Moving Beyond Silos: The Case for Indigenous-Led Participatory Cumulative Impact Assessments

27 November 2024

An increasingly important component of decision-making by regulators in resource and associated developments involves impact assessments. There are several impact assessments methods including:

• Environmental impact assessment
• Social impact assessment,
• Human Rights impact assessment and
• Economic/business impact assessment.

Generally speaking, such impact assessments are required by regulators so they can make informed decisions regarding development project proposals. They are typically managed and financed by the resource developers who engage third-party service providers and technical specialists to undertake these assessments.

These assessments are often undertaken independently of each other, even if proposed project developments in a given region are adjacent to each other, impact on the same people and /or environmental values. This is a reductionist approach that can lead to uncoordinated outcomes and conclusions.

Why cumulative?

Resource developments should not be considered in isolation – they are part of a broader set of specific impacts, which then lead to cumulative impacts in the local area or region in which they are proposed and ultimately undertaken. It is critical that impact assessment processes are participatory and include engagement with Indigenous peoples in a meaningful and coordinated manner.  In this way, their Traditional Ecosystem Services, which include traditional ecological knowledge, cultural, provisional and biodiversity ecosystem services, can be acknowledged and incorporated into the impact assessment process.

An important element of socioeconomic impact assessments includes consideration of peoples’ livelihoods over time:

• what supports livelihoods prior to the development activities start?
• what are the opportunities presented by proposed developments?
• what opportunities are planned for the post-development landscape?

Why participatory?

By understanding the repercussions of development projects, Indigenous communities can better assess the true extent of the impact on their lands and resources, which is an important step in the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process. This connection is crucial for recognizing how changes in the environment affect their traditional ways of life and the sustainability of Indigenous practices. The IPCIA enables Indigenous Peoples to make informed decisions in the FPIC process, when considering consent, conditional consent, options to mitigate impacts and areas to avoid for a proposed activity.

Whilst there are few examples of participatory and cumulative impact assessments, there are even fewer with Indigenous peoples’ participation or leadership.

What is the Indigenous-Led Participatory Cumulative Impact Assessment methodology?

The Indigenous-Led Participatory Cumulative Impact Assessment (IPCIA) is an assessment methodology that both values and integrates Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge into the impact assessment, and considers the cumulative effects of an operation alongside past, present and future activities, which could negatively impact Indigenous Peoples’ traditional ecosystem services. The IPCIA method has been developed by the Protect Sàpmi Foundation, and is the outcome of over twelve years of experience in participatory impact assessments with Indigenous Peoples in Sàpmi, a region traditionally inhabited by the Sami people, that stretches across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.

The IPCIA is a unique type of impact assessment, as it is led by Indigenous experts alongside the affected Indigenous community (or communities). It considers the cumulative impacts as generally Indigenous communities are affected by multiple encroachments. The IPCIA is a comprehensive methodology that is based on, and values traditional Indigenous knowledge of their Indigenous cultural landscape and ecosystem services, in combination with Western science methods. Mapping and engagement with Indigenous peoples are key components of the Indigenous-led Participatory Cumulative Impact Assessment (IPCIA). Through mapping, Indigenous communities can visually represent the impacts of development projects on their lands, making it easier to understand, assess, and communicate the potential consequences. Engagement with Indigenous peoples ensures that their voices are heard, their knowledge is valued, and their rights are respected throughout the assessment process.

Case study of an IPCIA undertaken in Norway

The case of Øyfjellet wind farm is a good example to highlight the importance of the IPCIA. This wind farm caused many challenges to the traditional reindeer herding in Elvdal, in turn impacting the local Indigenous communities. The IPCIA highlighted that the wind farm limits land use flexibility, disrupts migration and grazing of reindeer, affects herding practices, increasing grazing pressure, impacts landscape quality and compromises animal welfare. This in turn creates risks to economic sustainability for the Indigenous communities as well as impacts their cultural activities and food supply.

Consult an illustration of an IPCIA undertaken in Norway

Indigenous people’s Perspectives on IPCIA

Members of ASI’s Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum (IPAF) have expressed the perspective that the environmental and social impact assessments undertaken in many countries do not generally place equal value on Indigenous peoples and local communities’ knowledge and experience.

ASI and IPAF support the cumulative impact approach, and for relevant projects, promotes the use of an Indigenous-led participatory Cumulative Impact Assessment (IPCIA) as it:

• respects the rights-holder, and
• is a more comprehensive and inclusive impact assessment methodology
• is participatory by nature
• Relies on and integrates Indigenous knowledge
• Considers all impacts and their cumulative effects
• Is supported by modern technologies such as GIS.

ASI support for IPCIA development and implementation

With support from ASI, Protect Sápmi has updated the IPCIA methodology and provided an English translation, which was published in 2023 on the ASI website. In addition, ASI and IPAF support has enabled testing of the IPCIA methodology in India in 2022/23 and Australia in 2024, including the active participation of an expert technical adviser and mentor for the projects.

Looking ahead, funding is currently being sought to develop and implement a training programme that would see Indigenous people trained on the IPCIA methodology with the aim that they would be able to act as consultants for IPCIA studies in their countries. The project is slated to begin in 2025.

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