Check out the latest enews, sent 8 March
​Table of Contents:
1. IAIA18 updates
IAIA18, “Environmental Justice in Societies in Transition,†will be held 16-19 May 2018 in Durban, South Africa. For more information, visit the conference web site. #iaia18
The preliminary program is available. Download it today to see an overview of the technical program, details on training courses and technical visits, special meetings and networking activities, and more!
Registration is open until 20 April at http://conferences.iaia.org/2018/registration.php. Need help convincing your employer you should attend? Visit the “Justify your Attendance†page.
Technical visit updates: Space remains in the following technical visits. Visits that do not meet the minimum number of participants by 15 March will be canceled, so please register by that date if you are interested in participating in a visit. Check out the full visit descriptions online.
Visit A: Spring Grove Dam: Biodiversity Offsets and Resettlement Tour
Visit B: Kwa-Ximba Conservancy Experience
Visit C: Durban Community-based Stream Rehabilitation Programme
Visit E: Maloti-Drakensberg World Heritage Tour
Visit F: Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme
Visit G: Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct (GGEP)
Visit H: KZN Midlands Sustainable Sugarcane
Visit I: Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation Programme Tour
Visit J: Wild Coast and community Walking Tour
Training course updates: Space is still available in all training courses. Courses that do not meet the minimum number of participants by 15 March will be canceled, so be sure to register soon if you are interested. (Registrations will be accepted for courses after 15 March, subject to availability.)
Accommodations: Delegates are encouraged to make hotel reservations as soon as possible. Blocks of rooms with discounted rates have been arranged, but un-booked rooms are being released periodically over the next month. All blocks (and the related discounts) will be released as of 13 April. For more information and booking details for each hotel, visit the Hotel Information page.
Young professionals bursary applications open: For IAIA18, up to 40 bursaries will be given to young professionals in the form of waived registration fees. Recipients are expected to cover all other costs associated with attending the conference. It is IAIA’s hope that these bursaries will help more young professionals from lower income economies attend our premier annual event. Click http://conferences.iaia.org/2018/young-professionals-bursary.php by 15 March 2018 for more information and to apply.
Special thanks to these sponsors who have pledged their support of IAIA: Republic of South Africa Department of Environmental Affairs, eThekwini Municipality, IsoMetrix, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, PRIZMA, Oil for Development NORAD, European Investment Bank, SEMADET Jalisco, Sichuan Tianyu Petroleum, ERM, The World Bank, Wood, Eskom, and South African Airways – the official airline of IAIA18.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available for IAIA18. Increase your organization’s visibility before an international audience of environmental and social professionals. Download the sponsorship brochure for more information about how to get involved and the benefits of being an IAIA conference sponsor.
2. Symposium on SDGs in Asia
The newest topic in IAIA’s lineup of special symposiums is “Using Impact Assessment to Achieve the SDGs in Asia.†The symposium will be held 1-3 October 2018 in Kuching, Malaysia. Abstract submission is open through 7 May 2018.
In conjunction with this symposium, IAIA would like to offer two training courses. The courses would be held on 3-4 October, following the symposium on 1-2 October. IAIA is inviting proposals for training courses in these topic areas:
Trainers must either be current IAIA members or plan to join IAIA prior to giving the course in October. Training course proposals will be accepted until 29 March 2018. Click for information on how to prepare a proposal.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for this symposium. Download the prospectus for more information about how to get involved and the benefits of being an IAIA symposium sponsor.
See the symposium website for more information. #iaiasymposium
3. March webinars announced
IAIA is pleased to offer two free webinars in March:
13 March: Overview of Proposed Canadian Impact Assessment Act (60 minutes)
Presenter Christine Loth-Bown of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency will give a brief presentation of the proposed Canadian Impact Assessment Act. This Act is the culmination of 14 months of the Canadian government’s engagement with the public, stakeholders, and Indigenous communities and brings forward better rules for major projects to protect the environment and rebuild public trust in how decisions about resource development projects are made. After her presentation, Christine will field questions from the attendees. Click here [https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5317974194108590081?source=E-news] for more details and to register.
19 March: Reforming environmental permit and review systems: El Salvador (90 minutes)
Presenter Jorge Castaneda will begin with a demonstration of El Salvador’s comprehensive and innovative platform for an integrated system for environmental permitting and review, from application through enforcement, with features addressing many of the common challenges and pressures for reform faced by all EsIA programs. After a Q&A session about the new platform, the chairs of IAIA’s special-interest Section on Governance and Implementation Systems, Cheryl Wasserman and Heather Smith, will guide participants on an interactive discussion on how these reforms might be relevant to their own situations. Click [https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3769578148532323841?source=E-news] for more details and to register.
Recordings and slides for all of IAIA’s past webinars are available online. [http://www.iaia.org/webinars.php]
4. Online foundation course in EIA: Application deadline 6 April
IAIA is offering its online Foundation Course in EIA over the 4 June through 24 August 2018 period. Participants will schedule their own time to complete the course within this 12-week period, including the video conferences with their trainer, depending on their own availabilities.
Applications for the course are due 6 April. The Foundation Course in EIA is the first in a planned series of online courses as part of IAIA's Professional Development Program (PDP). It is designed for early-career professionals with some EIA experience and covers the basic principles and objectives of EIA, its core concepts and methods, and the fundamentals of EIA review processes and study management. The course adopts a comprehensive definition of "environment" to include the physical, biological, resource use, social, cultural, health and economic dimensions of the project environment. Each course participant receives personal support from an experienced IAIA trainer, especially through several online video conferences. The course should take about 20-30 hours to complete, and the cost is US$550.
For more information and to apply for the course, visit http://www.iaia.org/professional-development-program.php.
5. 2018 IAIA award winners announced
IAIA is pleased to announce its 2018 award winners. These recipients will be formally recognized at IAIA16 in Nagoya, Japan. Thank you to those who submitted nominations for the Awards Committee to consider. Criteria for each award, along with links to past award winners, can be found on the IAIA Awards page.
The Danish Institute for Human Rights was chosen to receive the IAIA Global Award for developing and improving methodologies, tools, and guidance documents that promote and support Human Rights Impact Assessment and the integration of human rights principles and considerations in other branches of impact assessment.
Iara Verocai receives the Lifetime Achievement Award for her sustained and significant contributions to Environmental Impact Assessment, from her pioneering introduction of EIA in Brazil to her consulting and capacity building work throughout Latin America and the world.
The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law was chosen to receive the Institutional Award because of its significant work on climate change and the law governing environmental impact assessment, such as its legal efforts aimed at advancing the use of EIA as a tool for climate change analysis, mitigation, and adaptation planning.
The team comprising the South African National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) was selected as the joint recipient of the Regional Award for its work advancing and innovating Strategic Environmental Assessment in South Africa over the past five years via national-scale SEAs in the energy sector.
Nicholas King was selected for the Individual Award for his ongoing and sustained contributions to the field of Environmental Impact Assessment, including his dedication to global environmental change and futures visioning.
The Outstanding Service to IAIA Award is presented to John Boyle for his contributions and commitment to IAIA, displayed through his years of service leading the Training and Professional Development Committee and developing/implementing the new Professional Development Program.
Greg Schreiner was selected as the recipient of this year’s Rita R. Hamm IA Excellence Scholarship. Greg is a PhD student in the Department of Science at University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) and a Senior Sustainability Scientist at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (South Africa).
2017 IAPA Best Paper Award: Two papers were selected this year:
Susie Brownlie, Amrei von Hase, Mark Botha, Jeffrey Manuel, Zoe Balmforth, and Nicky Jenner, for their paper “Biodiversity Offsets in South Africa – Challenges and Potential Solutions†published in IAPA 35(3): 248-256.
A. John Sinclair, Timothy J. Peirson-Smith, and Morrissa Boerchers for “Environmental Assessments in the Internet Age: The Role of E-governance and Social Media in Creating Platforms for Meaningful Participation†published in IAPA 25(2): 148-157.
6. New corporate member: Clúster De EnergÃa Coahuila A.C. (Mexico)
IAIA extends a warm welcome to our new standard corporate member, Clúster De EnergÃa Coahuila A.C., a civil association that works with state and municipal authorities, the business community, universities, and research centers in Mexico and the region. Check out the details they shared with us below, and read more about them at www.clustercoahuila.org.mx.
What does Clúster De EnergÃa Coahuila A.C. do? Clúster, established in 2014, is a civil association that works as an alliance between state and municipal authorities, the business community, universities, and research centers. Its main objectives are: (1) promoting the development and retention of highly qualified professionals; (2) increasing the dynamism of companies in the region by generating business, service, and support opportunities to companies in the mining, oil, and renewable energy sectors; (3) encouraging the existing relationship between the production sector, the government, and higher education institutions; and (4) developing strategic alliances with highly competitive companies and sectors.
How is Clúster De EnergÃa Coahuila A.C. involved in impact assessment? Clúster has experience with both SIA and EIA. Some related activities include: (1) developing methodologies with participatory processes to conduct SIA studies, aligned with provisions issued by Mexico’s Energy Secretariat (SENER); (2) conducting a seminar on Social Impact in the Energy Sector; (3) creating a national map of social conflicts on energy projects; (4) preparing environmental baselines, such as on a gas pipeline in the State of Tamaulipas; and (5) issuing regular Environmental Bulletins and Social Impact Newsletters.
7. 3rd annual Charlie Wolf symposium held in Nigeria
See http://www.iaia.org/news-details.php?ID=69 for a report on the third annual Charlie Wolf symposium held by the Association for Environmental Impact Assessment in Nigeria (AEIAN) as well as updates on this Nigerian Affiliate, which has just formed an executive board.
8. Resources available: New biodiversity key citations
Biodiversity key citations updated: The biodiversity key citations have been updated and expanded into a new series covering the following topics:
Many thanks to Jo Treweek, Susie Brownlie, Roel Slootweg, and members of the Biodiversity and Ecology Section for their work on this project.
Book discount: Taylor & Francis, the publisher of IAIA's journal, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, is offering IAIA members a 30% discount on books by Routledge, CRC Press, and Taylor & Francis. To take advantage of this offer, visit www.crcpress.com or www.routledge.com, select the titles you'd like to purchase, and enter SOC18 into the promotional code box provided during checkout. This offer is valid through 31 December 2018.
9. TPDC Committee members sought
Do you want to be more involved with IAIA but aren’t sure how? Committee membership is a great place to start. We are currently looking for new members for the Training and Professional Development Committee (TPDC). This Committee’s main tasks are reviewing and recommending pre-conference and non-conference training courses, identifying and soliciting new training courses, and developing and implementing quality assurance measures in all IAIA training activities. You do not need to have experience as a trainer to serve on this committee. The position is for 3 years. For more information on this committee and to express interest, please contact Executive Director Jill Baker (jill@iaia.org).
10. Upcoming Branch and Affiliate events
UVP-Gesellschaft e.V. (German Affiliate), is holding a conference on “Fit for the future with environmental assessment - new law and new fields of action,†26-28 September 2018, in Goslar, Germany. The call for abstracts is open until 15 March. See http://www.uvp.de/de/14-uvp-kongress-2018 for more information.
Associação Brasileira de Avaliação de Impacto (ABAI), IAIA’s pilot Affiliate in Brazil, will be holding the Brazilian Congress of Impact Assessment (CBAI), October 22-26 2018. See http://avaliacaodeimpacto.org.br/evento/ for more information.
11. Other upcoming events
EIALAW 2018 Conference, “How to Combine Streamlining with Environmental Effectiveness? – Sharing First Experiences with the New EIA Directive†will be held 23 March in Helsinki, Finland. This high level conference enables you to compare national EIA settings and share experiences with scholars working on EIA, welcome to Helsinki! This event is organized by the University of Eastern Finland and Finnish EIA Association in collaboration with the University of Liverpool. For registration (by 10 March), program and more information: http://www.yvary.fi/EIALAW2018/.
The 12th Asia Impact Assessment Conference (AIC 2018), hosted by the Japan Society for Impact Assessment (JSIA), will be held at the University of Shizuoka in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, 20-22 August 2018. After the Fifth Japan-Korea conference, JSIA held had the Sixth Japan-Koreaâ€China tripartite EIA conference (the First Japan-Vietnam-Korea-China EIA conference), and now they are announcing AIC 2018. The AIC has been held for international relationships among many practitioners, researchers, students, and other audiences from a variety of countries in Asia since 2003. For more information, see http://www.jsia.net/confernces_specialmeetings.html.
