ABSTRACT This paper proposes a Rural Water Sustainability Index (RWSI). Using this tool, decision-makers can identify and prioritize locations that require state intervention to develop strategies and guarantee water to rural communities. Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) and Geographical Information System (GIS) were combined to integrate different indicators into the assessment and generate maps showing

(2021). Processes, actors and practices in environmental impact assessment: a review of L’Évaluation des Impacts sur l’Environnement, (...). Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal. Ahead of Print.

ABSTRACT The extraction of natural resources, such as minerals, oil, and gas, can have profound economic effects. The application of economic analysis methods in impact studies of resource extraction projects holds potential to inform decision-making in order to optimise gains and minimise negative externalities. This paper aims to identify and characterise peer-reviewed publications that report on

(2021). Is impact assessment ensuring proper prediction and assessment of the environmental, economic, and social impacts of projects – how to reduce bias?. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal. Ahead of Print.

ABSTRACT Despite increased focus on environmental impact assessment (EIA) effectiveness in general, little research has been conducted on EIA effectiveness in protected areas (PAs). This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of EIA in PAs through the use of 42 specifically designed key performance indicators (KPIs) derived from a theory of change (ToC) approach to effectiveness evaluation. These

(2021). Editorial. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal: Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 83-83.

ABSTRACT A “Health in All” approach has been encouraged by India’s National Health Policy to address cross-sectoral health concerns. To illustrate how health concerns can be systematised in food system planning, we pursued a health impact assessment (HIA) of a watershed development (WSD) project in semi-arid Kolar district, India. The planned WSD project included measures for soil and water conservation

ABSTRACT Hydroelectric stations are a renewable source of electricity, but social and environmental impacts have been hindering social acceptance of new projects. The hydroelectricity sector has been investing heavily in sustainability marketing and social responsibility to improve the sector perceptions among shareholders and minimize public scrutiny. This paper examines corporate social responsibility

ABSTRACT In municipal energy planning, climate change is a key concern. Additionally, a multitude of environmental impacts and associated objectives also need to be addressed. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) should increase environmental consideration in planning, including that of national environmental objectives. This paper investigates the SEA screening practice and its effect on the execution

ABSTRACT Climate change is a current concern in our society, with consequences increasingly felt worldwide. Alongside territories and communities, large infrastructures such as dams may be vulnerable to climate change and need to be resilient to related impacts. Consequently, their approval should require a comprehensive assessment of associated climate change risks. This concern is addressed by several

(2021). Editorial. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal: Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 1-1.

(2021). How to strengthen the independence of IA reviewers and practitioners. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal: Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 80-81.

(2021). Editorial. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal: Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 1-1.

(2020). Editorial. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal: Vol. 38, No. 6, pp. 447-448.

(2021). Can Tour de France inspire SEA effectiveness? An analogy to encourage a broader systems thinking. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal: Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 167-170.

ABSTRACT Dam installation causes profound changes in the structure and quality of aquatic habitats, transforming the lotic upstream stretches in lentic habitats and severely modifying hydrologic and sedimentary patterns downstream. As many impacts cannot be avoided, conservation actions are often implemented to minimize ecological losses. Translocation is a conservation tool that can be used to mitigate

ABSTRACT Major projects, in sectors such as transport, energy, minerals and water, have long life cycles and can have significant local and regional environmental and socio-economic impacts. The impacts of the construction stage can be particularly damaging, if not managed well. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) seeks to anticipate such impacts, mitigate adverse and enhance positive impacts through

ABSTRACT Sustainability is critical to the delivery of cultural heritage tourism (CHT) since its foundation to attract tourist relies on the preservation of the historic and cultural offerings of the host community. CHT destinations within urban and semi-urban heritage sites in emerging economies find this particularly challenging. To explore this issue and its associated challenges, this paper brings

ABSTRACT With accelerating environmental degradation, 21st century governments are expected to govern towards more environmentally sustainable outcomes. Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) are increasingly recognised as having a key environmental governance role in holding governments to account by expanding their traditional financial audit mandates beyond the oversight of public-sector budgets and

ABSTRACT The learning that happens throughout Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) processes is central to improving SEA practice over time. When learning is an integral part of SEA, it can also transform individuals, organisations and decisions towards greater environmental awareness, more effective processes, better environmental integration and, ultimately, more sustainable outcomes. While a

(2021). SEA as a change agent: still relevant and how to stay relevant? Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal: Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 63-66.

ABSTRACT This article demonstrates to proponents that adopting good practices early in the impact assessment process can help to achieve positive project outcomes. Drawing from a case study of the Adaptive Phased Management Project proposed by Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization, we show ways in which impact assessment can be leveraged to achieve beneficial outcomes for interested parties

In this paper, a comparative review is provided of the quality of EIA systems in 65 countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Furthermore, whether the quality of EIA systems is...

ABSTRACT Environmental assessment (EA) is an important entry point to the development of renewable energy projects, yet the role of EA in the renewable energy sector remains poorly understood in comparison to its role in assessing and managing the potential impacts of traditional fossil fuel-based energy developments. This paper examines the requirements and provisions of EA for renewable energy development

ABSTRACT In impact assessment (IA) the value of different forms of knowledge is increasingly acknowledged, but implementation and practice challenges continue. In Nunavut, a territory in the Canadian Arctic, Indigenous knowledge plays a key role in understanding and defining environmental baselines and guiding the assessment process; however, even here there are needs and opportunities for improved

ABSTRACT This work presents environmental indicators, based on the pressure-state-response (PSR) model, for the environmental licensing activity of offshore oil and gas production in Brazil. The objective is to consider the feasibility of a set of indicators, supported by existing data, as well as necessary requirements and limitations related to their use. Environmental licensing processes were researched

Although many older development initiatives displaced people without benefit-sharing, the literature suggests that benefit-sharing may be added, or retrofitted, to an existing revenue-producing dev...

Development Project (DP) is creating the benefits for all and taking benefit-sharing (BS) as a goal. BS involves paying something above the fair market compensation or replacement value of the asse...

ABSTRACT The potential contribution of cost-benefit analysis to environmental assessment is assessed through a case study of a proposed Canadian oil project and a comparison of results with those of the method of economic impact analysis. While the latter concludes that the project would generate substantial economic benefits, the cost-benefit analysis concludes that the project would be a net loss

ABSTRACT Good practice social impact assessment (SIA) should lead to improved local community development outcomes. However, the social benefits alleged to flow from projects are often not as evident to affected communities as the project’s adverse impacts. Projects still give inadequate attention to social issues and fail to achieve social development outcomes. Using a prominent gas project in Russia

ABSTRACT The recent court judgment of Uzani Environmental Advocacy CC v BP Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd 2019 (5) SA 275 (GP) found BP Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd (BP) guilty of environmental offences. The Court held that BP commenced with listed activities related to upgrades and construction work of filling stations without the necessary environmental authorisations (EAs) required by the National Environmental

Cost-benefit analysis and economic impact analysis both provide the ability to assess projects’ economic impacts, but through different methodological approaches and perspectives. In Canada and els...

ABSTRACT This paper aims to understand the procedural effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of urban planning in Australia. The SEA has been practiced in Australia over the last two decades under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act of 1999. After the reform of EPBC Act in 2006, the application of SEA in urban sector has been widened. By evaluating

ABSTRACT Best Practice Principles for Impact Assessment (IA) Teaching and Training were developed for the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA). Research conducted throughout 2018 and 2019 encompassed seven iterative steps: an initial practitioners workshop; comprehensive review of 40 years of literature on teaching IA; initial survey of teachers and trainers; follow-up interviews;

I’m writing this editorial in week 5 of ‘lock-down’, – whilst trying to combine home office for two with home-schooling and childcare. I’m fully aware, though, that this is currently a very privileged situation to be in. Most countries globally are currently fighting to contain the spread of COVID-19 to something (remotely . . .) manageable (for their respective health systems), trying to keep the

ABSTRACT Amsterdam’s North-South Metro Line (NZL) megaproject has had a long eventful history. From the initial proposal in the 1990s, through construction in the 2000s to 2010s, to its opening in 2018, the NZL overcame many challenges. Several geotechnical incidents in the Vijzelgracht neighbourhood in 2008 cost the City of Amsterdam and the Dutch government millions of Euros. These incidents required

The third decade of the 21st century will be one of milestones and turning points for impact assessment (IA). The United States’ globally influential National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which enshrined environmental assessment (EA) into law, is 50 (see e.g. Caldwell 1988). Meanwhile, the United Nation’s much younger Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have an agenda to 2030 and the International

ABSTRACT The expertise of impact assessment practitioners and the legitimacy of their reports are increasingly being questioned. We analyze the subjectivity of impact assessment by exploring how the framing undertaken within Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) influences decision making about spatial development projects. Framing is the process by which actors order and make sense of social reality. We

ABSTRACT With increased political polarisation and the emergence of populist governments around the world – many of which erode regulatory requirements such as EIA – there is an urgent need to be able to identify and explain the potential benefits of EIA for government. The aim of this paper is to explore the benefits of EIA for government as perceived by EIA regulators. A semi-structured questionnaire

ABSTRACT Impact assessment (IA) formally emerged fifty years ago, it evolved, matured but the predominant philosophy did not change much, especially in light of the speed of change the world experiences and the magnitude and persistency of current environmental and social problems. Inspired in the sustainable transitions theory, and the adaptive theory, I reflect in this letter on the need to shift

ABSTRACT EIA/SEA is effects-based management involving assessing adverse effects of proposed programs or projects and developing measures to avoid or mitigate adverse effects. Government has a regulatory role through assessment processes and monitoring compliance with conditions. However, EIA/SEA has not prevented environmental bottom-lines from being exceeded and has led to further environmental degradation

In this commentary, we return to the interminable issue of effectiveness (after Cashmore et al. 2004) in addressing the question posed by the editors on how the Environmental Assessment (EA) community might address persisting challenges and enhance effectiveness. The editors’ note that increasingly Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is viewed as ‘seriously lagging behind its potential’. On the

ABSTRACT Early assessment of environmental issues is key for sound decision-making about licensing of offshore oil and gas exploration sites. In this paper, we recall the historical background of such early assessments in Brazil showing that a simple consultation process in place for the last 15 years was able to steer oil and gas exploration away from sensitive areas. A more structured SEA-type instrument

ABSTRACT In Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the either positive or negative impacts that specific N project actions might generate on a number M of environmental components are typically summarized in the form of Interaction Matrix (IM). This is an NxM tabular array containing numbers whose sign and magnitude represent the type and severity of impacts. Current approaches to interpret the IM

ABSTRACT Sooner or later, Health Impact Assessment (HIA) will be conducted as a legal requirement (instead of a voluntary process) in a variable number of public and/or private projects worldwide. The Spanish Public Health Act 2011 introduced HIA into the national legal system but its regulatory development remains incomplete. This delay is partially justified because of the current lack of resources

Dear readers, Welcome to the first issue of 2020. It is now 50 years since environmental impact assessment (EIA) first became legally required in the US, based on NEPA. Since then impact assessment has developed continuously, spreading around the world and taking various shapes and forms, including, next to EIA and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) also e.g. social impact assessment (SIA), health

ABSTRACT Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and Disaster Risk Assessment (DRA) are two distinct fields, with broadly similar aims relating to sustainable communities, but usually regulated by differing regulatory systems. In South Africa, SIA is an integral but often neglected component of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), while DRA informs Disaster Risk Management (DRM). The potential integration

ABSTRACT Health is central to sustainable development, and thus a cross-cutting issue of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2030 agenda. Natural resource extraction projects in Africa have considerable potential to impact on health-related targets of the SDGs. This paper introduces the rationale and organization of the HIA4SD Project; a 6-year research for development (r4d) project that aims to

ABSTRACT In planning regional road development, planners often face a challenge to reconcile various interests and interpretations on the ultimate goals which complicate the discussion decision-making processes. This situation is defined as strategic ambiguity. Standard procedures for impact assessment are mostly ineffective at offering solutions that satisfy all involved stakeholders. This paper analyses

ABSTRACT Social impact assessment (SIA) is experiencing both evolutionary and revolutionary forces for change. Using the example of New South Wales, Australia, forces for change include community pressure and shifting expectations, industry desire for clarity and certainty, departmental leadership, a collaborative approach to policy development, and perceived legitimacy of the guideline itself. Inhibiting

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the conceptualization of Urban Green Space (UGS) within India’s urban planning process. In doing so, the context of the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), which is a flagship p...

ABSTRACT Social impact assessment (SIA) is a field of research and practice that addresses everything associated with managing social issues throughout the project lifecycle (pre-conception to post-closure). SIA has transformed from a regulatory tool to being the process of managing a project’s social issues used by developers, financiers, affected communities and environmental licencing agencies.

ABSTRACT Considering the ineffective environmental impact assessment (EIA) process and limited public participation, it is important to evaluate the role played by informal regulators like Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in EIA in raising the voice of communities and promoting sustainable development. This study aims to identify the NGOs that are involved in the EIA process in Punjab. It also

ABSTRACT My vision for good future impact assessment (IA) involves 1. IAs testing the impacts of the plan/project against environmental standards; 2. IAs applying the precautionary principle to impacts that are already globally problematic, with the assumption that those impacts are significant until the IA can show that they are not; 3. Making IA recommendations legally binding; and 4. Better scoping

ABSTRACT Economic impact assessment (EcIA) has attracted some criticism due to its limited focus. Typically, EcIA is used to validate the proposed proposals based on growth in income and employment. This paper argues that EcIA should play a more active and stronger role in impact assessment. For example, the impacts of the proposed projects should be assessed using the economic development goals rather

ABSTRACT Welsh Government’s (WG) Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (Welsh Government 2015) is a unique legislation which demonstrates its commitment to sustainable development. It is the only global legislation that enshrines the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within it. It emphasises WGs commitment to a ‘Health in All Policies’ approach to policymaking by emphasising the sustainable

ABSTRACT This article reflects on the potential for impact assessment (IA) to be a major vehicle for implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While it is acknowledged that the SDGs are intended to deliver broader outcomes than IA currently does, we nevertheless argue there is significant convergence between IA and the SDGs, which we explore utilising the key dimensions of sustainability

ABSTRACT The future of impact assessment has to contend with global megatrends, including the Fourth Industrial Revolution, that are set to change the face of the planet, and with the neoliberal economy, and the implications this has for trade-offs in decision-making under the umbrella of ‘sustainable development’. Together these challenges have implications for human health and well-being, and biodiversity

ABSTRACT The aim of this letter is to provide an administrative justice perspective on EIA effectiveness. EIA is described as essentially an administrative instrument, reflecting a number of principles that revolve around an assessment process which should reflect administrative justice. This includes lawfulness, procedural fairness and reasonableness. Consciously and explicitly incorporating these

ABSTRACT SIA is a recognised form of impact assessment, and is implemented in many parts of the world. The difference between emerging and developed economies provides a background to the social context in which SIA takes place, and project-scale benefits of SIA are often lost due to factors that operate at a much broader scale. Deteriorating governance and increased migration in the context of increased