Concurrent Sessions

Climate Change and SEA

Moderator: Ray Clark

Presentations

Climate Change: The Ultimate Cumulative Impact?

Presenter(s): Michael Smith

Climate change has recently emerged as an important topic in EIA. In the United States, analysis of climate change impacts in NEPA documents is a fairly recent development. Many NEPA documents today contain no such analysis. This presentation will review the current status of litigation related to climate change and NEPA, and discuss examples of early attempts to address climate change in NEPA documents.

Influences and Effects of Climate Change on CEA

Presenter(s): Ray Clark

Climate change will have multiple effects on the environment, economy, national security, agriculture, trade and commerce. In November 2007, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration must prepare an EIS to assess greenhouse gas emissions attributable to new automobile fuel efficiency standards. Accordingly, policy and science implications for federal agencies addressing environmental and other effects will be summarized, as well as the consequences of emerging legislation and analytical expectations of the courts, Congress and public.

Role of CEA in Addressing Climate Change

Presenter(s): Norval Collins

The need to incorporate climate change into the EIA process is becoming more urgent, but a number of road blocks are identified. The potential for CEA to play a critical initial role is made based on minimal change to the overall process, simpler guidelines, and ease of regulatory buy-in. The pros and cons of using CEA to further incorporation of climate change in the EIA process are identified, with experience drawn from the IAIA climate change list serve.

Climate-Biodiversity Interactions: Assessment of the Effects of Climate Variability on Biodiversity Conservation in Relation to Communities’ Livelihoods in Lake Manyara Sub-Basin

Presenter(s): Madaka Tumbo, Emilian Kihwele

Shifts in the extremes of climatic parameters such as temperature and moisture will have impacts on biodiversity, although it is difficult to predict to what extent because the ability of many species or ecosystems to respond to change in climatic extremes is unknown. Mitigation and adaptation is urgently required to reduce climate change impacts on biodiversity. Many of the people most vulnerable to climate change and its impacts are also those that are most dependent on biodiversity.

Sector-Based SEA and CEA (Part 1)

Moderator: Charlotte Bingham

Presentations

CEA in Swedish Road and Rail Panning: Improvement Suggestions

Presenter(s): Lennart Folkeson, Hans Antonson, J-O Helldin

Suggestions to improve CEA in infrastructure planning were retrieved using focus groups comprising Swedish EIA/SEA professionals. Discussants suggested shifting focus from EIS to the EIA process, unconventional means of dialogue with actor groups, efficient teamwork between professionals, well-considered engagement of specialists vs. generalists, CEA integration in infrastructure planning, cooperation with spatial planning, development of CEA tools and widening their use, stronger incentives to raise CEA quality and status, experience from follow-up and development of the procurement instrument.

Enhancing Environmental Sustainability of Road Sector in Ethiopia

Presenter(s): Abdissa Megersa Debela

It is evident that adequate road transport service is essential for the economic and social development of a country. In 1997, the government of Ethiopia placed increased emphasis on improving the quality and quantity of the road infrastructure and formulated a development program. The past technical and scientific gaps in the road infrastructure planning and implementation procedures, in terms of adequately addressing environmental issues, have become one of the reasons that led to this research.

Developing Good Practice for Managing the Cumulative Impacts of Coal Mining on Regional Communities in Australia

Presenter(s): Daniel Franks, David Brereton, Chris Moran

With the ongoing rapid expansion of coal mining in Australia, cumulative (or multi-mine) community, economic and environmental impacts are assuming growing importance and rendering conventional mine-by-mine approaches to change ineffective. In this paper we detail efforts to enhance the capacity of the Australian coal mining industry to identify, assess, manage and monitor cumulative community, economic and environmental impacts and we report on progress toward the development of a good practice guide on managing cumulative impacts.

Supplemental Environmental Impact Statements for Two Gold Mining Projects on the Carlin Trend, Nevada, USA

Presenter(s): Paul Pettit, Terry Grotbo

Two Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statements expand upon the cumulative effects analyses originally presented in the Leeville and SOAPA gold mining projects EISs and incorporate qualitative and quantitative data collected since the original EISs were completed, expanded analyses of cumulative effects of the projects combined with other mining and land uses, and descriptions of analytical processes used to determine cumulative effects. Issues include air quality, water quantity and quality, vegetation resources, terrestrial wildlife and riparian and wetland resources.

Social, Cultural, and Economic Aspects of Cumulative Effects

Moderator: Nick Taylor

Presentations

Tools for Social, Cultural and Economic Cumulative Effects Assessment in the NWT and Nunavut, Canada

Presenter(s): Vicki McCulloch

The framework for assessing and managing cumulative effects in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, continues to evolve. The challenges related to cumulative effects assessment and management generally are arguably more complex with respect to the social, cultural and economic aspects of the environment. This presentation will focus on the existing and emerging tools for more effective assessment of social, cultural and economic cumulative effects—including monitoring and adaptive management—both at a project-specific and regional context.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 18.8mb ]
Enhancing Aboriginal Participation in Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA) and Management

Presenter(s): Bonnie Evans

This paper will provide:

  • Background information: the legal rights of aboriginal groups and why they are involved in CEA.
  • Aboriginal perspectives on CEA: the importance not only of environmental effects, but also of the impacts on a whole socio-cultural system.
  • Where the problem lies: the role of government, the role of industry, the role of consultants and academia, and the responsibility/accountability of aboriginal groups.
Looking Beyond Traditional Social and Economic Assessments to Enhance Community Well-Being

Presenter(s): Marvin Stemeroff, Heidi Klein, Tomasz Wlodarczyk, Andy Keir

Traditional approaches to socioeconomic impact assessment have served project proponents and communities in the past. The current situation is different. Employment and income opportunities abound in resource-rich regions. The promise of jobs is not enough. The new focus is long-term community well-being with attention on enhancing human, social, physical, financial and natural assets. This requires a new approach for socioeconomic impact assessment. This paper illustrates one approach to incorporating community well-being into socioeconomic impact assessment.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 12.9mb ]
Application of the Maximum Permissible Concentration for the Registration of Total Effect

Presenter(s): Viktoryia Misiuchenka

Today in the Republic of Belarus there is lack of normative and legislative documents on the assessment and monitoring of cumulative consequences of the environmental pollution. There is a list (15 groups) of pollutants of additive harmful effect. These groups are made up by means of summing up the values of maximum permissible concentration of separate pollutants.

Social, Cultural, and Economic Aspects of Cumulative Effects

Moderator: Nick Taylor

Presentations

Tools for Social, Cultural and Economic Cumulative Effects Assessment in the NWT and Nunavut, Canada

Presenter(s): Vicki McCulloch

The framework for assessing and managing cumulative effects in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, continues to evolve. The challenges related to cumulative effects assessment and management generally are arguably more complex with respect to the social, cultural and economic aspects of the environment. This presentation will focus on the existing and emerging tools for more effective assessment of social, cultural and economic cumulative effects—including monitoring and adaptive management—both at a project-specific and regional context.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 18.8mb ]
Enhancing Aboriginal Participation in Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA) and Management

Presenter(s): Bonnie Evans

This paper will provide:

  • Background information: the legal rights of aboriginal groups and why they are involved in CEA.
  • Aboriginal perspectives on CEA: the importance not only of environmental effects, but also of the impacts on a whole socio-cultural system.
  • Where the problem lies: the role of government, the role of industry, the role of consultants and academia, and the responsibility/accountability of aboriginal groups.
Looking Beyond Traditional Social and Economic Assessments to Enhance Community Well-Being

Presenter(s): Marvin Stemeroff, Heidi Klein, Tomasz Wlodarczyk, Andy Keir

Traditional approaches to socioeconomic impact assessment have served project proponents and communities in the past. The current situation is different. Employment and income opportunities abound in resource-rich regions. The promise of jobs is not enough. The new focus is long-term community well-being with attention on enhancing human, social, physical, financial and natural assets. This requires a new approach for socioeconomic impact assessment. This paper illustrates one approach to incorporating community well-being into socioeconomic impact assessment.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 12.9mb ]
Application of the Maximum Permissible Concentration for the Registration of Total Effect

Presenter(s): Viktoryia Misiuchenka

Today in the Republic of Belarus there is lack of normative and legislative documents on the assessment and monitoring of cumulative consequences of the environmental pollution. There is a list (15 groups) of pollutants of additive harmful effect. These groups are made up by means of summing up the values of maximum permissible concentration of separate pollutants.

 

Sector-Based SEA and CEA (Part 2)

Moderator: TBA

Special Events

Oil and Gas Developments (Part 1)

Presentations

Cumulative Effects Assessment and the 2010 Olympics

Presenter(s): Dan Kellar

The 2010 Winter Olympics are being held in the Vancouver-Whistler Corridor. Twenty projects are directly linked to the Olympics and most of these projects had an EIA undertaken to assess their impacts, yet these projects were all assessed in isolation from one another. This paper will discuss the failures of the Canadian EIA process in dealing with the cumulative effects of multi-site development projects and the weaknesses in assessing cumulative environmental effects at individual project sites.

Cumulative Effects Assessments in Alberta’s Oil Sands Region: Challenges and Opportunities

Presenter(s): Robin Cockell, Steven Strawson, Trevor Cuthbert

The current pace of development in Alberta’s Oil Sands Region has made CEAs the focus of a global audience. While these CEAs are subject to more scrutiny, they are likely supported by more regional data/research than any other EIAs in the world. Advancements in methods have provided greater understanding of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, but also highlighted related challenges. This presentation will review how Oil Sands CEAs are being completed, and discuss challenges and opportunities facing EIA practitioners.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 19.8mb ]
Effect of Oil-Hydrocarbons on Marine Organisms: A Role of Environmental Variability (A study based on results from laboratory and hydrographic data from Angola, collected by R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen)

Presenter(s): Bjorn Serigstad, Marek Ostrowski, Bomba Basika Sangoloy

Temperature, salinity, light conditions, etc., may have stronger impacts on a test organism than does the chemical itself. The design of biotests should be based on the information of the living resources and their natural environment in the area of concern. These requirements are somewhat contradictory to an overall wish for standard test methods. In Angola, such activities are in progress and will be supported by Norway. Our research vessel, Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, is an effective tool for these studies.

 

CEA for International Development Projects

Moderator: Charlotte Bingham

Presentations

Small Scale Community Based Activities and Cumulative Environmental Effects in East Africa

Presenter(s): Douglas Ouma

Cumulative environmental effects which are often not obvious and not profiled are the small scale community based activities. Activities which are “small” and “not significant” during construction accumulate over time, presenting serious cumulative environmental effects/impacts. CIANEA network promotes good practice of small scale community based activities implemented within principles of environmentally sound design. This paper shows its best practice guide and a case study of the successful implementation water programmes in South Sudan and its replication in eastern Africa.

Cumulative Effects of Small Scale Projects in Madagascar

Presenter(s): Vaniah Emode Andrianjaka

In Madagascar, small scale projects occur everywhere. Due to the size of investment, good practice is ignored. This paper will show the situation of the effort that is being carried out in the country and will examine the experience with the cumulative effects assessment and management in order to present the problems met and to discuss the improvement required.

Incorporating Cumulative Effects Assessment in USAID Mission Programs

Presenter(s): Weston Fisher

CEA is needed for USAID overseas mission programs at the strategic level. No examples currently appear to exist where CEA has been effectively applied and there are no specific USAID regulatory requirements to do so. However, missions and their implementing partners could apply CEA together with host countries and other donors in the USAID Country Strategic Planning (CSP) process. Recommendations to USAID and other donors, especially on institutional approaches to CEA for small-scale activities, are encouraged from CEA practitioners.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 15.6mb ]
Cumulative Effects of Natural Hazards with Special Reference to Landslides in the Himalayas

Presenter(s): Ashok Pachauri

The Himalayas are the most active mountains in the world and most vulnerable to natural hazards, especially landslide and earthquakes. Since gravity plays an important role in landslide generation, the rugged terrain is a natural depository of landslides. The landslides have been modifying landscapes in the Himalayas since the Pleistocene glaciation period. The cumulative effects of these are seen in the accumulation of landslide debris on various slopes. The article discusses possible terrain features for cumulative storage.

 

Sector-Based SEA and CEA (Part 3)

Moderator: Charlotte Bingham

Oil and Gas Developments (Part 2)

Presentations

Offshore Sediment Monitoring in Cabinda, Angola

Presenter(s): Bomba Basika Sangolay, Lia Sousa Neto, Bjorn Serigstad, Gisle Vassenden

Offshore oil industry and fisheries are among the most important industries in Angola. To avoid conflicts between the different users of the sea, the authorities in Angola have created a monitoring plan called “Environmental Monitoring of the Petroleum Activities on the Angolan Continental Shelf.” This plan is based on the Norwegian and OSPAR guidelines. In 2006 three oil fields operated by Chevron were investigated in a training program for Angolan scientists. Results from this survey will be presented.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 18.7mb ]
Offshore Sediment Monitoring for Petroleum Activities on the Norwegian Shelf

Presenter(s): Gisle Vassenden, Ingunn Nilsen

The offshore regional monitoring programme for petroleum activities on the Norwegian continental shelf began in 1996. The regional monitoring approach replaced the single field approach which has been applied since the early 1980s. The goal of the regional monitoring program is to assess potential impacts and provide information to the industry and management authorities. This presentation is based on experiences from the monitoring programme and is illustrated by result from an oilfield in the North Sea.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 17.2mb ]
The Role of Strategic Environmental Assessment in the Oil and Gas Sector in Uganda

Presenter(s): Arnold Waiswa Ayazika

Oil exploration and development activities are a new phenomenon in Uganda and are likely to have significant impacts, and effective assessment and mitigation needs a thorough understanding of operations and hazards. Knowledge about strategic environmental assessment in Uganda is still limited and therefore traditional EIA is being carried out for every potential location even with those with similar baseline information. This approach leads to a waste of time and doesn’t provide information on the cumulative impacts of these activities.

Management of Cumulative Impacts and Associated Business Risks: An Example from the Oil and Gas Industry

Presenter(s): Atma Khalsa, Dean Slocum

Recognizing that cumulative impacts are a business risk, the oil and gas industry has recently attempted to integrate CEA into their Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment and Risk Assessment procedures. As one of the main shortcomings of CEA is the lack of tools, methods and mechanisms for evaluating these impacts, this paper will describe examples of how oil and gas companies are addressing these concerns and will highlight some of the main challenges they have faced.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 23.7mb ]

 

The Importance of Scoping in CEA

Moderator: Robin Senner

Presentations

Scoping a Cumulative Impact Assessment: How Much is Enough?

Presenter(s): John Page

Infrastructure projects are not created equal. Project features and the characteristics of their setting differ substantially from project-to-project. Thus, the scopes of cumulative impact assessments also differ substantially from project-to-project. This paper examines concepts for scoping the level-of-effort for cumulative impacts assessment from the perspectives of project purpose, activities, context, and area of influence. Application is demonstrated from the perspective of eight US transportation projects.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 11.7mb ]
Making Cumulative Effects Assessment Faster and Easier

Presenter(s): Robin Senner

Even with an increasing number of agency guidance manuals, practitioners frequently encounter problems conducting cumulative effects assessments. This paper recommends proven ways to make the process faster and easier while keeping it fully in compliance with regulatory guidance and, most important, substantive, evidence-based, and useful to the public. These include new ways of approaching public scoping and agency consultation, crafting the Affected Environment description, and structuring the Environmental Consequences analyses and discussions.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 17.3mb ]
Scoping a CEA in an Evolving Legal Framework: The Case of Dam Infrastructure Within the Santiago River Watershed in Western Mexico

Presenter(s): Javier Clausen, Sergio Contreras

In the last 50 years, several medium and large dams have been built across the Santiago River. A CEA was initiated by the University of Guadalajara and the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission, aimed to address the cumulative effects of infrastructure and induced actions on the watershed ecosystems. At scoping stage, VECs potentially affected have been identified. Adoption of appropriate indicators, participatory mechanisms and multidisciplinary approaches will be discussed as main challenges for the CEA, first of its kind in Mexico.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 12.8mb ]
Using the Land Tenure System to Scope the Cumulative Impacts on Grizzly Bear Habitat in the Peace River Corridor, British Columbia

Presenter(s): Bruce Muir

For the conservation of grizzly bears to be achieved, an integrative planning framework is required for identifying the cumulative effects of anthropogenic activities caused by the implementation of British Columbia’s tenure system. Developed under the Mountain Dunne-za Planning Initiative, this framework is based on a review of the land use characteristics of tenures and the potential for adverse effects. Using GIS, the framework is applied to three community planning areas that intersect with the Peace River Corridor.

Sector-Based SEA and CEA (Part 4)

Moderator: Charlotte Bingham

Other Energy-Based Developments

Presentations

Managing the Reduction of Environmental Impact of Coal Use Towards Sustainability

Presenter(s): Leszek Preisner, Tadeusz Pindor

Coal is still one of the main primary energy sources on a world scale. Industrial production of hydrogen using different methods requires an energy supply, which comes from coal and the burning of other fuels. This means that fossil fuels will be used. The rapid growth in prices of crude oil and natural gas has meant that liquid fuels produced from coal has received new attention. A particular growth of interest in this respect appears in countries that posses large coal mineral resources, but have no sufficient crude oil reserves.

CEA Case Study: Peru LNG Project

Presenter(s): Masud Hasan, Stephen Parsons

The ESIA for the Peru LNG Projects (PLNG) did not fully address potential cumulative environmental and social effects. A CEA was prepared to ensure that the incremental effects resulting from the combined influences of the PLNG are considered in conjunction with the effects of other projects currently operating or proposed for the general area, recognizing that these incremental effects may be significant even though the effects of each activity, when independently assessed, may be considered small or insignificant.

Selected CEA Best Practices

Moderator: Bill Ross

Presentations

Lessons Learned from Recent US NEPA Cumulative Impacts Case Law

Presenter(s): Michael Smith

This presentation will focus on practical steps EIA practitioners can take to prepare their cumulative impact analyses in a manner that takes into account recent court decisions. A review of recent cases challenging the cumulative impact analyses contained in US NEPA documents will focus on key practical steps that practitioners can take to prepare more legally-defensible analyses.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 27.4mb ]
A Profound Misunderstanding: Current Practice vs. Best Practice in US CEA

Presenter(s): Leslie Wildesen

Current practice in US CEA is hampered because most practitioners misunderstand the purpose, concepts, values, outcomes, tools and methods of CEA, and because of the fragmented and contradictory nature of CEA guidance. Best practice approaches to improvement include more training, sector guidelines, regional baselines, access to centralized databases, integration with environmental management systems, and emphasis on sustainability.

  • Recording iconAudio [ MP3 - 24.4mb ]
Considering Past Projects and Effects in Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA): Requirements, Challenges and Approaches

Presenter(s): Steve J. Bonnell, Jeffrey L. Barnes

CEA often requires consideration of a Project’s environmental effects in combination with past, present and future developments. Considering past effects and defining an appropriate temporal boundary is often a key challenge, and has resulted in uncertainty and inconsistency in CEA–including at times an expectation that a pre-development, “pristine” environment forms the baseline. This paper discusses experiences and challenges in considering past projects and effects, and explores approaches to doing so in a more practical and meaningful manner.

Climate Change and SEA

Moderator: Ray Clark

Presentations

Climate Change: The Ultimate Cumulative Impact?

Presenter(s): Michael Smith

Climate change has recently emerged as an important topic in EIA. In the United States, analysis of climate change impacts in NEPA documents is a fairly recent development. Many NEPA documents today contain no such analysis. This presentation will review the current status of litigation related to climate change and NEPA, and discuss examples of early attempts to address climate change in NEPA documents.

Influences and Effects of Climate Change on CEA

Presenter(s): Ray Clark

Climate change will have multiple effects on the environment, economy, national security, agriculture, trade and commerce. In November 2007, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration must prepare an EIS to assess greenhouse gas emissions attributable to new automobile fuel efficiency standards. Accordingly, policy and science implications for federal agencies addressing environmental and other effects will be summarized, as well as the consequences of emerging legislation and analytical expectations of the courts, Congress and public.

Role of CEA in Addressing Climate Change

Presenter(s): Norval Collins

The need to incorporate climate change into the EIA process is becoming more urgent, but a number of road blocks are identified. The potential for CEA to play a critical initial role is made based on minimal change to the overall process, simpler guidelines, and ease of regulatory buy-in. The pros and cons of using CEA to further incorporation of climate change in the EIA process are identified, with experience drawn from the IAIA climate change list serve.

Climate-Biodiversity Interactions: Assessment of the Effects of Climate Variability on Biodiversity Conservation in Relation to Communities’ Livelihoods in Lake Manyara Sub-Basin

Presenter(s): Madaka Tumbo, Emilian Kihwele

Shifts in the extremes of climatic parameters such as temperature and moisture will have impacts on biodiversity, although it is difficult to predict to what extent because the ability of many species or ecosystems to respond to change in climatic extremes is unknown. Mitigation and adaptation is urgently required to reduce climate change impacts on biodiversity. Many of the people most vulnerable to climate change and its impacts are also those that are most dependent on biodiversity.

National Experience with CEA

Moderator: Leslie Wildesen

Presentations

Policy and Practice Variability for Cumulative Effects Assessment in Western Australia

Presenter(s): Angus Morrison-Saunders

Although environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures in Western Australia have been internationally acclaimed, the policy and practice of cumulative effects assessment (CEA) is highly variable. All EIAs are meant to consider CEA but practice is patchy. Quantified cumulative loss thresholds in recent EIA guidance documents along with offset requirements offer promise for great improvement in CEA. Drawing on policy and practice examples this paper will attempt to understand the situation with reference to experience elsewhere in the world.

Assessment of Cumulative Effects in Mexico

Presenter(s): Angeles Mendoza Sammet

Cumulative Effects (CE) are evaluated in Mexico only for projects or activities belonging to the regional modality. Reports submitted for approval to the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) are examined to determine whether the review process is effective to evaluate CE and the adequacy of mitigation measures. Changes to the environmental legislation and the review process are recommended to improve the effectiveness of the EIA process and practice in Mexico.

Beyond Cumulative Effects: The Future of the Future

Presenter(s): George Hegmann, Tony Yarranton

The certainty of substantial future hydrocarbon development in Canada’s west and arctic is contrasted against uncertainty in details of what and where those developments, and their environmental response, may be. The future of a meaningful cumulative assessment of these changes is found within an understanding of how science, the will of government, perception of risk and global energy demand collectively shape the future, creating a context within which energy development may continue but with management effective and compromises clear.

Assessment of Cumulative Impacts in Sweden: Could There Be Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Presenter(s): Charlotta Faith-Ell, Bengt Eriksson

Previous studies have shown that the practice of assessing cumulative impacts in Swedish EIA has been almost non-existent. However, recent court rulings regarding tunneling projects indicate clearer guidance from government. This paper builds on a study of the City Tunnel project and the City Line project. The aim is to give an introduction to the current situation, an analysis of the court rulings and a discussion of the potential implications on the future practice in Sweden.