Social Impact Assessment Research Articles

The role of time and social churn in impact assessment: An engagement-based model

To participate in social impact assessments, members of a community need to understand both the nature and complexity of impacts at the individual and social level. This study considers the role of engagement in developing community understanding of social impacts by documenting and analyzing organizational and community actions and responses in the Adani Carmichael mine case. Findings suggest engagement facilitates the conduct of social churn. We define social churn as a process of collective level discussion, meaning-making, and consensus-building from multiple information inputs in response to equivocality or uncertainty resulting from organizational behavior, out of which is generated an articulation of community level perceptions of that organizational behavior and its impacts at an individual, community, and societal level. Theoretically, the findings of this study challenge traditional linear notions of social impact assessments and offer an alternative engagement-based model. Practically, the model identifies ways in which organizations can recognize and participate in the social processes that both create and represent the differing levels of social reality determining perceptions of those impacts.

Social impact assessment of investment activities in the China–Pakistan economic corridor

In order to analyze potential social risks, and achieve smooth implementation of investment activities in the China–Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), we attempt to establish social impact and risk indicators. Both the impacts on the projects and the impacts of the projects are used to develop risk indicators in accordance with the literature review, reality and international standard principles. Using an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and average value to analyze questionnaires of both Chinese and Pakistani respondents, we identify the importance of various risk indicators. The primary social risks of the western high mountain region include tribal obstacles and religious extremism. The social risks to the southeast coastal plains include preserving the historical and cultural heritage of the area and international protection of national parks. The social risks in north Kashmir include disputes, extremist threats, religious and cultural differences, and the protection of natural reserves. The social risks of the Xinjiang region primarily involve social issues faced by ethnic minorities and environmental pressures.

Online retail of alcohol, some dilemmas for professional SIA practice

Online retail is burgeoning, challenging ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers and changing both purchase and retail distribution practices in many countries. At the same time, this growth is challenging some established social impact assessment (SIA) frames of reference, creating new dilemmas for professional SIA practice. This paper examines some of these dilemmas as they are revealed in decisions published by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority in the calendar year 2017.

Large dams, energy justice and the divergence between international, national and local developmental needs and priorities in the global South

This paper investigates from a socio-technical and energy justice perspective the lack of coordination of international, national and local developmental priorities and inclusion of local needs in the decision making process of large dam construction in the global South. The paper argues that the analysis of energy infrastructures as socio-technical systems requires an energy justice approach to capture the true environmental and social nature of energy production and consumption. In doing so, this paper proposes a conceptual framework called “The Energy Justice Framework for Dam Decision-Making” as a tool to inform energy decisions on infrastructure development based on energy justice principles and social impact assessment. The proposed framework is used in this paper to analyse distributional, procedural, restorative justice, and power relations throughout the entire dams’ energy system in the case of four large dams located in Africa and Asia, namely Kamchay dam in Cambodia, Bakun dam in Malaysia, Bui dam in Ghana and the planned Zamfara dam in Nigeria.

Sustainable development and environmental challenges in Cameroon’s mining sector: A review

Cameroon has a strong geological potential for a number of mineral resources that, if well managed, could support economic growth. The country contains potentially large deposits of iron ore, gold, bauxite, diamond, limestone, nickel, and gemstones, and indices of other numerous minerals and precious metals. Despite its geological wealth, mining has never played a major role in Cameroon’s economic development. A study on the state of sustainable development and environmental challenges in the Cameroon mining sector permits the identification of key points for improvement in order to position the country towards achieving a sustainable mining industry in the future. This paper reviews the mining potential, stakeholder participation, legislation, and mining policy in Cameroon mining industry. The methodology involves a single case study focused on the review of sustainable development in the Cameroon mining industry up to date. It includes scientific studies, and reports of ministries and support organizations, national laws, and regulations related to the area of study. Also the corporate sustainability reports of mining companies and mining stakeholders are analyzed. This research work covers the latest developments in terms of the institutional and regulatory frameworks for mining and the environment in the country, history of mining in Cameroon, and evolution and issues of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) system in the mining sector until 2016. The work concludes with an identification of the current challenges of implementing sustainable development in mining as well as future directions that research works on this area should take.

What do social entrepreneurs need to walk their talk? Understanding the attitude–behavior gap in social impact assessment practice

The topic of social impact assessment (SIA) is growing in importance, and this is especially true for social enterprises. The mission of solving social problems is the main feature of these organizations; thus, the need to assess the extent to which this mission is fulfilled becomes essential. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model that could explain the attitude–behavior gap in SIA practice through the development of a coherence/displacement matrix, to gauge if social entrepreneurs are coherent in “walking their talks.” The study is based on a mixed‐methods approach focused on the Italian context. An empirical quantitative analysis has been performed to identify the misalignment between attitude and behavior. The gaps that emerged are then analyzed through in‐depth interviews with social entrepreneurs, to provide a pilot case study that could test the model and gain further insights into how those gaps could be filled.

Bio-based plastics - A review of environmental, social and economic impact assessments

Abstract Bio-based plastics show an evolving market and application range and therefore have become increasingly popular in research and economy. The limitation of fossil resources as well as linked environmental issues have led to the development of an innovative bioeconomy and also triggered the shift from fossil-based plastics to bio-based plastics. The original motivation for this study was to propose a comprehensive approach to calculate the sustainability performance of bio-based plastics on a global scale. To provide a calculative basis, a review on available data from life cycle assessment (LCA), social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) studies on bio-based plastics was carried out and showed limited availability of quantifiable results with regard to the social and economic performance of bio-based plastics. In environmental LCA, with the ISO-family and related documents, a group of harmonized standards and approaches does exist. However, missing practical and consented guidelines hamper the comparability of studies and the exploitability of data - not only within the bio-based plastic sector but also in comparison to the fossil-based counterparts. Therefore, a calculation for the global sustainability performance of bio-based plastics was merely conducted for the environmental impact category global warming potential. Taking the technical substitution potential of fossil-based with bio-based plastics as well as limitations in data availability into account the estimation was performed for a substitution of approximately two-thirds of the global plastic demand. The results show, that bio-based plastics could potentially save 241 to 316 Mio. t of CO2-eq. annually. Thereby this study gives a first outlook how bio-based plastics could contribute to a sustainable development, making benefits and drawbacks more tangible.

La valutazione di impatto sociale: obiettivi, metodi ed evoluzioni

The social impact assessment is an activity of social research and an assessment practice that has received an increasing spread. Burgeoned from the environmental impact assessment method, its early formulations aim to anticipate and mitigate the adverse social impacts of a proposed intervention, whilst also contributing to strengthening positive ones. Since the first applications, different versions of social impact assessment have been proposed, depending on the unit of analysis and the purposes of the evaluation. The article offers two reading tracks: the social impact assessments applied to programs, policies and reforms; and impact assessments applied to social enterprises and social investments. The article concludes with some notes on the contribution of social impact assessment to make a step further to reach the most relevant evaluation purposes and some cautions to consider in the development of these methods.

A Study on the Assessment of Social Impact of Cultural Programs of the Children's Library

A Study on the Assessment of Social Impact of Cultural Programs of the Children's Library

Social impact assessment in the mining sector: Review and comparison of indicators frameworks

Mining provides inputs for other industrial sectors that are vital for sustaining population wellbeing and the functioning of global economies. At the same time, it can generate social and environmental impacts, which could compromise public acceptance of the sector. Given this twofold role in human society, the improvement of the sustainability performance is a very important objective both for industry and for the European policy, willing to boost a sustainable supply of raw materials.In various contexts, social impacts of mining are assessed with different sets of indicators and targets. In this study we perform a review of the associated literature, identify a list of typical social impacts occurring in the sector, and explore their geographical distribution. The list of identified impacts is compared against the indicators used for assessing and promoting sustainability in different contexts and at different scales: (i) the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), (ii) the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), (iii) the EU policy making through the analysis of the Better Regulation policy and three impact assessment reports, and (iv) the databases used in Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA).Land use-related impacts and environmental impacts affecting human health and human rights appear to be the most concerning social aspects in the mining sector. Benefits from income and employment are, instead, the main positive impacts identified in the screened literature.The paper compares the different indicator sets used in the above-mentioned frameworks with the list of impacts emerged from the literature review. Working conditions and human rights are well-covered aspects in the indicator lists. Main differences concern demographic changes and migration due to the presence of a mine and land use-related impacts, which are described in literature and partially covered in other schemes. A challenge for sustainability assessment is the evaluation of the mining sector's contribution to society, beyond the mere economic value added, and in general the assessment of positive impacts.

Mining and sustainable development: territorializing the mining industry

The mining industry today faces a new set of environmental, social, economic, and political challenges. Despite efforts deployed by companies to improve their sustainable practices, and the proliferation of international initiatives aiming at enhanced sector management governance, mining is again being challenged. Centralized management and contradictory legal and institutional arrangements governing public sector institutions—especially the relation between the mining and the environmental authorities—create tensions between central governments and subnational authorities, mandated to manage territories in the context of decentralization. Given the lack of alignment in dealing with mining’s environmental, socio-economic, and territorial impacts, central government’s top-down decisions are becoming difficult to enforce. The politic dimension of the environmental and social impact assessment processes, in the context of poor inter-institutional coordination, accentuated the lack of trust in the formal procedures of consultation and increased the number of conflicts around projects. Revenue sharing mechanisms introduced by central governments to reduce tensions mostly failed to achieve their objectives. On the contrary, they often created new sources of conflict. To overcome this challenge, mining legislation must be harmonized with other sectors and adapted to territorial management. This requires participatory approaches to define integrated legal and institutional frameworks to manage the territories’ natural resources in the context of coherent decentralization processes. It also calls for the aligned intervention of different levels of government using the Municipality as the relevant coordination space.

“Soft, airy fairy stuff”? Re-evaluating ‘social impacts’ in gendered processes of natural resource extraction

Within the global extractive industry, emotions continue to the subject of regulation and erasure. In recent years, the dismissal of emotion within much of the extractive sector has been underpinned by particular hegemonic forms of masculinity which position emotions as ‘irrational’ and ‘irrelevant’. The ramifications for the way in which this form of masculinity dismisses and erases emotion have been critiqued primarily within the context of those working within the sector (Mayes and Pini 2010, 2014; Pini et al 2010). However, this intervention has yet to take place to the same extent for those outside the sector, who are navigating its consequences for their communities and places. This paper argues that dismissing emotion has particular implications for the ways in which ‘social impact assessments’ are conducted, and for what is counted or classified as a ‘social impact’ by the sector. Drawing on women's experiences of opposition to the development of extractive projects throughout the New South Wales (NSW) Hunter Valley, this paper uses emotional geographies to emphasise the ways in which the masculinist regulation and erasure of emotion within the extractive sector also facilitates the dismissal of the distinctly emotional consequences of resource extraction for people and place.

Achieving an environmentally sustainable outcome for the Gulpur hydropower project in the Poonch River Mahaseer National Park, Pakistan

An holistic environmental flows (EFlows) assessment, undertaken as part of an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), led to improved planning and design of the Gulpur hydropower project (HPP) on the Poonch River, Mahaseer National Park, Pakistan. The park was declared a conservation area primarily because of its two globally threatened fish species, the endangered Mahaseer (Tor putitora) and critically endangered Kashmir Catfish (Glyptothorax kashimirensis). These triggered critical habitat thresholds for the funders, requiring special biodiversity protection measures. Despite the river’s conservation status, these two species are under threat of extinction from unsustainable harvesting and catchment practices, notably non-selective fishing practices and sand and gravel mining in the river bed. The EFlows study analysed various permutations of flow releases from the proposed dam, operational regimes and catchment management options. The need to contain existing adverse impacts on the threatened fish and river ecosystem, combined with the results of the assessment, influenced the planned turbine design, weir location and operational regime of the project. Additional management measures to enhance the protection status of the park and its fish to achieve a biodiversity net gain outcome were developed with conservation management stakeholders and communities. These measures were incorporated into a biodiversity action plan, which was approved by Pakistan’s regulatory authorities and paved the way for approval of the project financing by international lenders. The project represents a valuable case study on mechanisms for achieving ecologically sustainable HPPs.

Environmental management practices for the sustainable development of a new city in Mozambique

Careful urban planning is of extreme importance in Mozambique, a developing country with a fast-growing population. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) are environmental management tools that can greatly benefit the planning process of sustainable urban spaces. This paper presents the contribution of SEA and ESIA to the environmental management of a new city in Mozambique, south of the Capital, Maputo, in the Katembe District. Katembe City’s environmental impact assessment process highlighted the particularities of this territory and identified the critical constraints for urban development and the requirements for minimization and monitorization of adverse impacts. The assessment process was developed sequentially, from a regional level to a local urban section level. In the preliminary assessment, major potential negative impacts were avoided and specific environmental and social detailed studies were defined, to be addressed in detailed urban plans. Following this, the detailed plans included all the necessary environmental requirements to avoid and mitigate several negative impacts, such as flooding, coastal erosion, biodiversity loss and habitat fragmentation. This case study emphasized the importance of SEA and ESIA in the planning process of the new city, resulting in a more sound and sustainable urban project.

Urban Development: Mapping Social Impact Assessment among Educators of Al Ain City

This study investigates the level of social welfare services offered in Al-Ain, by gauging how satisfied educators are with the quality and quantity of services offered and its current distribution. This study employs a descriptive survey approach in collecting data from 120 respondents using stratified random sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires, directed to the respondent. Primary data was collected from the key informant through interview among educators, while secondary data was collected from Al-Ain Municipality and town planning department. Results show that the level of the quantity of social services in Al-Ain city is average with 69.1 percent while; quality of the social service in the study area is average/middle with 70.8 percent. At the same time 20.8 percent of the respondents of the study suggested that, the quantity of social service in the study area is upper middle. Remaining 5.8 and 4.1 percent of the respondents are saying quality of the social service is lower and poor respectively. Most of the respondents suggest that Al-Ain needs more parks, entertainment nightclubs, dining restaurants and convenience stores. In the city, many local workers ride their bikes to and from work. 82 percent of respondents said that city needs the bicycle and walking trials, but the remaining suggested that there is no need. The study suggests that increasing public participation and strengthening the ability of developers will help to improve the future city infrastructure to develop in proposed long-term plan Al-Ain 2030.

An Open-Data Based Assessment of Expected Changes in Land Use and Water Availability as a Result of the Construction of the West Segment of the Nicaragua Interoceanic Canal

Nicaragua is preparing the construction of an interoceanic canal that will be the longest and largest canal on Earth. An environmental and social impact assessment was published in 2014 supporting a general viability of the canal. Nonetheless, several scientists and societal actors raised serious concerns regarding the social, economic, and ecological sustainability. Despite an open dispute within the Nicaraguan society, no independent, transparent, and scientifically sound assessment has been carried out. This article presents a transparently documented and comprehensible impact assessment of the West Canal Segment of the Nicaragua Canal. Based on publicly available data and scientifically sound and recognized methods, land use, hydrological (water availability), and socio-economic impacts (population, transportation/communication) are described, quantified, and compared with official declarations in the impact assessment. The examination of official declarations discloses significant ambiguities concerning the methodology and data used for the impact assessment. Consequently, the results presented are at least partly doubtful. When compared with official declarations, the main results of this study reveal: (1) significantly more forested areas (+53.7 km2) and areas of extensive agriculture/near nature (14.4 km2), but far less urban and intensively used areas (−39.6 km2) are affected by the canal; (2) A population of nearly 16,500, and several regional or locally unique transportation and communication routes are directly affected by the canal construction; and (3) a slightly lower water availability (−6.6%) and a much higher water demand for lock operations (+31.8%) were estimated. Accordingly, only about 20% of the lock water demand could be met by locally-available discharge.

Follow-up and social impact assessment (SIA) in urban transport-infrastructure projects: insights from the parramatta rail link

ABSTRACTIn assessing the social impacts of major urban transport-infrastructure projects Impact Assessment (IA) practitioners determine and facilitate the equitable distribution of project benefits and costs. They do this in a context of governmental policy objectives and stakeholder interests. Public investment in transport projects shapes contemporary planning of urban Australian cities, addressing common challenges of rapid and sprawling population growth. Politically-driven ‘urgency’ in delivering new infrastructure, raises questions about long-term strategic benefit and delivery of the positive social and environmental outcomes that often frame their announcement.Follow-up to assess outcomes against policy objectives and stakeholder interests, however, is rare and tools to facilitate genuine public accountability through project phases are lacking. This paper discusses the need for better management and follow-up of social impacts from urban transport-infrastructure projects. Drawing insights from a review of the (partial) delivery of the former NSW Government's Parramatta Rail Link project, it evaluates social impact management strategies applied against the achievement of social and transport policy objectives. Lessons introduced highlight the constraints and limitations on good practice IA and Social Impact Assessment, the importance of early practitioner and community involvement and that political decision-making for urban transport-infrastructure has the greater influence on delivering social outcomes.

Participatory multi-criteria decision analysis for prioritizing impacts in environmental and social impact assessments

Environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) can be an extremely useful tool for identifying and evaluating the repercussions of a wide range of initiatives. Typically when the project and its impacts are highly complex, an ESIA can detect a large number of issues that need to be prioritized so that they can be effectively and efficiently addressed. This article presents a mixed-methodology proposal for impact prioritization in ESIA, divided into four phases: (1) creation of the stakeholders’ platform; (2) identification and assessment of impacts; (3) impact categorization; and (4) impact assessment and prioritization using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). This procedure was applied as an ex-post evaluation of a golf-based tourism project in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Huelva, Spain), but can also potentially be used to conduct ex-ante assessments. The main contribution of the study is in the design and testing of a parsimonious procedure, which condenses a large amount of qualitative information into relatively simple operations using MCDA. The process is grounded in the constructivist social impact assessment (SIA) paradigm through stakeholder evaluation of impacts and criteria.

Repensando la vulnerabilidad: una reflexión acerca de su ontología y fortalezas metodológicas para su integración en la evaluación de impacto social

In this work we carry out an exploration of the concept of vulnerability at different levels. In the first place, we try to establish its ontological bases through a reflexive revision of the specialized literature to overcome some of the defining in concretions that characterize the concept. Later we propose a method to guide the measurement of vulnerability and exploit its methodological potential to end up achieving the integration of the concept of vulnerability within the methodology of Social Impact Assessment (SIA), an analysis tool that evaluates the social consequences produced For specific development projects that generate a focus of emission of impacts on a community. In our view, vulnerability must have a main and systematic role within this social analysis tool, since its conceptual nature allows integrating the different factors of adaptability that characterize a specific community and territory in a single explanatory body, something that makes possible A powerful evaluation of the impacts that an entity supports. This work, therefore, aims to rethink the concept of vulnerability in the ontological field to achieve, at a later stage, instrumentalize the concept and integrate it fully in the analyzes that measure the social consequences produced by the change.

A sustainable redistribution model based on economic-environmental equilibrium: a global business perspective

Economic development is an inevitable fact of human life. This paper presents an analytical view of global economic development from three key perspectives: growth, sustainability and equilibrium. Natural resources being the building blocks of economic activity must be allotted significant importance in determining the wealth potential of a nation. Inadequacy of current measures of economic growth, and deviations from the real purpose of economic activity, necessitates evolving a novel economic indicator for quantifying 'real' growth. This paper presents various views on social and environmental impact assessment of economic growth. The research is formulated within the '6E framework of sustainability', wherein the main group elements are: 'Economic' and 'Environmental'. The proposed model is developed within the PESTEL framework in a global context. Finally, in order to propagate the ideology of 'sustainable and equitable' growth, a 'wealth redistribution model' based on economic-environmental equilibrium is proposed.