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Impact Assessment
Impact assessment is the process of identifying the future consequences of a current or proposed action. It is used to ensure that projects, programmes and policies are economically viable, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable. Work under the Convention seeks to support efforts to adequately reflect biodiversity considerations in impact assessments. Guidance developed under the Convention helps to decide which aspects of biodiversity may need to be monitored and how to carry this out in a cost-effective way.

Highlights

What's new?

  • Under the title "Impact Assessment and Human Well-being" the 2009 Annual Conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment
    (IAIA 09, Accra, Ghana 23-29 May 2009) will seek to highlight how the various instruments of impact assessment can assist developers, industry, decision-makers, development cooperation providers and the public with ensuring and promoting human well-being by integrating environmental, social, economic, and other concerns.

  • The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) has prepared a multilingual glossary of impact assessment, which is available to its members on the IAIA website. more >>>

  • The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are discussing a Memorandum of Cooperation which will include inter alia training on the application of the CBD guidelines on biodiversity-inclusive impact assessment.

NEW

The Capacity Building in Biodiversity and Impact Assessment (CBBIA) toolkit has been posted. It assembles material elaborated by stakeholders in a number of regions, particularly southern Africa, south and south-east Asia, Central America and the Small Island Developing States. For example, a draft manual for EIA practitioners and reviewers in South Asia with best practice guidance for biodiversity-inclusive impact assessment is now accessible.

A brochure with the voluntary guidelines on biodiversity-inclusive impact assessment and additional background information has beeen prepared in collaboration with the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) and other relevant organizations.

French and Spanish language versions have been produced as part of the CBD Technical Series.

IAIA '08

Under the title "The Art and Science of Impact Assessment" the 28th Annual Conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment took place from 4 to 10 May 2008 in Perth, Australia.

The Conference proceedings including audio recordings are now available. Click here for more information.

Impact Assessment The establishment of energy-demanding and polluting industries, such as aluminium production, requires careful planning and consideration of the environmental impacts.