Applying Socio-Ecological Thinking to Canadian Regional Assessment

Abstract

Regional assessments inform the planning and management of a proposed developments impact to society and nature. They are the broadest tool in the impact assessment process and are designed to consider the impacts of human activity, as well as the accumulation of these impacts at a regional level. Under current federal impact assessment legislation, topics of regional assessment consideration must go beyond the possible environmental effects of a proposed development to include the potential impacts this development could have on regional social, cultural, and economic conditions. In practice however, considering all such factors in a representative manner has proved difficult. In this graduate project, I explore the possibility of applying methods not yet used in Canadian impact assessment with respect to scoping the potential impacts of offshore wind development. I apply these techniques to a single marine use potentially in conflict with offshore wind development– Nova Scotia’s culturally and economically important lobster fishery. While novel to impact assessment the basis of this technique is deeply rooted in socio-ecological systems thinking, and is able to capture the coupled and interdependent nature of ecological, social, cultural, and economic factors in a manner applicable to Canadian offshore impact assessment.