts and proposing mitigation and monitoring measures. Environmental Assessment is carried out by the Environment Unit according to BSTDB Environmental Assessment Procedures.