Analysis of Impact Assessment Practice and Mitigation for Shipping Activity in the Eastern Canadian Arctic
Marine traffic is increasing in the Canadian Arctic, largely because of changing ice conditions, a growing tourism industry, and natural resource extraction. Impact assessment (IA) is a primary instrument for managing the impacts of project development in the Arctic, but there has been limited analy...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic70471 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/70471/54185 |
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crarcticinstna:10.14430/arctic70471 2024-06-09T07:42:11+00:00 Analysis of Impact Assessment Practice and Mitigation for Shipping Activity in the Eastern Canadian Arctic Thiessen, Bethany Noble, Bram Hanna, Kevin 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic70471 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/70471/54185 unknown The Arctic Institute of North America http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ARCTIC volume 73, issue 2, page 221-239 ISSN 1923-1245 0004-0843 journal-article 2020 crarcticinstna https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic70471 2024-05-14T12:53:43Z Marine traffic is increasing in the Canadian Arctic, largely because of changing ice conditions, a growing tourism industry, and natural resource extraction. Impact assessment (IA) is a primary instrument for managing the impacts of project development in the Arctic, but there has been limited analysis of the scope and application of IA for identifying and managing the impacts of shipping. This paper examines the impacts of shipping activity associated with mining projects in the eastern Canadian Arctic, including barge traffic and resupply vessels; the mitigation actions commonly prescribed in IA; and the key IA challenges facing decision-makers. Results show 71 impacts that may be considered common to IA applications for shipping, for which the mitigation strategies rely heavily on compliance-based measures and “best” practices to either minimize or avoid impacts, supported by follow-up programs that provide for adaptation of mitigation based on monitoring results. However, results also illustrate concerns over the ability of IA to effectively manage the cumulative effects of increasing Arctic marine traffic. Only a minority of projects involving marine transport trigger IA, even though other types of marine traffic, such as tourism, may generate similar types of impacts. The common impacts and mitigation solutions identified in this research and the lessons from monitoring can inform future IAs for shipping, improve permitting processes for shipping activities that do not require IA, and provide a foundation for a more regional or sector-wide approach to identifying and mitigating the cumulative effects of increasing vessel traffic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Arctic Institute of North America Arctic ARCTIC 73 2 221 239 |
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Arctic Institute of North America |
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Marine traffic is increasing in the Canadian Arctic, largely because of changing ice conditions, a growing tourism industry, and natural resource extraction. Impact assessment (IA) is a primary instrument for managing the impacts of project development in the Arctic, but there has been limited analysis of the scope and application of IA for identifying and managing the impacts of shipping. This paper examines the impacts of shipping activity associated with mining projects in the eastern Canadian Arctic, including barge traffic and resupply vessels; the mitigation actions commonly prescribed in IA; and the key IA challenges facing decision-makers. Results show 71 impacts that may be considered common to IA applications for shipping, for which the mitigation strategies rely heavily on compliance-based measures and “best” practices to either minimize or avoid impacts, supported by follow-up programs that provide for adaptation of mitigation based on monitoring results. However, results also illustrate concerns over the ability of IA to effectively manage the cumulative effects of increasing Arctic marine traffic. Only a minority of projects involving marine transport trigger IA, even though other types of marine traffic, such as tourism, may generate similar types of impacts. The common impacts and mitigation solutions identified in this research and the lessons from monitoring can inform future IAs for shipping, improve permitting processes for shipping activities that do not require IA, and provide a foundation for a more regional or sector-wide approach to identifying and mitigating the cumulative effects of increasing vessel traffic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thiessen, Bethany Noble, Bram Hanna, Kevin |
spellingShingle |
Thiessen, Bethany Noble, Bram Hanna, Kevin Analysis of Impact Assessment Practice and Mitigation for Shipping Activity in the Eastern Canadian Arctic |
author_facet |
Thiessen, Bethany Noble, Bram Hanna, Kevin |
author_sort |
Thiessen, Bethany |
title |
Analysis of Impact Assessment Practice and Mitigation for Shipping Activity in the Eastern Canadian Arctic |
title_short |
Analysis of Impact Assessment Practice and Mitigation for Shipping Activity in the Eastern Canadian Arctic |
title_full |
Analysis of Impact Assessment Practice and Mitigation for Shipping Activity in the Eastern Canadian Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Analysis of Impact Assessment Practice and Mitigation for Shipping Activity in the Eastern Canadian Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Analysis of Impact Assessment Practice and Mitigation for Shipping Activity in the Eastern Canadian Arctic |
title_sort |
analysis of impact assessment practice and mitigation for shipping activity in the eastern canadian arctic |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic70471 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/70471/54185 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic |
op_source |
ARCTIC volume 73, issue 2, page 221-239 ISSN 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic70471 |
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