SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT & PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT & PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

• The systematic analysis in advance of development

or policy changes that will bring social change to a

community.

FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Social Justice

Economic Justice

Ecological Justice

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WHERE DOES SIA COME FROM?

Federal US Law requires an Environmental Impact

Assessment (US National Environmental Policy Act of

1969—NEPA)for major projects or policy changes;

• Projects that generate significant alterations of the

“Bio-Physical Environment” can impact human

populations;

• Changing the natural environment impacts humans

• SIAs are anticipatory

SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT

Social justice Environmental

Justice

The debate now is about whether social concerns / justice can lead

to environment justice or environmental justice to social justice.

Brown agenda

Green agenda

SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

SIAs provide a systematic framework to:

• Anticipate social change from a proposed development project which will change the environment;

• Identify methodologies to measure baseline data and project impacts;

• Look at the potential social or livelihoods implications;

• Communicate changes to the community;

• Outline steps to mitigate or enhance negative or positive aspects of change;

• See that the benefits of change do not empower some groups over others – then if not the proposed development must change.

SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

SIAs should:

• Involve as many community members as possible

• Acknowledge negative consequences so they can be

addressed in an open manner

• Seek to balance both economic needs with social

needs

Technical element

Soft Aspect of the Project

Integrated decision making

engineering Social Issues

SIA PARTICIPANTS

SIA

Private

sector

NGOs

Special

interest

Groups

State

Local

gvt

Sectors

locals

Prov

Gvt

STAGES IN THE SIA

Steps Description

1. Public Involvement Involve all affected public to voice their concerns.

2. Identification of alternatives Describe proposed activity and reasonable alternative.

3. Profile baseline conditions Document the current state of human environment prior to the effect of the proposed project.

4. Scoping Identify the full range of possible social issues

emerge as a result of the proposed development.

5. Projection of estimated effects Evaluate all possible impacts to determine the probable impacts.

6. Prediction of responses to impacts Evaluate all possible impacts to determine the potential impacts

7. Estimate indirect and cumulative impacts Consider the flow-on ramifications of projects, into the second-, third order of impacts.

8. Mitigation Develop mitigation plan – first avoid impacts, secondly minimize impacts and thirdly utilize compensation mechanism.

9. Monitoring Develop and implement a monitoring programme.

COMPONENT GUIDELINES FOR SIA

• Description of proposed actions;

• Relationship of the proposed action to land use plans;

• Probable impacts on the ecological processes; • Alternative to proposes actions to avoid or minimize impact;

• Identifying unavoidable adverse effects; • Local short term impacts and long-term issues; • Identifying irreversible and irretrievable impacts;

• Other considerations such as political, cultural and psychological impacts

SIA VARIABLES

Population Change:

• Population change

• Influx of (temporary) workers

• Presence of seasonal residents

• Dislocation/Relocation of families

• Changes in composition

SIA VARIABLES

Community/Institutional Arrangements

• Attitudes towards projects

• Interest Group Activities

• Changes in local government

• Planning and Zoning changes

• Industrial diversification

• Income and Wages

• Income inequality

• Employment of groups

• Changing occupational choices

SIA VARIABLES

Communities in Transition

• New outside interests acting in the community

• New coalitions of existing institutions

• New social classes

• Changes in industries

• Changes in housing costs

• Changes in the allocation of natural resources

SIA VARIABLES

Individual and Family Level Impacts

• Disruptions in living and movement patterns

• New religious practices

• Alteration in family structure

• Disruption of social networks

• Changes in public safety and health

• Changes in leisure activities

SIA VARIABLES

Community Infrastructure

• Changes in utilities and roads

• Land acquisition and selling

• Effects on known cultural, historical, sacred, and

archeological resources

ISSUES IN SIA

• Who have legitimate interests in the community? Or

How is the “affected community” to be defined and

identified?

In the case of Effects of the proposed

International Airport – the distribution

of impacts are not the same across

the community

Those who re closed to the Airport

and benefits tend to tolerate noise

even if it affects their living

environment

Noise is context based – influenced

by a number of elements emerged

within a particular context.

ISSUES IN SIA

• One of the major role of the SIA is to identify both the winners and losers in any development;

• This means that SIA should be socially friendly – i.e. accessible to all types of stakeholders irrespective of their background;

• To predict how the nature of the community will change as a result of development – thus is only the community who can identify those effects. • However the concept “Community” is an elastic concept in any

community involvement.

• Who is the community in any development project is often subject to debate.

ISSUES IN SIA

What should be the role of Public Participation in the SIA?

• This raises a number of question regarding the extent and validity of the knowledge and opinions of the local communities;

• Public Consultation – involving the public without allowing

them to influence the outcome

• Public Participation – allowing them to be involved in decision-making for the benefit of the local community interest

• This also raises the question about the right of local communities to determine their own destinies without external interference.

Participation Typology Some Components

Passive Communication Being told what is going to happen or has already happened.

Top down, information shared belongs only to external

professionals.

Communication in information giving Answer questions posed by extractive researchers – using

surveys etc. People not able to influence.

Participation by consultation Consulted and external agents listen to views. Usually externally

defined problems and solutions. People not really involved in

decision-making. Participation as consultation.

Communication by material incentives Provision of resources, e.g., labour. Little incentive to

participate after the end of the incentive.

Functional Communication Form groups to meet predetermined objectives. Usually done

after major project decisions made, therefore initially dependent

on outsiders but may become self-dependent, and enabling.

Participation as organization.

Interactive Communication Joint analysis to joint actions. Possible use of new local

institutions or strengthening existing ones. Enabling and

empowering, so people have a stake in maintaining structures or

practices.

Self-Mobilisation Already empowered, take decisions independent of external

institutions. May or may not challenge existing inequitable

distributions of wealth and power. Participation as

empowerment.

EIA PROCCESS

EMF PROCCESS

PARTICIPATORY TYPOLOGY IN THE

ASSESSMENT PROCESS

ASSIGNMENT THREE

• EIA is regarded as a highly technical charged assessment process which also meant to integrate social concerns into the planning process for a specific development proposal. Ideally, the EIA process is assumed to pursue this end by means of public participation process or Social Impact Assessment practice(s).

• With reference to the South African context or elsewhere in the world, critically evaluate the

above statement by using the articles prescribed and posted on the website. You can also use the presentation slides to highlight some of the challenges associated with PP and SIA practice in South Africa.

The essay must:

• Not be more than 5 pages and not less that 3 pages.

• Do in-text referencing properly – this how you should write as a scholar.

• use only the prescribed readings

• Not use bullet point to emphasize your argument (i.e. this must be textual from the beginning to the end)

• Not plagiarize – this act is subject to severe disciplinary action.

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