CAN EVALUATION STRENGTHEN

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

ASSESSMENT?

Adam J. Wright

EDRD6000 Qualitative Analysis

Sustainable Development and

Environmental Impact Assessment

(EIA) Some suggest that the

push for sustainability

started with EIA in the

early 1970’s

Evolved to include

Strategic EA

Health Impact

Assessment

Social Impact

Assessment

The role of the public is

seen as a crucial aspect

What is EIA?

Environmental impact

assessment (EIA) is a tool

that seeks to ensure

sustainable development

through the evaluation of

those impacts arising from

a major activity that are

likely to have significant

environmental effects. It is

anticipatory, participatory,

and systematic in nature and

relies on multidisciplinary

input.

Existing Literature

Evaluating the success of EIA and the

sustainability of development practices

has been a topic of discussion since the

inception of environmental assessment in

the early 1970’s.

The Role of the Public in

Evaluation

Community Based Environmental

Monitoring (CBEM)

Public participation is an increasingly

important part of environmental

management. The United Nations

Environment Programme stresses

public participation as an essential

component of sustainability.

CBEM arose as a way to continue

monitoring the environment in light of

the reduced ability of the government

to do so.

CBEM has been undertaken in

Canada since the 1990s.

The Role of the Public in Evaluation:

Community Based Environmental Monitoring

Programs

BHP Billiton Ekati™ Diamond Mine

The Independent Environmental

Monitoring Agency (IEMA) was incorporated in1997

Acts as an intervenor in regulatory and legal processes,

including identifying and evaluating potential environmental

impacts and Ekati's contribution to cumulative effects.

Communicates regularly with

government Society Members and

regulatory agencies who deal with

the Ekati project.

The Role of the Public in Evaluation:

Community Based Environmental Monitoring Programs

Diavik Diamond Mine

The mission of the Environmental Management Advisory

Board (EMAB) is to provide independent and external

advice, information, and recommendations on corporate

issues relating to accelerated site clean-up and risk

reduction.

In the years since its creation in 2001, EMAB has made 44

recommendations to Diavik, the regulators and the Parties

to the Agreement.

Can Evaluation Strengthen EA?

Yes....

Evaluation has shown to empower communities through

inclusive follow up and monitoring agreements.

Resulting from Environmental Monitoring programs

capacity is developed in participating communities.

Holds the potential to link traditional

ecological knowledge with western

knowledge.

Can Evaluation Strengthen EA?

But...

The level of inclusiveness is questioned as a communities power is typically limited to providing recommendations with no authority to make decisions.

Funding for evaluation of projects is typically provided by government and the proponent. This has the potential to distort power dynamics and could skew results.

Monitoring programs usually only last the life of the mine and thus long term impacts of development projects remain largely unknown.

Participatory Environmental Monitoring in

Guatemala

The Community Environmental Monitoring

Committee (AMAC) was created in 2005.

The AMAC’s goal is to independently

monitor the environmental impact of the mine,

helping to ensure that the company running it,

complies with the environmental goals as stated in its Environmental

Impact Assessment.

The AMAC was established in response to the local community's

concerns with the mine's environmental impact and the desire to have

independent monitoring of those impacts.

Outcomes of Evaluation in

Guatemala

Environmental problems such as deforestation and the contamination of ground and surface water were identified through environmental monitoring programs.

As well, increased skin and respiratory diseases were identified.

“The Guatemala government suspended operations of the Canadian Goldcorp's Marlin Mine after the demands of the 18 Maya Indigenous communities affected by the environmental degradation of land” (Yagenovaand Garcia, 2009).

Analysis of Outcomes

There is speculation that as a result of the community’s involvement in the evaluation, their ability to oppose the development grew.

In essence, as the community became more involved in the project they became more empowered to oppose the project.

The political climate in Guatemala added complexity to the social aspect of the project and unfortunately ended in violence between security forces and community members.

See here for more info: http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/cases/document-

links/documents/CAO-Marlin-assessment-English-7Sep05.pdf

Conclusions

Evaluation of the environmental impacts has led to more awareness of project-related impacts as well as capacity development in communities affected by development.

Evaluation projects which are joint ventures (undertaken by communities and proponent) have been successful in meshing traditional ecological knowledge and western knowledge.

In certain circumstances monitoring and evaluation programs have been viewed as tools of placation with no real power transfer to affected communities.

Monitoring programs usually only last the life of the mine and thus long term impacts of development projects remain largely unknown.

Conclusions

Results are variable and dependent on various factors Political climate (regional, provincial, national)

Existing governance and negotiation capacity of community

If the community has had previous experience with resource development?

History of the proponent in other communities....does the proponent have a good track record?

Willingness of the proponent to work with community.

Regulatory requirements in regards to specific project (public engagement requirements).

Commodity prices (is there incentive to develop quickly?)

REFERENCES

Baker, D. C., & McLelland, J. N. (2003). Evaluating the effectiveness of British Columbia’s environmental assessment process for first nations’ participation in mining development. Environmental Impact Assessment Review , 581-603.

Barker, A., & Wood, C. (1999). AN EVALUATION OF EIA SYSTEM PERFORMANCE IN EIGHT EU COUNTRIES. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESS REVIEW , 387–404.

Community-Based Environmental Monitoring Network (2012). St. Mary’s University. Retrieved from: http://www.envnetwork.smu.ca/about.html

CommDev (2012). Participatory Environmental Monitoring, Guatemala. Retrieved from: http://commdev.org/participatory-environmental-monitoring-guatemala

Environmental Monitoring Advisory Board (2012). What is EMAB?. Retrieved from: http://www.emab.ca/WhatisEMAB.aspx

Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency (2012). About Us. Retrieved from: http://www.monitoringagency.net/AboutUs/tabid/53/Default.aspx

Leopold, L. B., & Clarke, F. E. (n.d.). A Procedure for Evaluating Impact.

Noble, B. F. (2003). Strategic environmental assessment quality assurance: evaluating and improving the consistency of judgments in assessment panels. Environmental Impact Assessment Review , 3–25.

University of Victoria, (2010). Environmental Assessment in British Columbia. Environmental Law Centre Faculty of Law.