A QUESTION OF BALANCE IN INTEGRATED IMPACT ASSESSMENT: NEGOTIATING AWAY THE ENVIRONMENTAL INTEREST IN AUSTRALIA'S BASSLINK PROJECT

2007 ◽  
Vol 09 (03) ◽  
pp. 273-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
RONLYN DUNCAN ◽  
PETE HAY
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Environmental Capacity ◽  
Infrastructure Project ◽  
World Heritage Area ◽  
Integrated Assessments ◽  
Heritage Area ◽  
Integrated Impact Assessment

It is argued that under the guise of integrated impact assessment, environmental capacity and quality is being eroded rather than enhanced. This proposition is examined in the context of a World Heritage Area and an integrated impact assessment process for a major energy infrastructure project in Australia known as Basslink. The case study, which charts the negotiations that took place between a proponent, environmental researchers, consultants, regulators and decision-makers for an environmental flow for the iconic Gordon River in Tasmania, describes the 'balance' that was struck in the name of sustainable development. It demonstrates that, while social and economic benefits tend to be identified as one and the same, the environment is constituted as an oppositional "good". We argue that this outcome is the rule rather than the exception and caution that integrated assessments could serve to 'fast-track' the loss of environmental capacity and quality.

LINKING ABORIGINAL HERITAGE ISSUES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY

1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
K.N. Davie ◽  
T.A. Winters
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Impact Study ◽  
Environmental Impact Study ◽  
Clearance Process ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Western Australian

This paper discusses the relationship between the Aboriginal heritage clearance process and the environmental impact assessment process. The current Western Australian legislation and the Murrin Murrin nickel project and other Western Australian projects are used as a case study, although similar methods and issues are applicable to most states within Australia. The paper investigates areas where delays may occur and proposes a model which can be implemented to maximise the level of certainty for a project.

Developing Impact Assessment for Training Systems Research & Development: A Case Study of the Strategic Approach for the NEWIT System

2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (26) ◽  
pp. 1954-1958
Author(s):  
Tim Kotnour ◽  
Kay Stanney ◽  
Rafael Landaeta ◽  
Laura Milham ◽  
Julie Drexler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Naval Research ◽  
Training Systems ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Office Of Naval Research ◽  
Strategic Approach ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
New System

Impact assessment seeks to evaluate the effects of a new system realized on target beneficiaries and is an essential process via which to tangibly demonstrate the operational and economic benefits of a research and development (R&D) program. This paper contributes a framework –Program-management Understanding, Measurement, and Assessment (PUMA) - for developing an impact assessment approach for planning and evaluating R&D programs. The intent of the framework is to help an R&D organization provide traceability from the identification of program needs to selecting and conducting R&D to implementation to defining and measuring results. The framework is demonstrated using an Office of Naval Research project.

scholarly journals Stakeholder collaboration in a prospective World Heritage Area: The case of Kokoda and the Owen Stanley Ranges

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Louise Bott ◽  
Simone Maria Grabowski ◽  
Stephen Wearing
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Local Community ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Stakeholder Collaboration ◽  
World Heritage Sites ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
World Heritage Area ◽  
Heritage Area

The process of listing a World Heritage Area (WHA)c in developing countries is often much more complex than in the West. Often all stakeholders are not taken into consideration and there is a lack of understanding of the concept of World Heritage and what it entails. This is particularly true for stakeholders who live in or adjacent to the proposed WHA, such as local communities. This paper presents a case study of Kokoda and the Owen Stanley Ranges, currently a tentative World Heritage site, to show the complexities in stakeholder collaboration and attribution in the process of World Heritage designation. Six key stakeholders were identified in the study. Upon examination of four attributes of stakeholders: power; legitimacy; urgency; and proximity, it was found that all stakeholders in this case study have a high legitimacy in the listing process however only the local community holds high levels of power, urgency and proximity. Additionally it was found that several stakeholders, like the private sector, have too many weak relationships with other stakeholders, resulting in a lack of communication. These findings present the first step in understanding how it might be possible to improve the listing process of World Heritage Sites in developing countries through effective stakeholder collaboration.

The reverse precautionary principle: science, the environment and the salmon aquaculture industry in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie B. Kirkpatrick ◽  
Lorne K. Kriwoken ◽  
Jennifer Styger
Keyword(s):  
Fish Farming ◽  
Fish Farms ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Control Research ◽  
Marked Decline ◽  
World Heritage Area ◽  
Tasmanian Endemic ◽  
Industry Needs ◽  
Heritage Area

Science is frequently used by opposing sides in environment–development debates. Scientific input from an environmental perspective can be inhibited if those in favour of development control research funding. We test whether such a situation can result in outcomes desired by neither of the protagonists, and seek to identify how negative outcomes can be avoided, using the example of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania. A marked decline in dissolved oxygen (DO) at 19–21m depth in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, occurred between 2009 and 2011. DO continues to be low. DO change was associated with changes in the benthic biota, with effects extending from fish farms into the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and threatening a Tasmanian endemic fish. The reverse precautionary response of industry and government was to undertake further research because the causes of the changes were not fully understood. We present simple graphs and analyses that suggest that the only substantial predictor of benthic DO reduction is fish production from marine farms, with variability in discharge, catchment rainfall, wind speed, sea surface temperatures and sea level pressure having no effect. Adaptive management of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour seems to require an estuary-wide approach rather than the current attention to the effects of single pens. The broader implications of the case study are that the science related to the environmental impacts of an industry needs to be undertaken by scientists in secure positions funded independently of industry and government.

scholarly journals WHAT IS WRONG WITH EIA AND SEA ANYWAY? A SCEPTIC'S PERSPECTIVE ON SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT

2006 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 19-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANGUS MORRISON-SAUNDERS ◽  
THOMAS B FISCHER
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Environmental Advocacy ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Integrated Assessments

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) was initially introduced as an advocacy instrument for the biophysical environment in project decision-making. Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) evolved with a similar mission for strategic level proposals. However, recent trends towards more integration, particularly in the context of sustainability assessment (SA) mean that social and economic aspects are now frequently considered on a par with the environment in impact assessment processes. There are indications that this development will ultimately favour trade-offs towards socio-economic benefits, causing adverse environmental impacts. In this paper, we discuss problems connected with these types of integrated assessments. Based on observations of SA processes are actually environmentally unsustainable, we argue that the need for environment focussed EIA and true SEA in planning processes is now greater than ever. We suggest that until power relationships develop in a way that will allow integration in an environmentally sustainable manner, practitioners should not give up the benefits that have arisen from 35 years of EIA practice. We conclude that in our current world, there is nothing wrong with environmental advocacy — let's continue to use EIA and SEA effectively to protect the environment!

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