ASSESSING & MANAGING CUMULATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

Calgary, AB, Canada / 6-9 November 2008
Keynote Speakers - Cumulative Effects Conference
  • Stephen Lintner (World Bank)
  • Peter Sylvester (President of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency)
  • Peter Burnett (Australian Government, Dept of Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts)
  • Brenda Kenny (President of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association)

The program will take stock of key trends, issues and approaches to cumulative effects; identify areas of strength and weakness of current impact assessment and resource management approaches in addressing cumulative effects; document good practice and ways forward to improve and integrate the institutions, science and practice of cumulative effects assessment and management; and include plenary, theme, concurrent and poster sessions and invited speakers for plenary and theme forums.

Sessions will be organized around four major themes
  • Institutional arrangements (including legal and policy frameworks, processes and instruments) for assessment, planning and management of cumulative impacts.
  • Science-based frameworks, knowledge systems and methodologies and tools in support of decision-making, particularly within sustainability frameworks.
  • Operational practice in analysis, mitigation and monitoring of cumulative effects and in ex-post evaluation of process, practice and performance.
  • Integrated approaches that demonstrate the effective linkage of institutions, science and practice in strategic (top down) and/or project (bottom up) approaches to assessing and managing cumulative effects.
Fields of interest include
  • Impact assessment including EIA, SEA, area-wide or CEAM-specific processes
  • Capacity-based resources and stock analysis
  • Ecosystem, biodiversity and habitat assessment
  • Policy analysis of major development options in evergy, transport and other sectors
  • Hazards, vulnerability and climate change adaptation planning, particularly for arid and water stressed areas, small islands or Northern and Arctic regions
  • Role of regional development and spatial planning in managing cumulative effects
  • Integrated land use planning resource management, particularly for river basin and watersheds, coastal zones or large ocean and marine areas
  • Regional and local interagency management programs