Research
Community Engagement in Environmental Assessment for Resource Development: Benefits, Enduring Concerns, Opportunities for Improvement
- Posted On: June 20th, 2015
- Category: Community Engagement Consultation Environmental Impact Assessment Resource Development
Community Engagement in Environmental Assessment for Resource Development: Benefits, Enduring Concerns, Opportunities for Improvement by Aniekan Udofia, Bram Noble, Greg Poelzer
This paper discusses contemporary issues surrounding the efficiency of environmental assessment (EA) and the effectiveness of community engagement with focus on Canadian practice in the last two decades. Based on a review of the EA literature, we provide a brief overview of the benefits of effective engagement in EA processes. We then identify and discuss three enduring challenges to effective engagement amidst increasing pressures for a more efficient EA process, namely capacity, streamlining of EA processes, and the timing of EA and engagement in the resource development process. The paper concludes with key recommendations to ensure community engagement as a platform for enhancing increased inclusivity in environmental decision making. The paper is part of a special collection of brief discussion papers presented at the 2014 Walleye Seminar held in Northern Saskatchewan, which explored consultation and engagement with northern communities and stakeholders in resource development.
Click on the following link to access the full article: http://journals.sfu.ca/nr/index.php/nr/article/view/392/422.
Greg M. Poelzer
Executive Chair, ICNGD and Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholar
Dr. Greg Poelzer is a Professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability (SENS) at the University of Saskatchewan. He the Co-Lead of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative III program. He is the Co-Director of a multi-million dollar SSHRC Partnership Grant (2019-2026), Community Appropriate Sustainable Energy Security (CASES), which spans 17 Indigenous and Northern communities across Canada, Alaska, Norway, and Sweden. He also is the Lead of the Renewable Energy in Remote and Indigenous Communities Flagship Initiative at the University of Saskatchewan and Lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Renewable Energy.
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