13. Regional Assessments Flashcards
RAs
A form of impact assessment aimed at
understanding development effects
within a regional context, providing
broader analyses to inform future
decisions beyond project-specific
evaluations
Applying a regional and systems perspective to the
assessment of … by which they are affected
environmental, social, and health values,
their relationships and interactions, and the impacts and
impact pathways
Interest in RA is fueled in no small part by concerns about…
; but an RA needs a VC(s)
RAs in this context may be used to detail regional
, identify impacts to …, help manage cumulative effects.
cumulative effects
baselines and thresholds
Indigenous
rights and interests
Whatever the context, RA likely is meaningless unless it
is
informed by/connected to other processes, studies,
or planning; and functions as part of the land use or
resource management system.
RA applied as
VC-focused assessment
relying on development/project pathways and regional
impacts
sustainability-focused assessment where it
supports strategic environmental and social objectives
Indigenous-led assessments
issues
- Regional assessment can mean different things to
different people. - A struggle to define succinctly, clearly, operationally
- It is akin to regional planning, but some don’t like this
comparison - Jurisdictional issues. Who is responsible for planning
and resource development/management? - What are the issues we want RA to solve?
–> connection to Indigenous led
assessment processes?
types of studies could be a part of RAs
- Environmental Impacts or Conditions Studies (cumulative
effects of developments, water quality, air quality,
biodiversity, habitat). - Socioeconomic
- Cultural and Historical Assets
- Land Use Planning
- Health Impact Assessments
- Climate Change Studies
- Cumulative Effects Assessments
- Transportation and Infrastructure Studies
RA as studies in areas of
existing or anticipated development to help guide
planning, manage cumulative effects, and support eventual
project impact assessments could provide: (5)
- Baselines for assessing the incremental impact of individual
projects. - Thresholds to guide future project decisions.
- Standard mitigation measures for upcoming projects.
- Potential impacts on Indigenous rights and interests.
- Guidance for land or marine-use planning and initiatives to
manage cumulative effects across jurisdictions.
RAs in IAA federal
The Minister may set up regional assessments to be conducted by the Agency or a committee
- Regional assessment results must be taken into account
when deciding if an impact assessment is required and as a
factor in project impact assessments - The public can request regional assessments and the
Minister must respond - Minister’s Advisory Committee and Technical Advisory
Committee– provide advice on regional assessment priority
regions and issues - If a region includes non-federal lands, the Minister may
collaborate with other jurisdictions for joint committee
establishment and conducting an assessment - The IAA outlines procedural requirements for RAs, including
timelines for the Minister to address public requests - And, it mandates that RA results be considered in subsequent
project-specific impact assessments.
how 5 approaches range in terms of costs, involvement, complexity of other jursidictions
- data gathering/trend analysis
–> lowest
* Better
understanding of
environment /
context
- Early identification
of region-specific
issues
- setting thresholds and standard mitigation
* Establish standard
mitigation and/or
effects thresholds to
guide future
planning and project
development - regional development planning
* Assessment of
future (alternative)
development
scenarios
- Support identifying
regional
development
objectives
–> highest
Regional assessment, if it is to be effective (a.k.a.
it’s useful or it makes a difference), requires
…
interjurisdictional cooperation
interjurisdictional cooperation in Canada is elusive and will become increasingly difficult So, the requirement of engagement with and
consent from Indigenous nations may provide the …
needed ‘push’ to get otherwise reluctant
agencies/governments to work together
EIA is project triggered, but moving to regional and strategic
processes that seek to anticipate how best to react to the
next event within a much …
that is not typical of project-based EIA
broader spatial and temporal scale
- The interest in RA may reflect ongoing challenges, maybe
even dissatisfaction with EIA?
Value components will define process what the looks at, but
these are becoming broader. Is that a bad thing? It may
make sense for RAs
‘EIA is ideally an early stage planning tool’, but in practice it’s
not. Is RA really a cure for this?
- Land use planning is largely NOT within the remit of the
… government
federal
