Session Chair Reports
Resilience through impact assessment and leadership
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Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Stefano Zenobi
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Resilience requires holistic planning, before EIA. Participation and inclusion is fundamental to incorporate impacts on diverse communities, such as men and women. It's key to incorporate gender and social impacts in sectors like infrastructure.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Upstream planning can help to integrate climate, health, gender equality, social inclusion and better environmental protection and restoration.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
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Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Work to ensure participation and inclusion in SEA and EIA processes
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Incorporate a holistic model for planning infrastructure and reduce an over-reliance on EIAs. Upstream inclusive planning can be used to promote gender equality and social inclusion.
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1996 SEA Effectiveness Study: A 25 year benchmark for review of progress
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Rob Verheem
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Over the last 25 years Strategic Environmental Assessment has significantly improved. However, on a number of issues practice still falls short and an agenda for further SEA development and research is needed. IAIA could take the lead in that.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
The majority of the audience present agreed that the future agenda could include the following 4 issues:
1. Intensifying efforts to advocate for the application of SEA, raising awareness particularly in government on how to properly use SEA and the benefits this brings.
2. Innovate and explore new ways to apply SEA.
3. Apply further research to clarify what worked well in SEA and why
4. Promulgate laws with stronger incentive to do SEA, including at policy level.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Looking at SEA application in the last 25 years it is quite clear that SEA significantly improved on a number of aspects, however, on a number of aspects still fall short. Improvements include uptake of SEA regulation in 100+ countries, growing recognition of its importance, better insight in SEA methodology, training provided, guidance developed, gradual improvement of SEA quality. Shortfalls include insufficient influence of SEA on planning and decision making, uneven quality of SEA across and within countries, too limited understanding of SEA within governments, too narrow and legalistic application and insufficient stakeholder application.
The audience agreed that conclusions on improvements and shortfall are influenced by the context in which de SEA is applied, in particular by differences between developed and developing countries.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
See above:
1. Intensify efforts to advocate for the application of SEA, raising awareness particularly in government on how to properly use SEA and the benefits this brings.
2. Support innovation in SEA to explore new ways to apply SEA.
3. Support further research to clarify what worked well in SEA and why
4. Promulgate laws with stronger incentive to do SEA, including at policy level.
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95: The contribution of citizen science to participatory impact assessment
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Alan Chenoweth
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
DIgital IA, new low cost technology and citizen science have the potential to change the way IA is conducted and communicated in the near future, and especilly the way in which communities can and will participate in and contribute to development projects including the IA phase.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
IA professionals need to draw on multiple sources of evidence including citizen science, need to take the lead in facilitating community participation in IA (through data collection, monitoring and influencing project oprtions; not just through consultation)
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Organisations developing and marketing new technology for community parrticiaption in IA should also provide training so that a wide cross section of the community can use them
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Draw upon multiple sources of evidence (including citizen science) and trust the community !
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Consider the implications (including legal) of moving towards digital IA with 'live' data, more legible and immersive virtual information and iterative project changes
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A Global Assessment for Prosperity, People and the Planet (II)
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Dr. Paul Mitchell-Banks
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
The question of what is the perspective of the practioner was raised, it is not just their approach but where are they coming from, what is their thinking behind the practice.
Effective governance can play a key role in the leadership of an impact assessment,. Getting government support can be key to getting a successful outcome.
The importance of communications and the power of engaging senior decision makers is critical. You need to know where they stand and what informaton is important to convey.
The importance to bring in younger people, and to partner with academic institutions, so that potentially graduate work or research could contribute to the project.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Capacity funding for governments and key affected parties can facilitate a more resilient impact assesssment.
Effective communication and engagement is critical to get support, obtain informaiton and to facilitate an integrated approach.
Understand the type of problems you face: Simple, Complicated, Complex, Wicked, Chaotic.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
SESA addressing hunger in Ghana was successful by involving all 22 ministries, as all of them had mandates that directly or indirectly influenced hunger.
Knowing how to interact with, who had influence over key decision makers, led to a land use plan being implemented in the Philippines.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
The importance of engaging wtih Indigenous peoples and affected parties.
Be aware of the varous forms of national governance and how to work within those systems.
There is usually not a shortage of western science, it is the proces of using that science and Indigenous and local knowlegedge that is critidcal.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Capacity funding will often be critical for many governments to successfully get involved and for indigenous peoples and stakeholders to meaningfully participate.
Accurate and timely communication is critical and this involves recognising that there could be multiple audiences with different levels of literacy, numeracy, and ecoacy.
Proactive EAs or SESAs need to be done, they cannot just be reactive.
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Advancements in Environmental and Social Policies - MDB perspectives
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 09:00Session Chair(s):
Hakan Lucius
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
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Advancing understanding of Nature-based Solutions in Impact Assessments
Day: Monday
Date: 8 May 2023
Time: 15:00Session Chair(s):
Steve Edwards
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
1. for frameworks and ideas to be resilient, they should be clearly defined and well understood
2. Building resilience can be enhanced through case studies, pilots and sharing lessons learned.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Clarity of concept, having ways to understand how projects are developed (and tagged), how they are monitored and reported, are all essential factors to build resilience. Transparency and access to information is key.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Leadership was shown by a company that was willing to pilot-test the NbS Assessment Tool, learn from that, and share broadly.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Understand and have a clear definition of Nature-based Solutions. If projects that purport to be NbS are really NOT, call those out.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Understand and have a clear definition of Nature-based Solutions
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Analysis of Cumulative Impact and its input for climate change management through ESIA
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 16:00Session Chair(s):
Rita Bustamante
Javier Macera
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
It is important to promote the involvement of states and governments on cumulative impact assessments. It is also crucial to establish boundaries (spatial and temporal) for cumulative impact assessments.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
It is important to establish to what extend it is possible to prevent and to assess futur impacts in the frame of cumulative impact assessment (CIA). In some cases, it is necessary to link risk analysis with CIA.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The need of states involvement on cumulative impact assessment (CIA). Most of the time, CIA exceed the scope of EIA for specific projects.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
To incorporate cumulative impact assessmente (CIA) in EIA, as a rule of procedure or as a good practice, considering that CIA is the best tool to face climate change challenges and overcrowded among projects with EIA requirement.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Policy makers have to promote and to do cumulative impact assessments (CIA´s) whether done by a govermental office or by the financing of CIA´s
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ASEAN Day Session 3 Climate Change and IA in ASEAN
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Matthew Baird
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Despite a lot of laws and regulations that could be used to address climate change in EIA in ASEAN and the Pacific, there are still vasty challenges in actually doing so.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Opportunities exist at all stages in the regulatory cycle to enhance opportunities for climat change impact assessment to be improved. Laws and regulations can be enhanced (e.g Viet Nam's new Environment Protection Law) and also financial institutions can play a role to required climate impact assessment before funding approvals are given.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
IFIs can take a leadership role in requiring climate impact assessment for projects and also can continue the leadership role in supporting regulations and laws that include clear requirements and guidance on cliamte change impact assessment for adaptation and mitigation,
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Asian S3EA: Strategic, spatial and sustainable EA(I)(II)(III)
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Kiichiro Hayashi
Jong-Gwan Jung
Myungjin Kim
Takehiko Murayama
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
To achieve the goal of resilient society, the development of sustainable society is important through strategic, spatial and analytical IA.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Mapping tool, scientific analysis and policy means as key factors contribute to the development of sustainable society.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The IA related associations in a country and a region can have a leadership role for the development of effective policies in IA.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Effective policy support tools are available to promote better IA.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Easy handling policy support tools and analytical studies are useful for decision making.
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Building IA resilience through advances in qualitative study design
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 09:00Session Chair(s):
John Sinclair and Heidi Walker
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
- That IA needs to celebrate qualiative methods and ensure that they are used to seek information/data on undertaking impacts
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
- We discussed a host of the key barriers to implimenting/actioning qualitative methods in IA and solutions to these that can and need to be considered by all sectors - decion-makers, proponents, practicioners, etc. Finding ways to deal with barriers such as the lack of recognition and consistant application of qualitative rigour and qualitative methods being preceived as less valid or scientific, will make IA much more resilent.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
We did not consider using assessments to shape policies, strategies and projects.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
- Learn about the potential of qualitative methods in IA.
- Hire the right people for the job - engineers and biologists should not be implimenting qualitative methods they were not trained in or undertsand how to analyze.
- Learn about the importance of and how to properly action ethical qualitative data collection.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
- Ensure that the use of qualitative methods is mandated for impact areas that can not be properly studied or understood through the use of quantitative approaches.
- Continue broadening the sustainability-oriented scope of IA, and encourage the new thinking on effective methods that enable meaningful inclusion of diverse knowledges, values, and information sources. This will promote resilient and sustainable decision-making as IA continues to evolve.
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Building Resilience through Indigenous Participation in EIA
Day: Monday
Date: 8 May 2023
Time: 15:00Session Chair(s):
Jettie Word
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Consultants may document the lack of consent by a community, yet this rarely translates into action on the part of companies. When communities do not agree to the project, when they do not give their consent, that lack of consent is usually violated and the project goes ahead anyway.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Practicioners need to bridge the gap between communities and companies to educate the company about what real free, prior, and informed consent means.
Communities often do not understand the assessment process, are not properly informed about what consultants are doing and why, and are not given access to the documents produced through consultation. This makes it functionally impossible for companies to obtain FPIC. Participatory assessment processes help to address these issues by increasing community understanding and ownership over assessments.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Community-led participatory impact assessments empower communities with information and increase the chances of success. This is highlighted in examples from the Baram Heritage Survey in Sarawak, and through a series of workshops and interviews conducted with Indigenous women from Northern Ontario and Northern Labrador to understand how they are being engaged with and uniquely affected by resource development projects.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Community-led impact assessments address common weaknesses in conventional approaches, such as lack of public participation, opaque and inaccessible processes, and mistrust between stakeholders.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Public officials, governments, and companies often fail to adequately understand the meaning of free, prior, and informed consent. Proper training and instruction is desperately needed around the world, and FPIC should be incorporated in a meaningful way, rather than just on paper.
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Capacity Building on SIA through Certification and Accreditation
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 16:00Session Chair(s):
Bryan Gencianeo Alamani
Mayumi Corazon Pimentel
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
1) The importance of creating standards in social impact assessment practice is critical to ensure that transboundary implementations by practitioners and institutions are delivered with good quality.
2) Certification and Accreditation in formalize settings can empower practitioners of delivering impactful assessments on the social dimension of many development projects.
3) The conversation on certification and accreditation for social impact assessment needs to be continued and all views (in favor and opposing) should be taken into account.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Open conversations on how certification and accreditation for practitioners of social impact assessment can be developed and continuously calibrated to remain relevant and empowering for stakeholders of any decision making processes.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Leadership can best be exemplified by dialogues and implementation of sound quality management system on certification and accreditation of SIA practice. Experts, and/or organizations can initiate efforts on supporting the impact assessment practitioners with peer-reviewed certifications/accreditation that could validate the quality of implementation by impact assessors.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Impact assessment practitioners may benefit from capacity building substantiated by peer-reviewed valuation of their credentials (e.g skills, training, experience among others). It may also offer them more opportunities to do sharing of best practices and continuously strive for quality impact assessment.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Policy makers should ensure that SIA practice is given equal value as that of EIA. Pracitioners of SIA provide remaining 50 % of impacts of any projects by highlighting the essence of impacts to people, community, and the marginalized. If training and certification are provided for EIA, then SIA should receive at a minimum similiar treatment.
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Capacity Building on SIA through Certification and Accreditation
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 16:00Session Chair(s):
Bryan Gencianeo Alamani
Mayumi Corazon Pimentel
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
1) The importance of creating standards in social impact assessment practice is critical to ensure that transboundary implementations by practitioners and institutions are delivered with good quality.
2) Certification and Accreditation in formalize settings can empower practitioners of delivering impactful assessments on the social dimension of many development projects.
3) The conversation on certification and accreditation for social impact assessment needs to be continued and all views (in favor and opposing) should be taken into account.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Open conversations on how certification and accreditation for practitioners of social impact assessment can be developed and continuously calibrated to remain relevant and empowering for stakeholders of any decision making processes.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Leadership can best be exemplified by dialogues and implementation of sound quality management system on certification and accreditation of SIA practice. Experts, and/or organizations can initiate efforts on supporting the impact assessment practitioners with peer-reviewed certifications/accreditation that could validate the quality of implementation by impact assessors.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Impact assessment practitioners may benefit from capacity building substantiated by peer-reviewed valuation of their credentials (e.g skills, training, experience among others). It may also offer them more opportunities to do sharing of best practices and continuously strive for quality impact assessment.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Policy makers should ensure that SIA practice is given equal value as that of EIA. Pracitioners of SIA provide remaining 50 % of impacts of any projects by highlighting the essence of impacts to people, community, and the marginalized. If training and certification are provided for EIA, then SIA should receive at a minimum similiar treatment.
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Climate change impact assessment and integrated application tools (I)
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Young-Il Song, Changwan Seo
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Importance of application tools to provide scientific information
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Development of modeling programs to predict future impacts caused by climate change.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
It is necessary to recognize the importance of climate change impact during environmental impact assessment
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Need for decision-making based on scientific evidence through impact assessment
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Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment at Critical Sites
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Christopher Polglase
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Understanding the complexity of performance standards is crucial for the programmatic management of critical heritage sites. Standards are changing and practitioners need to keep up with these changes. These changes are especially important as stakeholder engagement becomes expected for heritage sites. Can
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
The key factor is the effective engagement with communities related to cultural heritage, an issue that had often been minimized. This engagement needs to scoped accurately at the beginning of a project.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The paper on the Subak system of rice cultivation and how stakeholder engagement is critical for effective impact assessment demonstrated a collaboration between heritage and social methods that is going to be crucial in the next generation of ESIAs.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
1. Get your hierarchy of significance ironed out early in project screening.
2. Be careful with the concept of critical heritage from PS8.
3. Think programmatically whenever feasible.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
1. Update the IFC performance standards, especially PS8. Get rid of the concept of critical heritage or provide a much better definition.
2. States Parties with World Heritage sites and practitioners with projects impacting World Heritage sites need to become familiar with the new UNESCO guidance on World Heritage and impact assessment.
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Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment at Critical Sites
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Christopher Polglase
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Understanding the complexity of performance standards is crucial for the programmatic management of critical heritage sites. Standards are changing and practitioners need to keep up with these changes. These changes are especially important as stakeholder engagement becomes expected for heritage sites. Can
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
The key factor is the effective engagement with communities related to cultural heritage, an issue that had often been minimized. This engagement needs to scoped accurately at the beginning of a project.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The paper on the Subak system of rice cultivation and how stakeholder engagement is critical for effective impact assessment demonstrated a collaboration between heritage and social methods that is going to be crucial in the next generation of ESIAs.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
1. Get your hierarchy of significance ironed out early in project screening.
2. Be careful with the concept of critical heritage from PS8.
3. Think programmatically whenever feasible.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
1. Update the IFC performance standards, especially PS8. Get rid of the concept of critical heritage or provide a much better definition.
2. States Parties with World Heritage sites and practitioners with projects impacting World Heritage sites need to become familiar with the new UNESCO guidance on World Heritage and impact assessment.
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Cultural maturity and transformation in EIA-EMS leadership
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Ivon Tze-Yin Lim
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Strengthening the linkage between EIA and EMS is vital for leadership, communication, and interaction between its multiple role players. Hence, understanding the cultural context is inevitably a prerequisite for effective communication and leadership.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Different models to evaluate EIA-HSE culture maturity are being discussed; "EIA-HSE cultural maturity theory" and its relationship with EIA-EMS implementation and leadership are elaborated. Also, maturity is a cultural transformation. Therefore, the maturity of the IA system cannot be separated from the social and cultural context.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The discussion of "Proponents Mindset" relate to increasing trust and accountability (increasingly informed).
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
To look into the impact of "culture change" as "culture led to communication and leadership.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Stakeholders should look further into behavioral change for the purpose of motivation.
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Ecological resilence and impact assessement: applications and challenges
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
PATRÃCIA RODRIGUES
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
The need of:
1) a robust, complet and inclusing baseline
2) the need for monitoring and framwork plans
3) Healthy ecossistems, specialy nearby cities, will increase resilience
4) Give particular attention to conservation measures and rehabilitation
5) more interaction between academy and practitioner in order to have more "realistic aproaches"
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
- get a multidisciplinary team on bord;
- rehabilitation and nature based solutions application;
- application of the mitigation hierarchy
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The importance of involvement the local community liders.
The importance of bringing biodiversity/ecological knowledge in the design phase of the project. Important to have someone with leader skills to "convince" engeniers to reshap as much as possible de design of the project, when relevant
To build ecological resilience into in a rapidly changing landscape it is necessary to perform a detailed, informed, iterative avoidance process.
Protected areas are critical to preserve ecological system integrity and biodiversity, and promote reselience, therefore is important to incrise the level of learder skills.
To effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects, the best way to do this is through efficient communication
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Environemnet Flows are a tool to avoid and minimize negative impacts
Try a more eco-centric EIA best practice principles for developments affecting protected areas.
Have creative thinking when loss of biodiversity is on the table, and see the opportunities for improving ecological resilience and local communities connection to the site.
Get involved in developing and revising as many guidelines as possible
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
- Pay attention to Planning and Rehabilitation policies, to data deficiency, namely in tropical and sub-tropical countries.
- A NO NET LOSS policy for natural habitats and NET GAN for critical habitats is mandatory
- Promote training in all sectors
- Get specialists in the same table with policy makers
- Promote and improve guidelines;
- Get everyone to discuss the ways to finance a project, namely rehabilitation projects.
- Realise that conservation policys and establishment of a multi-functional net of Conservation Areas will be able to create environmental and climate resilience and support a sustainable future.
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EIA Leadership practice
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 09:00Session Chair(s):
Ross Marshall
Maria Partidario
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Importance of bringing leadership as training in higher education to develop leaders and assure the resilience of IA
100 years thinking and the 7 generations philosophy is needed to expand vision time boundaries and resilience
Good project managers are not necessarily good leaders
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Critical thinking, oral communication skills and judgement among the main components of leadership
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Indigenous communities have resiliently exerted leadership in the sustainable management of natural and social resources - the 1000 years horizon management action plan
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Promote leadership among IA professionals to enable a better response and capacity of IA processes and outcomes
Not all leaders are born as leaders, but you can be trained to be a leader, as well as you can improve your natural leadership skills
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Promote leadership among IA professionals to enable a better response and capacity of IA processes and outcomes
Not all leaders are born as leaders, but you can be trained to be a leader, as well as you can improve your natural leadership skills
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EsIA compliance and enforcement
Day: Monday
Date: 8 May 2023
Time: 15:00Session Chair(s):
Erica van den Honert; Cristian Pérez Muñoz
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Attendance at the Section session has increased since the Section was formed in 2018 indicating that there is increasing recognition of the importance of having good governance and implementation systems.
Good governance starts in screening and scoping, to ensure that projects are correctly categorised, and the terms of reference for the EsIA correctly identified.
Compliance and enforcement of EsIA commitments is recognized as critically important to the successful implementation of the outcomes of EsIA, but it is a challenge in many countries
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
- The need to have clear commitments written in both licenses and permits with measurable outcomes.
- The need to establish standards for commitments.
- Multidisciplinary presentation of information must be understandable to all parties.
- The need to consider behavior of permit holders by enforcement entities.
- Pay attention to financing.
- Development of incentive schemes for complying with standards – carrot and stick.
- Alternative pathways -different to sanctions and fines- for dispute resolution.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The session focused on a draft paper on compliance and enforcement of EsIA that the Section hopes to finalise this year, following the release of FasTips #25 in March 2023.
Leadership by Governments and policy makers is critical to ensuring compliance and enforcement.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
The need to present recommendations and commitments (e.g. management and mitigation measures) in clear, enforceable language so they can be carried through the EIA process, into detailed design, construction, modifications, operation and decommissioning.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
- Governance systems need to be set up to enforce compliance with the recommendations and commitments contained in the EIA
- The public and stakeholders should be empowered to assist monitor compliance;
- Administrative support mechanisms should be modernized and invested in to monitor EsIA compliance and enforcement
- Legal enforcement authorities and strategies should be developed to motivate compliance
- EsIA commitments should be integrated into legally binding instruments
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Follow the money – Is there a role for IA in Due Diligence?
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Heikki Kalle
Charlotta Faith-Ell
Jos Arts
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
1. Linking of EA and DD is a key to effective environmental management.
2. DD could help to create effective tiering and follow up.
3. EA could could open up closed process of DD to communities.
4. Informaiton from EA would help to create more meaningful input to DD.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
1. Use DD for EA (se above) (follow- the money) :-)
2. There are many more tools out there than IA driving sustainablity. DD is a very influencial instrment.
3. IA should be selfeaware that it is useful for other fields like DD.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
We did not really discuss this.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Link up with finacial instruments like DD.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Link up with financial instruments like DD.
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Future of IA in ASEAN
Day: Tuesday
Date: 8 May 2023
Time: 16:00Session Chair(s):
Roger Joseph (Rocky) Guzman
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
IA has an important role in advancing environmental rights. The use and enhancement of tools such as IA as essential to achieve those rights, specifically in the context of the ASEAN Environmental Rights Framework
IA is key in promoting resilience, inclusion and sustainability in ASEAN for infrastructure development. This includes adopting a holistic model for inclusive and resilient linear infrastructure in ASEAN, and ensuring gender equality and social inclusion.
There are many opportunities for leadership in integrating climate change, human rights and biodiversity issues into IA in ASEAN, including climate resilience in EIA legislation in ASEAN countries.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
The use and enhancement of tools such as IA as essential to achieve environmental rights.
A holistic model for inclusive and resilient linear infrastructure in ASEAN is important.
Integrating climate change, human rights and biodiversity issues into IA in ASEAN should be a priority.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The development of the ASEAN Environmental Rights Framework
The adoption of a holistic model for infrastratcure development in ASEAN
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
IA can be enhanced to advanced an environmental rights framework in ASEAN
A holistic model for linear infrastructure entails enhancing IA processes and standards
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Support the development of the ASEAN Environmental Rights Framework
Support the adoption of a holistic model for linear nfrastrucuture development
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How EIA works: Case Studies
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Dr Reece Alberts
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Reslience has to be considered throughout all processes and should be an objective or outcome of these processes.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Increased co-operation between ESG and EIA
Increased consideration of costs in realtion to mitigation
Better understadign the role of administrative justice when applied to deciosn making in EIA processes
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
EIA can infunce ESG processes and outcomes in relation to for examle biodiversity offsets.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Be aware of cost implications of mitigation.
Understand how ESG can be incorported into the EIA prcess.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
N/A
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IAIA SEA guidance for renewable energy
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Barry Dalal-Clayton
Miles Scott-Brown
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
1. SESA for rewable energy is critical to enable leaders to improve decision-making for the energy tranisition
.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Reslience to the effects of climate change can be enhanced by the findidings and recommendations of SESAs of energy PPPs
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
None - this session presented prgress with developing the guidance
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
The whole guidance is focused on this
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
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Impact Assessment for resilient carbon neutrality
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Kin Che LAM
Timothy Peirson-Smith
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Attaining carbon neutrality is a daunting task. Use IA to avoid and minimize GH gas emission and mitigate the effects of climate change. Thin
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Think carefully about the consequences of human activities and look for ways to recuce carbon emission. At the same time, we need to build a resilient society to withstand the impacts of extreme climate events. The paradigm of IA has also to change from "basline, impact, mitigation" to "baseline-adapt to climate change-recovery from damage".
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The session examined different approaches adopted in different jurisdiction, including legislative changes, land use and transport planning and taking all necessary stept to facilitate the gransition to a low carbon society.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Take a comprehensive approach to examine drivers that facilitates transition to a carbon neutrality society.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Make preparations for the adverse consequences of climate change and build a resilient society in addition to minimizing green house gas emission,
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Indigenous Knowledge as the Foundation of Indigenous-led Impact Assessments
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 16:00Session Chair(s):
Bruce Muir
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Space for Indigneous-led assessments is slowly being established via practice, but legislative and policy frameworks are falling behind.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Increase the space for Indigneous people, culture, rights, and recognise that the fundamentals of IA likely need to be indigeniised.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
There's an emerging connection between Indigenous-less IAs and its influence on shaping policies, strategies, and projects, but whether its effectiveness can be measured on a large-scale is questionable.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Conceptualise what it means for an IA to be Indigneous-led. Are procedural objexctives and mechanisms sufficient? Or does it need to go further, such as including substantive and legitmiacy obejctives?
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Terms such as collaborate, share, and meaningfulness need to be more than window dressing. The status quo is ineffective.
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Integrating risk assessment and impact assessment in renewable energy supply chains
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Andy Symington
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
The key role of addressing capability gaps on all sides, including the regulator
The importance of monitoring post impact assessment
Need for a collaborative approach to address supply chain impacts
The importance of wide and good faith community consultation using more than public hearings(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Going the extra mile in terms of investigating supply chain impacts
Implementing and budgeting for ongoing review of impacts post assessment
Promoting transparency of impact assessment, with regard for sensitive data that may need withholding
Applying FPIC to consultations with Indigenous Peoples, with its implicit right to veto projects
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Example from Manitoba of a commitment to monitoring post-assessment
Example from Palau of a solar project that showed leadership by committing to lowering human rights risk despite a significant extra procurement cost.
Acquiring significant corporate capability in the context of health in order to inform a comprehensive assessment program
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Promote transparency
Consider supply chain impacts
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Embed an ongoing monitoring program into licensing and contracting so that impact assessment findings can be followed up
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Is IA agile enough to balance urgency of reviews of complex green projects?
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 09:00Session Chair(s):
Janet Blackadar
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Leadership is needed at the government agency levels to improve techical understanding and increase review capacity in order to properly and thoroughly review Impact Assessments in a timely fashion.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Large-scale green energy projects are necessary to help create a more sustainable environment, but not at the expense of stakeholder particpation. WHile timelines for review can be optimized it cannot be at the expense of hearing from stakeholders.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
A holistic approach for planning large infrastructure projects will benefit overall review and engagement processes. Policies that enourage/require an integrated apprach to planning and IA could facilitate this.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
We must find a way to ensure that IAs for complex projects are digestible for stakeholders.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
We need to increase capacity at the regulatory agencies and find better ways to communicate these complex projects.
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Linkages between technology assessment and IA: example of hydrogen
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Alan Bond
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Resilience is best achieved through collaboration between different fields of assessment, namely EIA and TA. There are many overlaps where skills can be transferred.
Leadership needs to be shared with affected communities/populations.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
It was clear that strong engagement was key to building good assessment and therefore resilience.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
There was clear leadership coming from the Technoliogy Assessment community in terms of facilitating the development of a hydrogen economy, and then leadershiop in terms of negotiating the permitting process.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Pro-actively engage with related assessment fields. Find out who is undertaking Technology Assessment in your jurisdiction, and reach out to them.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Engage as fully as you can with assessment processes occurring at all levels. It is the engagement that builds resilience and better leadership.
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Making impact assessment more effective: Approaches and changes
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Pantea Niksirat
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
- Change can be positive but it can also be a backward step but vigilance is required.
- Ensure that nature positive frameworks embed the mitigation hierarchy rather than replacing.
- Business engagement for intaking responsibility for impact beyond the project footprint.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
- Regulatory impact assessments.
- Companies taking leadership in change.
- Outcome based standards.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
- Regulators make an informed decision by using regulatory impact assessments.
- Changing institutional structures to accommodate new challenges.
- It shows business engagement for intaking responsibility for impact beyond the project footprint.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
- Always consider social aspects
- Understanding the complexity.
- Ensure that nature positive frameworks embed the mitigation hierarchy rather than replacing.
- Ensure clarity and consistency and common understanding of concepts and approaches.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
- To come to IAIA conference and be exposed to new ideas.
- Ensure that nature positive frameworks embed the mitigation hierarchy rather than replacing.
- Ensure clarity and consistency and common understanding of concepts and approaches.
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Mapping of Mapping: The role of spatial tools in impact assessment
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 16:00Session Chair(s):
Kate Lazarus
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Mapping is a key component to impact assessment development, especially when accessibility on the ground is limited (e.g. during COVID 19).
Mapping can be used for early stage E&S screening/scoping and to pave the way for SEAs, other landscape level impact assessmenets and to make ESIAs more grounded.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Emphasis on inclusiion of climate resilience aspects to aide in meeting the Paris Agreement and climate committments
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Updating of environmetnal assessment/IA policy and regulatory was featured in the case of The Netherlands new policies.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Do more mapping. Use spatial tools and early stage guidance.
But if it's not on a map, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist and therefore bringing in the social knowledge is crucial to ground truth and obtain more relevant information.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
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Marine EsIA: Challenges and roadmap ahead
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Charles Kellyy
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Importance of consulting with impacted populations.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
How impact assessment can be applied to new and different approachs.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The example proivided was more about how hiarchies of power need to be addressed in collecting and understanding stakeholder views.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Need to consider new approaches, but also how the work in reality.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
--
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Modeling, leading and measuring the impact of cultural transformation
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Ivon Tze-Yin Lim
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Capital stocks contribute to culture change and transformation. The influence of Artificial capital, Nature capital, Social Capital, and Human Capital is essential in shaping culture and lifestyle. Capital stocks are the root of how an actor reacts or responds to external factors.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
The transformation of the community culture and lifestyle among the Kuba'an Puak Penan (indigenous group in Sarawak), and the proposed framework that relates capital stocks to culture transformation.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
NA
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
To explore further the impact of capital stocks on the community culture of the indigenous group (by looking into the social institutions, and the local stewardship of the environment ).
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
To assess further the tangible and intangible capital factors that contribute to the change in human nature, and the impact on the environment moving forward. It would be good for policymakers to also explore further to examine the links between capital stocks and their connections to actors, which helps to explain the pattern of cultural transformation.
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Overhauling impact assessment in response to the sustainability imperatives
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Juan Palerm
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
There is a need for government at different levels to take responsibility
New policy frameworks, such as the SDGs, can guide more effective impact assessment
Impact assessment needs to adapt to specific context and needs
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Address climate change as part of impact assessment, look into extreme events
Adapt impact assessment to local specific contexts, go beyond the minimum requirements
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Development of approach and methodology for impact assessment taylored to a specific local context
Giving specific attention to water flows as part of impact assessments where water is a key element
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Be flexible, don't limit yourself to apply IA legislation, but seek innovative approaches that better respond to local and context-specific contexts
Make sure that climate vulnerability is part of impact assessment; be especially mindful of integrating extreme expected climate
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Climate change should be part and parcel of any planning and assessment processes
SDGs are a guiding framework that can be integrated in policy making and IA
A tiering approach to impact assessment can be very valuable, leading to more effective IA
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Overhauling impact assessment in response to the sustainability imperatives
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Juan Palerm
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
There is a need for government at different levels to take responsibility
New policy frameworks, such as the SDGs, can guide more effective impact assessment
Impact assessment needs to adapt to specific context and needs
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Address climate change as part of impact assessment, look into extreme events
Adapt impact assessment to local specific contexts, go beyond the minimum requirements
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Development of approach and methodology for impact assessment taylored to a specific local context
Giving specific attention to water flows as part of impact assessments where water is a key element
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Be flexible, don't limit yourself to apply IA legislation, but seek innovative approaches that better respond to local and context-specific contexts
Make sure that climate vulnerability is part of impact assessment; be especially mindful of integrating extreme expected climate
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Climate change should be part and parcel of any planning and assessment processes
SDGs are a guiding framework that can be integrated in policy making and IA
A tiering approach to impact assessment can be very valuable, leading to more effective IA
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Overhauling impact assessment in response to the sustainability imperatives II
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Juan Palerm
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Impact assessment can be fundamental to gear decision making towards transformational change
Impact assessment methodologies taylored to local specific contexts are more effective
Policy frameworks are evolving and need to be adapted to respond to transformational change
Impact assessment cannot simply be impact-centered, it has a role to play to ensure a just transition to an environmentally sustainable, low carbon and resilient development
Learning can be built into impact assessments, leading to continuous improvement and more effective future IA processes
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Ensure you get ministries of finance and economic planning on board; working with ministries of environment is not enough
Adapt impact assessment processes to local contexts
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Financial institutions are gearing their support to green and sustainable finance, such as the European Investment Bank
Some countries (e.g. Lao PDR) integrate environment and climate across their different policies, e.g. to inform investment decision-making
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Adapt to local contexts
Seek opportunities to align to NDCs
Use IA as a tool to promote transformational change, beyond a mere impact-centered focus
Build learning as part of impact assessment, leading to continuous improvement
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Develop awareness across the board, so all sectors assume a responsibility for the integration of environment and climate change
Adapt policy frameworks to promote transformational change
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People, Prosperity and the Planet
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 09:00Session Chair(s):
Peter Nelson - Theme Forum
Paul Mitchell-Banks - the follow-up debate
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
4 presentations were delivered on the findings of a Global Assessment, methods for predicting future mining impact on biodlverity,mining,the law and biodiversity in Canada, and mining ESGs in the Energy Transition.
The papers were refershing in showinf honesty and integrity (key IAIA principles) in admitting that research assumptions are not always borne out in practice (requiring adjustments in approach,
EIA practitioners need to press continuously for higher standards and better performance in their specific sectors (in this case mining)
Global challenges are daunting, and solutions may be hard to find, but IAIA practitioners should never give up the struggle to have our voice hear and we should individually try to make a difference.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
All four papers stressed the importance of taking a strategic overview.
In impact assessment, an ability to think outside the box and bring insights from other disciplines is essential
Meeting challenges is never easy. Convincing project developers, policy makers and decision-makers of the need to change requires sound baseline information, a clearly defined set of arguments and the ability to present conclusioins with conviction (skills demonstrated by each of the presenters).
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The need to improve policies and strategies featured in each of the presentations.
At a global level, IA practitioners can help to highlight the interlinkages between the SDGs and many performance standards (CBD as an example) developed to support biodiversity. The profession can also help to improve legal frameworks and influence decision-makers where critical choices exist.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Read widely
Pursue your own ideas with conviction and determination but engage with others and keep an open mind (the essence of an IAIA Conference)
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
CAll for clear and objective assessments based on scientif evidned.
Ensure that all processes requiring IA are conducted openlyu and transparently with full public and community participation
Create space for professionals to express their personal views (if necessary in private) even where their judgment is critical of the policy, strategy or project,
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Perspectives on social impact assessment
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 16:00Session Chair(s):
Prof Munya Chitakira
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Emphasis on the importance of the World Bank integrating community investment into its E&S Framework. Also emphasis on the significance of community visioning in social impact assessment - that community visioning helps to align project goals with community expectations. The renewal of USAID policies to integrate SIA is a welcome move but could be spedded up. Leadership and sensitivity in the application of international ESIA standards in a local context to avoid bias and reach meaningful, transformative results is essential.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Local context was highlighted as importanct and there is meed tfor projects o be sinsitive to local issues in order to be relevant to local needs. Taking perspective of local communities rather than western worlview is important for empowerment of local communities and enhancing resilience of the communities.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The efforts to integrate social impact assessment into funding frameworks shows the role of funding organisations towards fostering resilience of local communities.
Consideration of community visioning outcomes can help to align project with the local community goals.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
- Assessment practitioners should consider core values and be aware of bias and, avoid western worldview and consider the local context.
- Should consider integrating CV with SIA as CV can reveal how project goals relate to the community’s expectations and helps SIA to determine suitable social investment projects
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
- The funding bodies/agencies / international development process will have to shift focus from merely economic development to consideration of adverse Environmental and Social impacts; and shift further from consideration of adverse impacts to creation of benefits, towards poverty reduuction and promotion of shared prosperity.
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Putting the S in ESG
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Sara Bice
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Social inclusion, attention to social and community issues and management of social risk will be critical to sustainability, including climate adaptation, healthy communities and resilience. The quality of community engagement and relationships developed through IA and other consultations directly influences levels of resilience in communities impacted by major projects.
Leaders must prioritise and take seriously social concerns. Improved social indicators and measures are necessary but development of these must not unintentionally divert attention from the prior issue at stake: people, their environments and livelihoods.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Engagement and relationship quality: focusing on these early and consistently in projects directly influences levels of community engagement.
Inclusion, social cohesion and process legitimacy: Frameworks including the World Bank ESF can guide and influence better attention to social components of major projects and programs. Their application should come from a perspective that prioritises these concerns.
Social risk management will be critical to develop as an integrated field of risk management with commensurate definitions, tools and practices.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
ANU Institute for Infrastructure in Society's Community Resilience model and Social Risk Management 3Ps Framework (People, Project, Proponent)
World Bank ESF and Louise Cord and co-authors' work on social sustainability and inclusion for development
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Prioritise the social but don't get lost in the weeds of indicators-We need both attention to people and their loved experiences and robust evidence of how they are being affected.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Prioritise and integrate social concerns. Adopt new lenses that encourage more systematised and consistent incorporation of social and community concerns as early as possible.
use the ESF and I2S tools!
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RESILIENCE THROUGH IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND LEADERSHIP (II)
Day: Tuesday
Date: 8 May 2023
Time: 16:00Session Chair(s):
Timothy J. Peirson-Smith
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
- International problem and international panel
- many ways to contribute to GHG minimisation small and large scale
- all solutions need to be resilient
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
EIA of climate mitigation solutions is essential to prove solutions do not cause secondary environmental impacts
all solutions need to be resilient
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
See above
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Be strategic
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Should environmental impact assessment of climate mitigation projects be fast tracked Ie like jumping the queue at airport as you have small children.
Many pros and cons of this discussed
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Resilient organizations
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Pablo Barañao
juan Quintero
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Some resilient organizations may benefit by overcoming crises, but also becoming more susainable and Environmental leaders in their fieles.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
- tranforming organizatons
- being sociable responsible
- clear Environmental and social priorities
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Hidroelectic Project Ituango
municipality of Recife, Brazil
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
The above
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
No
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SDGs in Food Production and Consumption - Land and Sea
Day: Monday
Date: 8 May 2023
Time: 15:00Session Chair(s):
Anne Dansey
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Audience enjoyed the sequencing of the presentations - the purpose was to set the scene with an energy justice legal perspective ultilising international case studies on frameworks for the implementaiton and investment in agrivoltaic projects - defintions and standards focus - looking at USA, Japan, Germany and Australian examples. This presentation showed identification of the leading legal frameworks for agrivoltaics and their opportunities, risks and challenges - understnding why certain approaches were successful or failed to encourage growth or investment. The next presentation explored an innovative focus on the evolution of fisheries from fish catch to development of mariculture projects, looking at impact issues such as water quality, infrastructure aesthetics and carrying capacity for fish stocks to ensure sustainable catch promotion. This presentation discussed resilience of fish stocks and leadership in promoting an new model for production The last presentation covered an example of leadership in addressing the issue of bringing together resarch and industry development within a physical and virtual Agrivoltacis Research and Innovation Precinct, supporting the development of Agrivoltacis - this approach indicates Government's role in providing leadership to ensure that agivoltaics are developed in a way that optimises the potential benefits forr sustainable agricultural production - water and emission reduction, soil quality, and protection from exterme event hail and frost - to promote a more resilient platform for food production in a changing climate.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
The session explored a range of models and case study examples to illustrate the potential for application of SDGs in a real world imapct assessment context. The presentations showed a range of methodologies and evaluation of approaches international on energy justice frameworks for agrivoltaics, EIA models to manage pollution and the carrying capacity of fish stocks, and the importance of a multidisciplinary and approach and utlising mulitple modes to communicate and develop the research required for successful and sustainable agrivoltaic implementation and sound invesment by striking the right balance between agricultural knowledge and soalr energy engineering inputs.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The session questions sought information on the impact of the approach in the Modern Slavery Act - consultation with developing communities and solar panel production and disposal. How localised native produciton was being used to enhance the sites and show leadership in the sector. The session promoted living within capacity limits as well and reduced emissions benefits. The session indicated the importance of the research strategy in developing an understanding of global case studies with similar legal frameworks to learn from other strategies that had been unsuccessful and why. The benefits of early surveys and co-design with stakeholders in developing the policies, strategies and EIA projects and providng opportunity for circular feedback opportunities to influence and shape the approach and implement iterative improvements over time.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Consider scope for a just transition when considering energy and food production approaches. Consider the limitations of land capcity and sea capacity to meet with current demands balanced with future resource requiremtns. Seek out information from research on the different types of agricultural produce that can fit within a particular environmental/climatic context as well as the technical and legal requirements of the most appropriate infrastructure. Investigate the scope and identify options early on and compare with classic SEA considerations. Importance of emedding energy justice in renewable energy and agrivoltaics impact assessments.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Emphasising the importance of co-design with farmers and fisheries and involving researchers early in your project design, multidisciplinary collaboration and understanding international perspectives to create communities of practice.
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Social impact assessment: How universities’ impacts on society are evaluated
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Takako Hashimoto
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Social Impact Assessment is becoming increasingly important, and it is important for us to collect and improve various data to achieve a fair and more equitable assessment.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
- Gathering targeted data, listening to stakeholders, and improving assessment methods.
- Working to foster the next generation involved in SIA.
- Promoting collaboration with communities, industry, and other organizations.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
How to evaluate social activities is not only an important issue but also a very difficult one. Developing talented people, building a system, and visualizing the results are necessary to tackle this. This session presented examples of university initiatives, global ranking systems, and the evaluation of corporate social activities in collaboration with local communities, governments, and universities.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
For SIA
- Collecting and continuously accumulating data
- Listening to stakeholders and working to improve
- Enhancing the engagement of the next generation
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
For SIA, with the objective of developing indicators that can be adapted globally.
Promoting data collection accordingly globally and raising awareness about SIAs
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Speeddate Debate #35
Day: Monday
Date: 8 May 2023
Time: 15:00Session Chair(s):
Jan Nuesink
Petra Boonman
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Speeddate debate
Session #35 , shorthand summary
May 8th 2023
8 Attendees:
Jack Krohn, Victoria State government, Australia;
Paul Eijssen, Royal HaskoningDHV, Netherlands;
Peter Nelson, self employed consultant, UK;
Joel Wong, Swinburne University, Malaysia;
Palash Sanyal , Worldbank, Bangladesh;
Jack Marsden, IAIA Heaquarters, USA ;
Petra Boonman, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Netherlands;
Jan Nuesink, self employed, forest owner, Netherlands.
Considerations on Statement 1 : Renewable energy
You should not make a priority for any type of investment, renewable energy included. So equality of projects, same assessment requirements. But we need to speed up processes – some fast tracking , because we need to change our energy sources urgently. Be aware though, because fast tracking could lead to "insider" bargaining and badly informed decision making. Therefor sharp scoping is needed. Only research what is needed.
Assessement is needed regarding mining of rare metals which are used in renewable energy.
Discussion about what is renewable. When one benefits anything could be clamed as renewable. There is a need for an integral vision. Take in mind the scale on which vision is based. Because the world views are changing for example on the way humans deal with agriculture.
World bank representative wants to start by checking the community. What is needed bottom up. Good gouvernance is essential. Practitioners of IA should educate boards and learn language of politicians. China is a real world example of cutting down IA for renewables. Public participation is costly.
Considerations on Statement 2 : AI (artificial intelligence)
Direct impact on the IA practice can be observed. Data handling and modeling is being supported or even executed with the help of AI. Tricky thing is decision making. One should NEVER leave human decision making to AI.
Practitioners should update their knowledge, do we know enough about the models and about AI to interpret the outcomes and impacts (do not accept the black box without scrutiny).
Fully depending on AI will never happen. Time profit from AI. Will help to scope projects. It’ll solve some time problems. Experts need to understand whats behind the models.
Considerations on Statement 3 – biodiversity crisis
Certain events in history need evolution and rebellion. Against activist action would plead the emergence of chaos in society.
Sometimes this chaos is needed f.e. in situations of dictatorship, but also in case of women's rights not that long ago (suffragette movement). Thank god there was rebellion at that time.
Whats the role of practitioners of IA in education and media? Educate ourselves to express ourselves to be heard and understood by politicians and decision makers.
Consideration on Statement 4 - Biannual IAIA conference?
What can you do for the environment to help offsetting conference travels? Spread, bring knowledge back. Contribute, plant trees, take a sailing boat?
If we do not have annual conferences our IAIA global community will die off!
Reinvent yourself from time to time. Benefit from COVID-19 and organize annual meeting hybrid with regional and/or thematic hubs. This gives access to more people to join from all continents.
Maybe align more to the TEDx experience: people will always want to connect. It is a human need.
There is a big social part of meeting at IAIA. It is only once a year. And finally the total emission per passenger flight
kilometer is not that much C02
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
-
Speeddate Debate #35
Day: Monday
Date: 8 May 2023
Time: 15:00Session Chair(s):
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Speeddate debate
Session #35 , shorthand summary
May 8th 2023
8 Attendees:
Jack Krohn, Victoria State government, Australia;
Paul Eijssen, Royal HaskoningDHV, Netherlands;
Peter Nelson, self employed consultant, UK;
Joel Wong, Swinburne University, Malaysia;
Palash Sanyal , Worldbank, Bangladesh;
Jack Marsden, IAIA Heaquarters, USA ;
Petra Boonman, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Netherlands;
Jan Nuesink, self employed, forest owner, Netherlands.
Considerations on Statement 1 : Renewable energy
You should not make a priority for any type of investment, renewable energy included. So equality of projects, same assessment requirements. But we need to speed up processes – some fast tracking , because we need to change our energy sources urgently. Be aware though, because fast tracking could lead to "insider" bargaining and badly informed decision making. Therefor sharp scoping is needed. Only research what is needed.
Assessement is needed regarding mining of rare metals which are used in renewable energy.
Discussion about what is renewable. When one benefits anything could be clamed as renewable. There is a need for an integral vision. Take in mind the scale on which vision is based. Because the world views are changing for example on the way humans deal with agriculture.
World bank representative wants to start by checking the community. What is needed bottom up. Good gouvernance is essential. Practitioners of IA should educate boards and learn language of politicians. China is a real world example of cutting down IA for renewables. Public participation is costly.
Considerations on Statement 2 : AI (artificial intelligence)
Direct impact on the IA practice can be observed. Data handling and modeling is being supported or even executed with the help of AI. Tricky thing is decision making. One should NEVER leave human decision making to AI.
Practitioners should update their knowledge, do we know enough about the models and about AI to interpret the outcomes and impacts (do not accept the black box without scrutiny).
Fully depending on AI will never happen. Time profit from AI. Will help to scope projects. It’ll solve some time problems. Experts need to understand whats behind the models.
Considerations on Statement 3 – biodiversity crisis
Certain events in history need evolution and rebellion. Against activist action would plead the emergence of chaos in society.
Sometimes this chaos is needed f.e. in situations of dictatorship, but also in case of women's rights not that long ago (suffragette movement). Thank god there was rebellion at that time.
Whats the role of practitioners of IA in education and media? Educate ourselves to express ourselves to be heard and understood by politicians and decision makers.
Consideration on Statement 4 - Biannual IAIA conference?
What can you do for the environment to help offsetting conference travels? Spread, bring knowledge back. Contribute, plant trees, take a sailing boat?
If we do not have annual conferences our IAIA global community will die off!
Reinvent yourself from time to time. Benefit from COVID-19 and organize annual meeting hybrid with regional and/or thematic hubs. This gives access to more people to join from all continents.
Maybe align more to the TEDx experience: people will always want to connect. It is a human need.
There is a big social part of meeting at IAIA. It is only once a year. And finally the total emission per passenger flight
kilometer is not that much C02
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
-
Sustainable Finance and ESG: Double materiality assessment
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 09:00Session Chair(s):
Adina Relicovschi
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
There are two communities: the sustainable finance experts and the impacts assessment practionaires. However, it is a strong interconnection and link between the two sectors. Therefore, both communities should come and sit to the same table and work together, hand in hand, as the future is this - sustainable investments/activities.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Better integration: impact assessment practionaires should became familiar with sustainable finance/taxonomy requirements and integrate them into the process. By doing so, they support a proper implementation of the sustainable finace requirements, provide valuable assistance to the finacial sector that has no practical experience. Avoinding big mistakes is crucial as doing right from the beginning might help to avoid doing harm and therefore playing against the main objective.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
The use of the EIA/ESIA process as a main criteria to implement "do no significant harm" principle at project level.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Becaming familiar with environmental (and upcoming social) taxonomy, particularly the concepts of substantial contribution, do no significant harm, minimum social safeguards and integrate specific criteria into the EIA/ESIAs.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Promoting the EU Taxonomy - that can be taken as a benchmark together with other national taxonomies developed in specific jurisdications and strengtening collaboration to support development towards a common taxonomy to be globally accepted.
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Synergies of impact assessment and circular economy
Day: Tuesday
Date: 8 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Ralf Aschemann
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Get IA and CE experts on board if possible
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Increasing resilience through applying tailor-made IA tools
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Learning from other communities like CE, thus overcoming the silo approach thinking
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Be open for new trends and developments
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Policy-makers should take into account IA recommendations
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Synergies of impact assessment and circular economy
Day: Tuesday
Date: 8 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Ralf Aschemann
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
Get IA and CE experts on board if possible
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
Increasing resilience through applying tailor-made IA tools
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
Learning from other communities like CE, thus overcoming the silo approach thinking
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Be open for new trends and developments
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Policy-makers should take into account IA recommendations
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THE BUSINESS OF SIA: DO COMMERCIAL CONSIDERATIONS COMPROMISE SIA QUALITY?
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Anthony Kung
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
SIA is largely commissioned as a commercial transaction, which creates incentives that entrench outdated practice. The problems are resilient in that, despite great efforts to innovate SIA practice, the majority of SIA remains poorer than what they could be.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
We are looking to BREAK the resilient system created by commercially-commissioned SIA. Resilient systems are difficult to dismantle. It will take leadership, policy-change, funding. Unfortunately, it may also take people and communities to be HARMED before systemic change can be achieved.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
We need to think of resilience as not necessarily a good thing. IAIA showcases incredible work - but why are the good examples so often correcting poor IA? If we are to drive a "better normal", then we must pay attention to how to BREAK resilient systems that we don't want.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
Be aware of how a consulting model of IA creates incentives that compromises the quality of IA. While many practitioners are doing the best they can within systemic constraints. It will take courage, advocacy, and resources to fundamentally change how IAs are scoped and carried out.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Be aware of how a consulting model of IA creates incentives that compromises the quality of IA. While many practitioners are doing the best they can within systemic constraints. It will take courage, advocacy, and resources to fundamentally change how IAs are scoped and carried out.
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The Role of EIA in Deep-Sea Mining
Day: Wednesday
Date: 10 May 2023
Time: 11:00Session Chair(s):
Michael Clarke
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
1. Quantifying resilience requires a foundation of good science
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
1. Application of adaptive management techniques to a project can identify factors that support resilience even in data-poor situations
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
1. The International Seabed Authority having been established as a regulator before the industry has even started is a shining example of leadership in fostering resilience
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
1. Become more engaged with academia
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
1. Be curious, not judgmental. Let the science shape your opinions and policies
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Transforming Environmental Governance to Improve ESG Outcomes
Day: Tuesday
Date: 9 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Mellissa Winfield
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
- Resilience cannot be viewed in isolation from other development agenda in developing countries, especially that they are more susceptible to negative impacts from lack of environmental sustainability and/or lack of social inclusion.
- Resilience can be achieved through a combination of a strong regulatory framework, and its implementation through command and control mechanism, but also there is a very strong role for market based instruments and the role of the public pressures to meet resilience targets.
- Taking leadership while conducting assessments means focusing on what is of highest risk, and what will lead to better outcomes for the project and affected communities.
- Taking leadership from a compliance perspective means taking a proportional approach to focus compliance on highest risk and highest value areas, and taking the time to articulate how compliance will drive better outcomes.
- Taking leadership also means team capacity building throughout the IA process.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
- Regulatory systems where resilience aspects (e.g. climate change) are required.
- Better awareness at the local level of the benefits garnered to the country and project beneficiaries from resilience/EIA alignment
- Team coordination and capacity building
- Alignment of international and local standards
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
· Better practices in managing contractors and sub-contractors to implement E&S mitigation and requirements.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
- Put the benefit of the final beneficiaries above all else!
- Ensure you are up to date on the latest developments in climate change science
- Hold the line – it’s our job to respect and apply local jurisdiction and international E&S safeguards, not find ways to challenge or justify deviations.
- Consider the bigger picture of the triple planetary threat, and use IA where possible to plug common gaps in assessment and mitigation, including accidents and malfunctions, supply chain risks, third party activities, biodiversity/no net loss, etc.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
- work together to ensure policy coherence across the trade, development, health and environment agendas
- work together to motivate an international approach to harmonizing standards, training / capacity building of government and community ….
- implementation of an International Environmental Protection Authority (IEPA) to protect humanity…the triple planetary threats of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution means human safety threshold has been breached and we need a coordinated, well funded response ….we need institutional policy reform.
Need to work financing bodies to spur funding that is appropriately scaled - $3 - 6trillion annually
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Universities Should Lead Climate Action
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Sachihiko HARASHINA Satoru ONO
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
As a form of social responsibility (SR) for universities, addressing the issue of climate change has been suggested to lead to more comprehensive climate change policies through not only the promotion of local renewable energy but also through educational efforts and support for other organizations. Hirata stated that a rapid transition from energy systems to renewable energy is an essential part of achieving the 1.5-degree climate goal, and that by leading good practices, we can demonstrate that the transition is possible and enable others to follow, which is crucial for the participation of all stakeholders in climate change measures. In response, Harashina argued that by demonstrating a renewable energy model 100% by universities, it is possible to influence other organizations, stressing the need to educate students who will lead the transition to a society powered by 100% renewable energy, and the necessity to include a support function for other organizations through these activities.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
In establishing a system for 100% renewable energy universities, it is essential to reach a consensus within the university, and constructing the “heart-ware†is crucial. Harashina introduced initiatives such as energy consumption surveys conducted for building the heart-ware among university stakeholders, and argued that through these efforts, a system has been established to become the "first penguin." As Hirata points out, for climate change measures involving stakeholders, it is important to demonstrate the feasibility of the project; thus, building the heart-ware can be seen as a vital stage in the decision-making process for a university's SR.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
In fields such as psychology and management, "leadership" refers to the function of presenting appropriate goals within an organization and coordinating the dynamism of the organization to achieve them. From this perspective, the findings of this session can be summarized in the following two points: First, impact assessment at the goal-setting stage. As Hirata points out, in order for organizations to promote climate change measures, it is necessary to present effective and feasible goals. In the initiatives reported by Harashina, they conducted energy consumption surveys and provided information on positive and negative impacts to support organizations. In other words, impact assessment has been implemented at the goal-setting stage. Second, internal and external organization within groups. As previously mentioned, the heart-ware within the organization is crucial in the decision-making process as the "first penguin." As Harashina points out, by setting activity goals within each university faculty and staff, student groups, and inter-university networks, activities tailored to the organization's state become possible. Faculty and student circles communicate closely while students independently engage in activities, functioning as a network organization.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
In national, regional, and local government planning, it is essential to have a perspective that fosters networking among the initiatives of various organizations and promotes mutual support within the network. Furthermore, those responsible for planning climate change initiatives as part of their SR should discover effective and achievable goals through assessment within the larger objectives and adopt strategies to cultivate the heart-ware of stakeholders within that context.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Compared to other advanced countries, Japan's renewable energy goals are not sufficiently ambitious, and its dependence on fossil fuels remains high, necessitating the strengthening of renewable energy policies. To comprehensively promote this, it is essential to network the critical practices of each stakeholder. Educational institutions, as stakeholders consuming energy and regional resources, are not exempt from this issue, and there is a need for discussion about the framework of their social responsibility (SR) as well.
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Universities Should Lead Climate Action
Day: Thursday
Date: 11 May 2023
Time: 14:00Session Chair(s):
Sachihiko HARASHINA Satoru ONO
(a) Three messages on the theme "Resilience through impact assessment and leadership"
(I) What were the top lessons from your session about leadership and resilience in impact assessment?
As a form of social responsibility (SR) for universities, addressing the issue of climate change has been suggested to lead to more comprehensive climate change policies through not only the promotion of local renewable energy but also through educational efforts and support for other organizations. Hirata stated that a rapid transition from energy systems to renewable energy is an essential part of achieving the 1.5-degree climate goal, and that by leading good practices, we can demonstrate that the transition is possible and enable others to follow, which is crucial for the participation of all stakeholders in climate change measures. In response, Harashina argued that by demonstrating a renewable energy model 100% by universities, it is possible to influence other organizations, stressing the need to educate students who will lead the transition to a society powered by 100% renewable energy, and the necessity to include a support function for other organizations through these activities.
(II) What key factors discussed in your session can help build resilience through impact assessment, and how can they be applied in decision making?
In establishing a system for 100% renewable energy universities, it is essential to reach a consensus within the university, and constructing the “heart-ware†is crucial. Harashina introduced initiatives such as energy consumption surveys conducted for building the heart-ware among university stakeholders, and argued that through these efforts, a system has been established to become the "first penguin." As Hirata points out, for climate change measures involving stakeholders, it is important to demonstrate the feasibility of the project; thus, building the heart-ware can be seen as a vital stage in the decision-making process for a university's SR.
(III) What examples or insights from your session illustrated the role of leadership in fostering resilience by effectively utilizing impact assessments for shaping policies, strategies, and projects?
In fields such as psychology and management, "leadership" refers to the function of presenting appropriate goals within an organization and coordinating the dynamism of the organization to achieve them. From this perspective, the findings of this session can be summarized in the following two points: First, impact assessment at the goal-setting stage. As Hirata points out, in order for organizations to promote climate change measures, it is necessary to present effective and feasible goals. In the initiatives reported by Harashina, they conducted energy consumption surveys and provided information on positive and negative impacts to support organizations. In other words, impact assessment has been implemented at the goal-setting stage. Second, internal and external organization within groups. As previously mentioned, the heart-ware within the organization is crucial in the decision-making process as the "first penguin." As Harashina points out, by setting activity goals within each university faculty and staff, student groups, and inter-university networks, activities tailored to the organization's state become possible. Faculty and student circles communicate closely while students independently engage in activities, functioning as a network organization.
Recommendations for impact assessment practitioners:
In national, regional, and local government planning, it is essential to have a perspective that fosters networking among the initiatives of various organizations and promotes mutual support within the network. Furthermore, those responsible for planning climate change initiatives as part of their SR should discover effective and achievable goals through assessment within the larger objectives and adopt strategies to cultivate the heart-ware of stakeholders within that context.
Recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders (please specify if possible):
Compared to other advanced countries, Japan's renewable energy goals are not sufficiently ambitious, and its dependence on fossil fuels remains high, necessitating the strengthening of renewable energy policies. To comprehensively promote this, it is essential to network the critical practices of each stakeholder. Educational institutions, as stakeholders consuming energy and regional resources, are not exempt from this issue, and there is a need for discussion about the framework of their social responsibility (SR) as well.