Social impact assessment frameworks for NRM
International Principles for Social Impact Assessment (2003)
This document serves as a discussion for the impact assessment community. It promulgates a new understanding of Social Impact Assessment (SIA). It is intended that this be available to practitioners around the world. It can provide them with the basis for developing national guidelines in consultation with a range of stakeholders and users in their own countries. By first establishing the core values of the community of practice, then deriving the principles, and only then developing guidelines, can truly appropriate guidelines emerge.
The World Bank (2003), Social Development Department
This sourcebook presents a conceptual framework for social analysis and describes how task teams can incorporate its principles into project design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. It provides guidance on good practice to improve the quality and impact of social analysis to World Bank supported operations. It is based on the lessons learned from five years of Bank experience (1997-2002) in addressing social dimensions through the use of social assessments to inform project design, and by social development specialists in project preparation and appraisal.
The Inter-organisational Committee on Guidelines and Principles for Social Impact Assessment (1994)
The purpose of this document is to present the central principles and some operational guidelines for conducting social impact assessments (SIA’s). This document is the first systematic and interdisciplinary statement to offer guidelines and principles to assist government agencies and private sector interests in using SIA to make better decisions. These guidelines and standards are equally important for those communities and individuals likely to be affected by proposed actions. We cannot cover over two decades of research on “social effectsâ€. However, we do provide a broad overview, focusing less on methodological details and more on the guidelines and principles for the preparation of technically and substantively ad-equate SIA’s within reasonable time and resource constraints.
The Inter-organizational Committee on Principles and Guidelines for Social Impact Assessment (2003), Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, volume 21, number 3, September 2003, Beech Tree Publishing, UK.
This document provides guidance for the conduct of social impact assessment (SIA) within the context of the US National Environmental Policy Act of 1970. Guidelines are integrated within six principles focusing on: understanding of local and regional settings; dealing with the key elements of the human environment; using appropriate methods and assumptions; providing quality information for decision making; ensuring that environmental justice issues are addressed; and establishing mechanisms for evaluation/ monitoring and mitigation. A social impact assessment model is outlined followed by suggested social impact assessment variables. The document concludes with the detailed steps in the SIA process.
International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites & the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
The Burra Charter provides guidance for the conservation and management of places of cultural significance (cultural heritage places), and is based on the knowledge and experience of Australia ICOMOS members. The Charter sets a standard of practice for those who provide advice, make decisions about, or undertake works to places of cultural significance, including owners, managers and custodians. The Charter can be applied to all types of places of cultural significance including natural, indigenous and historic places with cultural values. The Charter should be read as a whole as many of its articles are interdependent.
The Resilience Alliance
The Resilience Alliance has developed two workbooks for assessing resilience in social-ecological systems: 1) Assessing and managing resilience in social-ecological systems: A practitioner’s workbook, and 2) Assessing resilience in social-ecological systems - A workbook for scientists.
The practitioner’s workbook has been developed specifically to provide guidance to people engaged in natural resource management, through a set of activities designed to explore system parameters and management options for their own system of interest from a resilience perspective. A companion volume (Vol. 2) to the workbook for practitioners provides supplementary notes on the key concepts that are included in the assessment.
The Resilience Assessment workbook for Scientists emerged from case-study comparisons of regional SESs in the Resilience Alliance (Walker et al 2006), and builds on an initial suggested framework (Walker et al 2002). It is intended as a guide for those familiar with the basic concepts of resilience and systems dynamics.
Cultural Heritage implications of NRM projects
NRM projects and proposals may involve Aboriginal communities, especially when impacting on Cultural Heritage sites. The following Guidelines help outline how a collaborative approach to social impact assessments might occur.
NSW Department of Environment and Conservation (2006)
This report presents a general approach to conducting an assessment of Aboriginal cultural heritage at a regional scale. The overview provided by a regional assessment helps us understand the relationship between Aboriginal people and the natural environment, the relationship between past and the present, and the relationship between cultural heritage places and the values people give them. A regional assessment gives us an overview of these relationships at a landscape scale. It also provides a context for finer-scale decisions (e.g., site conservation plans, precinct conservation plans, and regulatory decisions).
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (1997)
The standards and guidelines in this kit are a NPWS initiative to promote predictability, transparency, and best practice in Aboriginal heritage management. While written for heritage practitioners, it is hoped this kit will also prove useful to development proponents who wish to know the standard of work which consultants are expected to produce.
The kit is comprised of:
- Guidelines for Aboriginal Consultants - aim to clarify for Aboriginal consultants the type of reporting required for heritage assessments.
- Standards Manual for Archaeological Practice in Aboriginal Heritage Management - sets out current best practices and encourages archaeological methodology to be relevant to the management context.
- Guidelines for Archaeological Survey Reporting - set out in detail the requirements of NPWS for survey reports submitted by archaeologists.
- Guidelines for Aboriginal Heritage Impact Assessment in the Exploration & Mining Industries - provide industry-specific advice to proponents of exploration and mining ventures.
Baker L & English A (2003)
The Aboriginal Involvement in Recovery Planning Project had two main aims: (1) to investigate how cultural values can shape, and be respected by, threatened species recovery planning through a case study and general analysis of this planning process, and (2) to provide the NPWS with a Discussion paper which outlines practical steps to embed Aboriginal cultural values into NPWS decision making during future Recovery planning.
This paper provides some background to the project and also summarises key issues associated with the development of cross-cultural approaches to recovery planning in NSW. It is aimed at promoting discussion and to help develop a consistent statewide approach. The project focused on assessing collaborative mechanisms, which will allow ongoing partnerships in this area of planning across NSW.
Jon Altman (2003), Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University
This paper reviews and comments on some research on sustainable development on Aboriginal owned land in north Australia. It also makes an argument for stronger advocacy of Indigenous economic development issues in NSW—economics has been under-represented in discussions to date. This paper argues that evidence-based research will be essential to demonstrate to all stakeholders that existing levers can deliver practical outcomes. The paper ends with an optimistic envisioning of a new economic deal in NRM and use for Indigenous people in NSW.
Wild R & McLeod C (Eds) (2008), Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.
These guidelines focus on the sacred natural sites of indigenous and local communities. These guidelines are provided primarily to assist protected area managers, especially those with sacred sites located within the boundaries of their legally established protected areas. It is hoped that the guidelines will promote cooperation between protected area managers and custodians of sacred sites towards the enhanced conservation of these special places. Rather than full case studies, what we present here are “snapshots†related to and illustrating, where possible, specific guidelines.
Stakeholder/community consultation
WA Department of the Premier and Cabinet (2006), Office of Citizens and Civics: Consulting Citizens Series
The Guide is intended to serve as a framework for thinking about the most effective and appropriate ways to involve the community to design and conduct community participation programs that meet real community needs. This Guide captures some of the critical components essential to determining the extent and level of community involvement needed at various stages for better-informed decision making. It highlights the importance of incorporating appropriate stakeholder and community views early in the scoping and mapping stages. Because each consultation will have unique issues and challenges, there is no ‘one size fits all’. The aim of this Guide is to provide enough information for agencies to plan and implement appropriate community participation programs that will result in a positive outcome for both them and the community.
Health Impact Assessment
Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care (2001)
Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a process that systematically identifies and examines, both the potential positive and negative health impacts of an activity. These Guidelines specifically address the use of HIA when conducting Environmental Impact Assessment. For proponents the Guidelines will assist understanding of what needs to be done and promote a more balanced approach by ensuring positive impacts are given appropriate consideration. For the wider community HIA can help to ensure our surroundings are best able to enhance health for all into the future. Maximising the economic and other benefits of development while managing the adverse impacts, is an important but often difficult balance to strike. These Guidelines are intended to assist with the achievement of that balance.
Page last updated: 28 May 2018
