Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA), A Review

Abstract

Most development activities have individually minor impact, but collectively over time their impact on the environment is more substantial. The available environmental circumstances in different locations show the important position of cumulative effects (CEs) in environmental studies. Many sources notified the complexity of cumulative effects assessment (CEA) in practice and identification of CEs in assessments. Maybe it is because the essence of impact assessments have to focus on future consequences, and this situation is complex substantive. Also, a lack of knowledge with respect to how to include CEs and lack of clear regulations concerning how this should be done are the most complex criteria of CEA which have been mentioned by CEA practitioners. Most guides and regulations are considered in the performance of CEA during environmental impact assessment (EIA) of projects. Also, there is an important consideration regarding performance of CEA in strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) process, and some reasons present it. In the section of methods and tools used for CEA, risk assessment approaches and modeling are the most used innovative methodologies for the improvement of CEA in recent times. Generally, improvement in performance and knowledge of CEA is noticeable in recent years.