Check out the latest enews, sent 13 July
"Think Big: 2050 City Megagrowth,” a virtual forum hosted by IAIA in collaboration with Cities Alliance, is back for Part II! This free discussion series supports efforts to address looming environmental and social impacts affecting the world’s cities to 2050 and beyond.
Think Big Panel 4 is available on demand now! Speakers Peter Croal (SEA Consultant and Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society), Karen Shippey (Environmental Sustainability, Western Cape Government, City of Cape Town), and Ahmed Sanda (Ashawa Consults Ltd.) discuss the value of IA in urban growth, sustainability, and more.
Think Big Panel 5 ("The Role of Planning, Finance, and IA") will be released on 21 July, and then the panelists will come together for a live discussion on Tuesday, 1 August 2023 (14:00 UTC). Sign up now for the 75-minute live panel (it's free!) to make your own contributions to the conversation during the real-time Q&A.
IAIA24: Session proposals due soon
Do you have a great idea for a conference session? The Program Committee is seeking engaging, insightful sessions that will inspire attendees to submit a presentation as soon as they read your session description. Proposals are accepted through 24 July. IAIA24 will be held 24-27 April 2024 in Dublin, Ireland.
Registration open: Foundations of IA online course
IAIA's 12-week Professional Development Program Foundations of Impact Assessment online course will be held from 18 September through 10 December 2023. Participants start and complete the course within this period according to the schedule they arrange with their trainer. Register by 24 August 2023. Seats are limited!
Free webinar: The first geoportal of migratory Austral geese
Join this free, 90-minute webinar on 19 July at 14:00 UTC to find out more about an interactive web tool that supports the sustainable development of wind farm projects and Austral geese conservation across Patagonia. (Special thanks to IAIA’s Washington Area Branch for co-organizing this webinar.) Register now!
New Digital IA webinar recording available
"Digital IA: Enhanced Environmentally Integrated Design," part of the IAIA-Fothergill TC Digital IA Webinar Series, explores how Atkins is using data and digital technology to enable the environment to have an earlier and sustained role in the design and construction of infrastructure schemes. Watch on demand today!
IAIA members: Self-nominations invited for Board positions
Self-nominations for Board positions are invited from current IAIA members through 31 August. This is for the 2024 election, to be held in January 2024 for the three-year term of May 2024 through May 2027. Find out more and download the necessary forms here.
Award nominations invited
It is an honor for IAIA to present awards recognizing the hard work done each day to promote IA awareness and best practice around the globe. Please help us do this by nominating a person or an entity that you feel is dedicated to excellence in IA (neither you nor the nominee needs to be an IAIA member). Nominations for the 2024 Awards are invited through 1 September.
How AI is enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of environmental risk assessments
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming various industries, and the field of environmental risk assessment is no exception. AI-driven technologies are now being harnessed to improve the precision and productivity of these assessments, enabling decision-makers to make better-informed choices and develop more effective strategies for environmental protection and management.
The Indigenous land rights movement made progress
Decades of campaigning are bearing fruit as a new report reveals that the last five years have seen more than 100m hectares (254m acres) of territory across 39 countries restored to Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples and local communities. The findings were unveiled in the second edition of the Rights and Resources Initiative's (RRI) Who owns the world’s land? report, with progress credited to the UN’s sustainable development goals strategy, the Paris agreement, and campaigning by Land Rights Now.
Degraded, but not defunct: Modified land still has wildlife value, study says
With much of the world’s intact ecosystems now modified by humans, the study warns that without careful management, species will be lost each time land is converted from one land-use type to another, such as when forestry is transitioned to plantation or agriculture. The researchers call for biodiversity impact assessments when land is proposed for conversion, regardless of whether it is intact primary habitat or considered “degraded” land.
Crunch talks due on deep-sea mining controversy
Controversial proposals to allow deep-sea mining will be centre-stage at global talks in Jamaica from Monday. It comes after a two-year ban on the practice expired when countries failed to reach agreement on new rules. Scientists fear a possible "goldrush" for precious metals beneath the oceans could have devastating consequences for marine life. But supporters argue that these minerals are needed if the world is to meet the demand for green technologies.
State of the World’s Plants and Fungi Symposium. 11-13 October 2023. Kew, UK, and online.
AEIAN: Impact Assessment: Climate resilience, financing and environmental sustainability. 7th annual conference and AGM. 17-20 October 2023. Abuja, Nigeria.
AQEI: Transition énergétique à l’heure des grands projets. 26-27 October 2023. Drummondville, Canada.
