ABSTRACT

This study seeks to understand the extent to which ecological connectivity has been considered in EIA in Canada. Several factors that may influence the consideration of connectivity were analyzed in an evaluation of 14 environmental impact statements (EIS) obtained from the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry. Connectivity is largely absent from the EIA process, and even projects that attempted to consider connectivity lacked the rigor required to effectively assess impacts on connectivity. Projects that included connectivity as a valued component performed somewhat better, whereas the assessment of connectivity was not affected by different federal environmental acts (CEAA 1992 vs. CEAA 2012), development sectors, or proponent types. Between sections of the EIS, a significantly greater number of evaluation criteria were met in the scoping section compared to all other sections. Without adequate guidance, connectivity analysis in EIA has been conducted ad hoc, with considerable variation in quality. Including connectivity consideration in EIA legislation would provide a legal framework to address the lack of policies, standards, and assessment guidelines. We provide recommendations for integrating connectivity in EIA in Canada and elsewhere.

摘要

本研究旨在了解加拿大环境影响评估中对生态连通性的考虑程度。在对从加拿大影响评估登记处获得的 14 份环境影响报告 (EIS) 的评估中分析了可能影响考虑连通性的几个因素。EIA 过程中很大程度上缺乏连通性，即使是试图考虑连通性的项目也缺乏有效评估连通性影响所需的严谨性。将连通性作为重要组成部分的项目表现更好，而连通性评估不受不同联邦环境法案（CEAA 1992 与 CEAA 2012）、发展部门或支持者类型的影响。在 EIS 的各个部分之间，与所有其他部分相比，范围界定部分满足的评价标准要多得多。在没有充分指导的情况下，进行了 EIA 中的连通性分析特设的，质量有很大差异。在 EIA 立法中纳入连通性考虑将提供一个法律框架，以解决缺乏政策、标准和评估指南的问题。我们为在加拿大和其他地方的 EIA 中整合连通性提供建议。