Social impact assessment: the state of the art

Abstract

Social impact assessment (SIA) is now conceived as being the process of managing the social issues of development. There is consensus on what 'good' SIA practice is-it is participatory; it supports affected peoples, proponents and regulatory agencies; it increases understanding of change and capacities to respond to change; it seeks to avoid and mitigate negative impacts and to enhance positive benefits across the life cycle of developments; and it emphasizes enhancing the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged people. We analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing SIA. We assert that the SIA community needs to revisit core concepts, such as culture, community, power, human rights, gender, justice, place, resilience and sustainable livelihoods. It is incumbent on SIA practitioners to educate proponents, regulators and colleagues about these concepts, and to embed them into practice norms. Stronger engagement with the emerging trends of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); human rights impact assessment; social performance standards; supply chain management; governance; local content and economic development will improve the relevance and demonstrable value of SIA to all stakeholders.

Linking the ecosystem services approach to social preferences and needs in integrated coastal land use management – A planning approach

“…The application of a social impact analysis within the sphere of planning presented here creates possibilities to integrate the ecosystem services approach into sustainable planning processes. In our case study, the stakeholder-driven process, in particular, contributed to an overall picture of the community affected and provided a broad background for categorizing important ecosystem services and social impacts (see also Esteves et al, 2012). The stakeholder dialogue raised awareness with regard to the need for adaptive strategies that would lead to sustainable development and human well-being in the community, as well as an understanding of what type of impact human interventions may have on natural systems.…”

“…Social demands and ecological supplies are not independent variables, but interact, and it is necessary to raise stakeholders' awareness of these linkages. The guideline presented in this paper delivers such an approach, required for adaptive spatial planning (Chan et al, 2012;de Groot et al, 2010;Esteves et al, 2012;Nahlik et al, 2012).…”

“…The crucial elements resulting from stakeholder involvement in planning activities include the better consideration, effectiveness and acceptance of an intervention within the community. This leads to participatory, informal and transparent decision-making processes, awareness-raising, trust-building and knowledge-sharing (Baines et al, 2003;Esteves et al, 2012;MA, 2003). These positive elements can be achieved through interactions between the theoretical and practical aspects presented in the guideline (Fig.…”

“…Additionally, social impact assessment assists in the identification, analysis and evaluation of the social impacts of an intervention on a community and regional ecological structures. It provides a qualitative evaluation of the social impacts as a tool for decision-makers which can be used in planning processes, and which triggers adaptation measures (see also Burdge, 1999Burdge, , 2003Esteves et al, 2012;Vanclay, 2002;Vanclay, 2012).…”

“…Ecosystem services, meaning the goods and services people obtain from ecosystems, play an important role in sustaining and fulfilling human life. While the ecosystem services approach takes into account effects on socio-economic factors and contributes to human well-being by focusing on the supply of ecosystem services (MA, 2003), social impact assessment identifies, analyses and evaluates the social impact of projects on people and ecological structures, and focuses on the process of managing social issues related to development (Esteves et al, 2012;Vanclay, 2003a;Vanclay, 2012). Social impacts include 'the consequences to human populations of any public or private action' affecting human well-being (Interorganizational Committee on Guidelines and Principles for Social Impact Assessment, 1995, p. 11).…”