WHAT INFLUENCES VALUED ECOSYSTEM COMPONENT SELECTION FOR CUMULATIVE EFFECTS IN IMPACT ASSESSMENT?

Abstract

Despite the central role of valued ecosystem component (VEC) selection to project impact assessment (IA) and cumulative effects assessment (CEA), little is known about what influences it. To potentially improve the efficacy of CEA, a look into the "black box" of VEC selection is warranted. An investigation of eleven road construction project IAs in Canada completed between 1995 and 2011 via document analysis and interviews with project informants reveals a heavy reliance on residual effects analysis for CEA VEC selection, such that project VEC list are often exactly or nearly the same as CEA VEC lists. The process of VEC selection is highly subjective, lacking in scientific inputs, and not as sensitive to cumulative effects issues as it perhaps should be given the nature of road projects. The study concludes that a "residual effects analysis—plus" approach to CEA VEC selection is desirable, along with explicit, possibly sector-specific, guidance.