Impact Assessment – the Key to Responsible Arctic Development Hans Christian Krarup, Golder Associates
Jul 12, 2015
Impact Assessment – the Key to
Responsible Arctic Development
Hans Christian Krarup, Golder Associates
Impact Assesments – Why?
Regulatory requirement
Corporate requirements
The right thing to do
A genuine interest in understanding potential impacts and developing mitigation measures
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Framing
Regulatory frameworks – are there regulatory requirements?
National vs. Regional
Corporate requirements
IFC
Equator Principles
Other conventions, standards etc.
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When things go badly wrong – Italy - Railway
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When things go badly wrong – France - Airport
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It can also happen in Iceland
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REGULATORY
INTERNAL
An approach to ESIA
7
Stakeholder Engagement
Screening and
Scoping
Formal
EIA Procedure
PUBLIC
Capture what is important – get it right
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The environment
Family Health
Economics
Culture
Community
Avoid stakeholder fatigue and achieve
effective engagement
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Social Baseline Study (SBS) Approach
Study led by one Company
Representatives of each company to sit on a
panel to support the study
Study to be coordinated by an international
consultancy
Local information to be provided by local experts
Collaboration!
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Selected SBS Results
Traditional activities and traditional culture impact the formal economy,
e.g. through less time for formal employment
Number of hunting licences and hunted animals has decreased since
2007
Greenlanders hunt sea mammals (seals, polar bears and whales), land
mammals (musk ox, and reindeer) and several bird species
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Selected SBS Results
Unemployment rate is 9.4%, highest among young people
Population growth has been concentrated in towns, at the expense of
settlements
Ongoing emigration, especially among young women
2005 – 2011: 42% increase in the number of students enrolled in
educational programs and 46.5% increase in the number of students
graduating
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Critical Issues to Address in Baffin Bay SIAs
The potential for inter-generational and
geographical disputes over the speed and
nature of development
Impacts on intra household relationships
Less dogs – more snowmobiles
Fishing/hunting licensing system as a
barrier for employment of locals in industry
Gender relations vary between towns and
villages and might cause sensitivity
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