Sherry Sian

• Main Author: Alan J. Ehrlich
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Canada; Eia; Mackenzie Valley; Northwest Territories
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.596.8509; http://reviewboard.ca/upload/ref_library/1183734398_iaia paper cultural cfx.pdf

Cumulative Impacts Assessment is now a standard part of many Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes in Canada and elsewhere. Similarly, the definition of the term “environment ” in EIA has broadened progressively since the 1970s, to include, in many instances, socio-economic and cultural considerations. This case study examines a unique EIA which dealt with the combination of these: the assessment of cumulative cultural impacts of four proposed projects in combination with other past, present and reasonably foreseeable developments. This EIA was conducted by the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board (Review Board), an administrative tribunal in Canada’s Northwest Territories. In June of 2003, four separate diamond exploration projects were referred to EIA. Although all four developments were relatively small in scale, and used known technologies, the setting for the projects was an unprotected area of great cultural significance to local Aboriginal groups, containing mass graves spiritual sites and teaching areas used for sharing traditional knowledge. Particularly challenging considerations in this EIA included: