The Handbook of Cumulative Impact Assessment is today’s essential guide to state-of-the-art concepts, debates and innovative practice in the field. Featuring the work of more than 40 authors from 9 countries, the Handbook provides readers with frameworks and tools currently in use by leading academics, consultants and a wide range of others involved in cumulative impact assessment and management. The Handbook aims to strengthen the foundations of this challenging field, identify key issues demanding solutions and summarize recent trends in forward progress, particularly through the use of illustrative case examples. This wide-ranging body of work demonstrates increased application of relevant, cross-disciplinary science to cumulative impact assessment problems, accelerated efforts to build transdisciplinary teams galvanized by real-world cumulative effects issues, and a continued commitment to bridge the theory/practice gap for more effective and efficient assessments.  

Editors:

Jill A.E. Blakley, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Daniel M. Franks, University of Queensland, Australia

Part of the RESEARCH HANDBOOKS ON IMPACT ASSESSMENT series, edited by Frank Vanclay, University of Gronigen, The Netherlands.

Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., United Kingdom

Published: May 2021

https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/handbook-of-cumulative-impact-assessment-9781783474011.html

Table of Contents

Foreword

Thomas Berger, OC, OBC, QC, Ethos Law Group, CANADA

Foreword

Sara Bice, Associate Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University and Past-President of the International Association of Impact Assessment; AUSTRALIA

Foreword

Peter Croal, Independent Consultant, CANADA

Foreword

Renée Pelletier, Managing Partner, Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, CANADA

Part I. Foundations and Development

1. Introduction: Foundations, issues and recent trends in cumulative impact assessment

Jill Blakley, University of Saskatchewan, CANADA

2. Cumulative effects assessment requirements in selected developed and developing countries

Ayodele Olagunju, Government of Alberta, CANADA, with Divine Odame Appiah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, GHANA, Paulina Maria Porto Silva Cavalcanti, State Environmental Institute – INEA, BRASIL, Bridget Durning, Oxford Brookes University, UNITED KINGDOM, Juan Carlos Tejeda-González, Universidad de Colima, MEXICO, Jason McLean, University of Saskatchewan, CANADA, Richard Morgan, University of Otago, NEW ZEALAND, Rebecca Nelson, Melbourne Law School, AUSTRALIA

3. Anatomy of a cumulative effects issue: agricultural drainage and wetland alteration in southeastern Saskatchewan

Jeff Olson, Citizens Environmental Alliance, CANADA

4. The challenge of cumulative effects assessment at the project-level

George Hegmann, Stantec, CANADA

Part II: Approaches and Tools

5. Conceptualising cumulative social impacts in complex development environments

Ilse Aucamp, Equispectives Research and Consulting Services, and Stephan Woodborne, iThema LABS, SOUTH AFRICA

6. Scenario planning in cumulative effects assessment

Peter N. Duinker, Dalhousie University, and Lorne A. Greig, ESSA Technologies, CANADA

7. Measures to effectively forecast potential cumulative effects

Chris Sunderland, Red Sun Land Consulting, AUSTRALIA

8. Cumulative impact assessment and management for the Great Barrier Reef

Evan Hamman, Queensland University of Technology, Karen Vella, Queensland University of Technology, and Umberto Baresi, Queensland University of Technology AUSTRALIA

9. Using ecological thresholds in cumulative effects assessment

Chris Johnson, University of Northern British Columbia, CANADA, and Justina Ray, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, CANADA

10. Assessing cumulative effects in strategic and regional-scale assessment

Bram Noble, University of Saskatchewan, CANADA, and Jill Blakley, University of Saskatchewan, CANADA

11. A systems approach to cumulative social impact assessment

Bill Grace and Jenny Pope, Integral Sustainability, AUSTRALIA

Part III: Cumulative Impact Assessment in Practice

12. Mitigating cumulative biodiversity impacts

Riki Therivel, Levett-Therivel LLP, UNITED KINGDOM, Jill Blakley, University of Saskatchewan, CANADA, and Jo Treweek, UNITED KINGDOM

13. ‘Green’ is good, but is more ‘green’ always better?

James Baines and Nick Taylor, Taylor Baines & Associates, NEW ZEALAND

14. Cumulative impact assessment for groundwater

Sue Vink, University of Queensland, AUSTRALIA, Paul Howe, CDM Smith Australia Pty. Ltd., AUSTRALIA, and Chris Moran, University of Queensland, AUSTRALIA

15. Some lessons from road ecology for cumulative effects assessments

Jochen Jaeger, Concordia University, CANADA and Aurora Torres-Moreno, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, GERMANY

16. Oil and gas development, regional assessment in Alberta’s oil sands

Chris Powter, Enviro Q&A Services, CANADA and Dallas Johnson, Alberta Innovates, CANADA

17. Cumulative effects and watershed risk assessments

Barry Wilson, CE Analytic Ltd., CANADA

Part IV: Cumulative Impact Management

18. The limitations of utilizing collaborative governance for cumulative effects assessment and management

Richard Margerum, University of Oregon, USA

19. Using indicators to measure outcomes – Adaptive assessment

Will Rifkin, University of Newcastle, AUSTRALIA

20. Cumulative effects assessment and management, Indigenous perspectives, and sustainable land use planning

Kiri Staples, University of Waterloo, CANADA, and Lindsay Staples, North\West Resources Consulting Group, CANADA

21. Monitoring that matters: Towards effective ecological monitoring to address cumulative impacts on biodiversity

Cole Burton, University of British Columbia, CANADA, and Cheryl Chetkiewicz, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, CANADA

Contributors

Divine Odame Appiah is a Senior Lecturer and Research Socio-Environmental Scientist who holds a PhD in Climate Change and Land Use from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. His research interests lie in the areas of Environmental Resource Management, Environmental Governance and Environmental Impact Assessments. He also focuses on community development programs, social strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation, energy access and development, community capacity building as well as household surveys and scenario analyses.

Ilse Aucamp is a Director of Equispectives Research and Consulting Services in South Africa. She conducts social, gender and human rights assessments, due diligence studies, public consultation, stakeholder management processes, and designs and implements social impact management strategies. She teaches and supervises Social Impact Assessment on a Masters’ degree level at several universities in South Africa. Her passion is working with grassroots communities. She holds a DPhil degree in Social Work from the University of Pretoria and a Masters’ degree in Environmental Management from North West University.

James Baines was a director of the New Zealand-based consulting firm, Taylor Baines & Associates, for 30 years, specializing in SIA application for a broad range of clients and pursuing interests in linking different assessment disciplines as well as linking technical assessments with stakeholder participation. Professional practice has involved engagements with UNDP and the World Bank. Between 2000 and 2006, James worked for the SIA Section of the IAIA. He is now a commissioner with the Environment Court in New Zealand.

Umberto Baresi is a post-doctoral researcher at Queensland University of Technology and is experienced in Strategic Environmental Assessment in Europe and Australia. He has professional working experience as environmental planner, researcher and sessional academic. In his PhD (The University of Queensland), he developed and tested an innovative adaptive framework for SEA in Australia and Italy. As a member of the International Association for Impact Assessment (2016), he is collaborating on a government funded project to improve governance and water quality management in the Great Barrier Reef area (Australia).

Thomas R. Berger is a Canadian lawyer, politician and jurist. Justice Berger was the Royal Commissioner of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Enquiry. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of British Columbia. In 2012, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Berger’s work has done much to advance the idea that reconciliation between Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples could be facilitated by Canada’s legal system.

Sara Bice is the former President of the International Association for Impact Assessment (2018-2019). She is an Associate Professor of the Crawford School of Public Policy, and Director and Co-Founder of the Institute for Infrastructure in Society at Australian National University. Sara is also Associate Professor (Special International Guest) at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Jill Blakley is an Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan. She specializes in cumulative effects assessment and strategic environmental assessment, particularly related to regional-scale natural resource development programs. She is the lead editor of the Handbook of Cumulative Impact Assessment and co-editor of a volume that explores the cumulative impact legacy of a 60-year hydro-electric development program in northern Manitoba. Her work to establish principles and process for Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment is endorsed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, Alberta Environment and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, among others.

Cole Burton, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Forest Resources Management at the University of British Columbia, and the Canada Research Chair in Terrestrial Mammal Conservation. He is the Principal Investigator of the Wildlife Coexistence Lab, a diverse team of researchers applying science to support human-wildlife coexistence around the world. Cole’s research focuses on developing rigorous approaches to wildlife monitoring, assessing the cumulative impacts of human activities on animal populations, and evaluating the effectiveness of management actions.

Paulina Maria Porto Silva Cavalcanti is a Chemical Engineer with Master’s and PhD degrees in the Planning Energy Program from Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering - COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ, Brazil. She is currently a researcher in the Environmental Sciences Laboratory and an environmental analyst in the Environmental State Institute in Rio de Janeiro - INEA.

Cheryl-Lesley B. Chetkiewicz, PhD, is a Conservation Scientist with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada, with expertise in wildlife conservation, environmental planning, and monitoring. She focuses on community-based conservation and integrated resource management. Cheryl has been engaged with a number of federal and provincial environmental assessments in northern Ontario, particularly cumulative effects and governance in the Ring of Fire. Cheryl is a member of the Ontario Association for Impact Assessment (OAIA) and has been a board member for the past three years.

Peter Croal is an international environment and development officer, and a long-time consultant in best practice impact assessment globally. He provided 20 years of service to the Canadian International Development Agency where he was manager of the Environmental Integration Unit. Peter is currently involved in an Indigenous reconciliation project to develop Healing Forests across Canada.

Peter N. Duinker is Professor Emeritus in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University. His research over the past four decades has been divided between two lines of scholarly inquiry - one on forests (both rural and urban), and one on environmental assessment. Peter received the 2015 Individual Award from the International Association for Impact Assessment for his lifetime contribution to the environmental assessment enterprise.

Bridget Durning is an academic, sustainability and impact assessment specialist. Bridget is Senior Lecturer in Environmental Assessment and Management at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK where she teaches in the undergraduate and postgraduate programs and delivers continuing professional development short courses to practitioners. Bridget is also Director of the IAU (impacts assessment unit) in the School of the Built Environment: the IAU undertakes externally funded research and consultancy projects relating to environmental and social impact assessment particularly associated with major infrastructure delivery.

Juan Carlos Tejeda González is a Mexican Civil Engineer from University of Colima absorbed by the field of environmental sciences since 2006. He holds a Master’s degree in environmental sciences related to constructed wetlands, and a PhD in environmental sciences focused in Strategic Environmental Assessment from the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi. He also has experience in EIA practice since 2009, collaborating on various EIA studies in his native state of Colima, Mexico, where he’s currently residing and working both as Professor in a local public university and as a private environmental consultant.

Daniel Franks is a Professor and Deputy Director at the Centre for Social Responsibility of Mining at the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute, Australia, and serves as Co-Chair for Social Impact Assessment at the International Association for Impact Assessment. He previously served as Chief Technical Advisor at the United Nations Development Programme and Programme Manager at the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme. Trained as a geologist, Daniel’s work spans the governance of artisanal, small-scale and large-scale mining. His influential work in social impact assessment is interdisciplinary and highly engaged. He has experience at more than 75 mining and energy sites and 37 countries.

Bill Grace is an independent sustainability adviser, researcher and consultant, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia’s Australian Urban Design Research Centre. Bill works at the interface of economics and sustainability, advising state and local government agencies. He has extensive multi-disciplinary multi-faceted experience in providing strategic advice on sustainability aspects of urban and city development. Bill was previously Deputy Chairman of the Western Australian Sustainability Roundtable, which was charged with providing advice to government on implementation of the Western Australia State Sustainability Strategy. He has also served on the Western Australian Planning Committee’s Statutory Planning Committee.

Lorne A. Greig is an independent Systems Ecologist, affiliated with ESSA Technologies Ltd. In his 46 years of practice he has worked on assessing and modelling impacts on fish, wildlife, and forests in response to both human and natural drivers. He led a team in researching scenario analysis as a tool to support environmental assessment for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and has worked extensively on adaptive management and cumulative effects assessment.

Evan Hamman is a lecturer in law at Queensland University of Technology. He has degrees in law, commerce and environmental science, and has experience working in private enterprise, state government and non-governmental organisations. Dr. Hamman’s PhD (2017) concerned the role of non-state actors under the World Heritage Convention. He has developing expertise in the application of law, regulatory and governance arrangements for protection of World Heritage sites and Ramsar listed wetlands.

George Hegmann is the Stantec Environmental Services Technical Lead for Assessment and Permitting in Canada. He has 25 years of experience as a consultant in the preparation and completion of regulatory environmental assessments for multiple proponent sectors and regulatory jurisdictions, dominated by major natural resource projects in the energy industry in western Canada. He also has provided guidance to government and regulatory agencies in Canada and extensively trained, presented and published about project cumulative effects assessment.

Paul Howe has a MAppSc (hydrogeology and Groundwater Management) from the University of New South Wales. In over 25-years of experience in the natural resources, mining and energy sectors he has been involved in water resource development, environmental approvals and water engineering projects, and has assisted Australian jurisdictional agencies in the preparation of groundwater-related natural resource management guidance. Paul has played lead roles in a variety of projects based throughout Australia, New Zealand, the Americas and Asia, developing specialist experience in the characterization of regional and local hydrogeological systems (particularly arid zone), water dependent ecosystems, water resource management, and risk assessment.

Jochen A. G. Jaeger is an Associate Professor at Concordia University (Montreal) and a member of the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science (QCBS). He is strongly interested in transdisciplinary research and education that addresses the environmental crisis and contributes to solutions to human-caused environmental problems or to the avoidance of such problems, with a focus on landscape ecology, road ecology, urban sprawl, ecological modelling, environmental indicators, environmental impact assessment, and novel concepts of problem-oriented transdisciplinary research. His research team was awarded the IENE Project Award 2011 from the Infra Eco Network Europe for the project, “Landscape Fragmentation in Europe”.

Chris J. Johnson is a Professor in the Ecosystem Science and Management Program and a member of the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute at the University of Northern British Columbia. His research is focused on how human uses of landscapes influence the distribution and population dynamics of terrestrial wildlife. In addition to empirical studies, Chris’ research considers the limitations and areas of improvement of policy, legislation, and practice designed to assess and limit cumulative impacts.

Dallas Johnson is Director, Land and Biodiversity in the Clean Resources division of Alberta Innovates. He was previously employed as Director, Regional Strategic Assessment at Alberta Environment and spent the better part of a decade working to advance cumulative effects assessment and management in the province.

Richard D. Margerum is Professor and Director of the School of Planning, Public Policy, and Management at the University of Oregon. He has published numerous articles on collaboration as it applies to natural resources, regional planning, and transportation in the United States and Australia. He is the author of Beyond Consensus: Improving Collaborative Planning and Management (MIT Press, 2011) and co-editor The Challenges of Collaborative Governance (Edward Elgar, 2016).

Jason McLean is an Assistant Professor in the College of Law and an associate member of the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan. His transdisciplinary teaching and research focuses on climate and sustainability law, policy, and governance across multiple scales. His current projects concentrate on learning how to overcome the political obstacles to transformative energy policy reform.

Chris Moran is a Professor and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, at Curtin University. Previously he served as Director of the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland. He is widely regarded for his expertise in soil science, natural resources (spatial modelling and statistics), and water management.

Richard Morgan is Professor Emeritus in the School of Geography, University of Otago, New Zealand. He has been involved in impact assessment research since 1980, and has written many papers and an international textbook on impact assessment theory and practice. A former President of IAIA, Richard is the current chair of the New Zealand Association for Impact Assessment.

Rebecca Nelson is an Associate Professor, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, and a practicing lawyer. Dr. Nelson’s research focuses on environmental and natural resources laws. Her current project, funded by an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award, analyzes and evaluates laws regulating cumulative environmental effects in jurisdictions around the globe. She is an author of Water Resources Law (2nd. ed., LexisNexis Australia), seven book chapters, and 33 articles and commissioned research reports. Dr. Nelson was the IAH (Australia)/National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training Distinguished Lecturer (2016) and the Law Council of Australia’s Young Environmental Lawyer of the Year (2014). She holds a JSD (Stanford), JSM (Stanford) and BE(Environmental)/LLB (University of Melbourne).

Bram Noble is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Saskatchewan. His PhD is in geography with a specialization in environmental assessment from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Bram is actively engaged in both the scholarship and professional practice of impact assessment and has served as a consultant or advisor to many First Nations and various government agencies and industries. These include Stantec, Nalcor Energy, the National Energy Board and the Office of the Auditor General of Canada Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Management. He also serves as Co-Director of the Community Appropriate Sustainable Energy Security program. 

Ayodele Olagunju is a Senior Planning Analyst with the Department of Justice and Solicitor General, Government of Alberta, Canada. He holds a PhD in Environment and Sustainability from the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada and a project management professional designation from the Project Management Institute. Dr. Olagunju has authored several international peer-reviewed articles and technical reports in the areas of strategic environmental assessment, cumulative effects assessment, regional environmental assessment and environmental governance.

Jeff Olson is a retired public servant of 36 years in the environmental field. He has extensive knowledge surrounding farmland drainage and wetland loss as a Conservation Officer stationed throughout Saskatchewan, as a Wetlands Specialist with Saskatchewan Environment, and in the last fourteen years of his career as a Watershed Planner with the Water Security Agency. Jeff is a co-founder of the Saskatchewan Environmental Alliance; a group of concerned forward thinking citizens working on innovative solutions to contemporary environmental problems. He holds a recognized Environmental Professional (EP) designation in Natural Resource Management and is principal in Mind's Eye Consulting (Saskatchewan) which is involved in watershed management, environmental law enforcement, and present environmental water issues in Saskatchewan. Jeff ranches in the Beaver Hills area of west central Saskatchewan.

Renée Pelletier is the managing partner at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP. Her practice includes work on Aboriginal and Treaty rights litigation and specific land claims. Renée is of Maliseet descent and grew up in Fall River, Nova Scotia. She served as a Member of the Independent Federal Environmental Assessment Expert Review Panel which recommended important reforms to the federal impact assessment process.

Jenny Pope is a member of the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia and Director of Western Australian consultancy firm Integral Sustainability, which provides consultancy services to Government and industry on the integration of sustainability concepts into decision-making processes, with a focus on delivering positive sustainability outcomes from major projects. She is also a Fellow of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership in the UK, and Extra-ordinary Associate Professor in Environmental Management at North-West University in South Africa.

Chris Powter established Enviro Q&A Services in 2015 to provide environmental advice and guidance to the resource industry and government regulators. Prior to that Chris ran the Oil Sands Research and Information Network at the University of Alberta for five years, and worked for 29 years with Alberta Environment, including a stint as the head of the provincial environmental assessment program for three years. Chris received reclamation awards from the Canadian Land Reclamation Association and the Alberta Chamber of Resources.

Justina C. Ray has been President and Senior Scientist of Wildlife Conservation Society Canada since its incorporation in 2004. In addition to overseeing the operations of this non-governmental organization, Justina is involved in research and policy activities associated with conservation-based planning, environmental assessment and biodiversity conservation, with a particular focus on ecologically intact northern boreal landscapes and biodiversity. She is Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto (Department of Ecology and Evolution; Graduate Department of Forestry) and Trent University (Environmental & Life Sciences Graduate Program).

Will Rifkin was until 2020 director of the Hunter Research Foundation Centre and now serves as Emeritus Professor at the University of Newcastle, Australia.  He was previously chair in social performance at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining and Centre for Coal Seam Gas at the University of Queensland.  His focus has been sharing insights on social and economic changes in resource regions across the community, business and government sectors.  He led development of the Boomtown Toolkit and Boomtown Indicators. 

Kiri Staples is a Whitehorse-based PhD candidate with the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo. Her research focuses on governance, cumulative effects, and sustainability in the Yukon.

Lindsay Staples is a Whitehorse-based consultant whose work has included the negotiation and implementation of modern-day treaties in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and British Columbia, and sustainability-based environmental assessment.

Chris Sunderland is Principal of Red Sun Land Consulting Pty. Ltd. He specializes in socioeconomic impact assessment and management plans; community consultation, facilitation and development; and providing strategic advice, primarily regarding extractive industry projects in the sectors of metalliferous mining, coal mining, oil & gas, and transportation. He has completed projects in more than 15 countries.

Nick Taylor has broad experience applying social research to projects, programmes, policy and plans in New Zealand and internationally. He was a founding director of Taylor Baines & Associates and is now an independent researcher and consultant, working on strategic and project social impact assessments, recently including land and water plans, regional economic development strategies, irrigation development and aggregate mining. He is a senior adjunct of Lincoln University and a Past President of the IAIA.

Riki Therivel is director of Levett-Therivel sustainability consultants, and a visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University. Riki has 30 years of experience researching and carrying out strategic environmental assessments (SEA), has written key books and guidance on environmental impact assessment and SEA including guidance on cumulative impact assessment, and taught at Oxford Brookes University for 30 years. Her charity, Food for Charities, picks up surplus food from supermarkets and wholesalers, and redistributes it to charities and people in need.

Aurora Torres is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and Michigan State University (USA). She developed her PhD in Ecology at Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (Spanish Research Council; MNCN-CSIC). Her research interests lie at the interface of ecology, conservation, and sustainability with a truly transdisciplinary character. She combines the study of onsite and offsite impacts of urbanization and infrastructure development on human-environmental systems. She currently coordinates the SANDLINKS project, which aims to integrate, test and quantify the main linkages between construction minerals use, economic activity, environmental pressures, and social outcomes.

Jo Treweek is Director of eCountability, a UK-based consultancy specializing in assessment and management of risks to biodiversity and ecosystem services. She is an experienced researcher, practitioner and due diligence reviewer, specializing in biodiversity and ecosystem services aspects of projects in a variety of sectors and countries. Jo has co-developed various tools, methods and guidance that have been widely adopted, including guidance on ecosystem services review and its integration with impact assessment (with the World Resources Institute), a toolkit for implementing the mitigation hierarchy, a new habitat classification for the UK (UKHab), and the biodiversity metric now used by the UK government as the basis for its policy on biodiversity net gain. Jo has a doctorate from the University of Oxford and is a Chartered Ecologist (MCIEEM)

Karen Vella (PhD) is an Associate Professor and the Head of School, School of Built Environment at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Karen is an urban and environmental planner, and her research interests focus on environmental and natural resources planning with particular reference to the human and governance dimensions of planned action. Karen leads research projects that explore the impact of policy tools and collaboration strategies on behaviour and decision making in the Great Barrier Reef.

Sue Vink is a Principal Research Fellow in the Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland. She has been working in mining and coal seam gas related water issues for more than 10 years. Her expertise in systems analysis of water balances and water quality has improved industry sustainable water performance in Australia and Chile. Her prior experience includes catchment scale integrated water management and development of environmental flow requirements for Peruvian Rivers.

Barry J. Wilson is a systems ecologist, co-founder of CE Analytic Ltd. and co-founder of the non-profit BC Tomorrow, helping students explore sustainability in their watershed. He works closely with Indigenous communities, governments, leaders and changemakers on holistic cumulative effects and management frameworks supporting policy and decision-makers. Barry starts with the understanding that everything is connected and seeks to apply two ways of knowing – Indigenous Knowledge and western contemporary science. He believes that together these ways of knowing hold the answers to unlock prosperity while caring for the Earth that sustains us.

Stephan Woodborne is the Senior Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Scientist at iThemba LABS (Laboratory for accelerator based sciences), Associate Professor at the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, and is a research associate at the University of the Witwatersrand. He has 23 years of experience in radiocarbon dating and stable light isotope analyses in South Africa. His research covers palaeo-science, climate change, ecological processes, and social system responses to climate change.

Editors:

Aimée Craft, University of Ottawa, Canada

Jill A.E. Blakley, University of Saskatchewan, Canada  

University of Manitoba Press, Canada

Published: May 2022

https://uofmpress.ca/books/detail/in-our-backyard

Hydro-electricity has been a driving economic force in Manitoba since the turn of the century and more intensively in the last 60 years.  It is the subject of environmental, economic and social concern for all Manitobans, particularly for Indigenous people in northern Manitoba.  Nations, communities, families and people have seen their landscapes and waterways change dramatically over a lifetime. Robert Spence, a fisherman and land user from the Tataskweyak Cree Nation describes his experience of “growing up in the shadow of one dam, only to die in the shadow of another”.  

This edited volume explores fundamental questions that need to be asked relating to resource development in northern and remote areas. Through the lens of the Keeyask hydroelectric development project on the Nelson River, at the conclusion of the Clean Environment Commission’s (CEC) environmental assessment hearings, this book brings back into focus the question – should the Keeaysk dam be built? 

Together, Aimée Craft and Jill Blakely (both involved in the Keeyask CEC and the Public Utilities Board hearings) curate a collection of scientific and community-based reports and narratives that feature the diverse perspectives shared in the Keeyask hearings. Contributions from community members, knowledge holders, technicians, expert witnesses and lawyers involved in the hearings delve into topics including: What is our personal and shared understanding and experience of hydroelectric and other forms of development in northern Manitoba – past, present and future? How have these projects benefited economies and who have they benefited? What are some of the lasting legacies of development? What is the cumulative impact on the environment in the Nelson River sub-watershed? Can Indigenous partnership-building serve as a model for collaborative resource development? What are the sustainability concerns unique to northern environments that policy makers must keep in mind? And, what would constitute ‘good hydroeletcric development’ in northern Manitoba and areas like it around the world?  This is contrasted with examples of similar developments and resource extraction projects taking place or proposed in other regions of Canada, including Ontario and British Columbia, particularly with respect to their impact on Indigenous territories. 

Supported with powerful images of Indigenous territories and hydro-electric development in Northern Manitoba curated by award winning visual artist KC Adams, the result is a unique volume of blended yet distinct voices, united in the quest for a better legacy of development in northern and remote areas under intense development pressure. A book of exceptional instructional and story-telling value, In Our Backyard relays messages of critical importance to Canadians, governments, industry, and communities involved in ongoing development on Indigenous lands and waters. 

Contributors

Jill Blakley is an Associate Professor of Geography & Planning at the University of Saskatchewan 

Will Braun is with the Interchurch Council on Hydropower and performs research and advocacy on energy and Indigenous issues 

Jerry Buckland is a Professor of International Development Studies at Menno Simons College 

Aimée Craft is an Associate Professor of law in the Faculty of Common Law at the University of Ottawa and an Adjunct Professor in Law at the University of Manitoba 

Alan Diduck is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences at the University of Winnipeg 

Joseph Dipple is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba 

Steve Ducharme is the President of the South Indian Lake Fishermen’s Association 

Leslie Dysart is the CEO of the Community Association of South Indian Lake 

Patricia Fitzpatrick is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Winnipeg 

Kyrke Gaudreau is an Adjunct Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia 

Robert Gibson is a Professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo 

Asfia Gulrukh Kamal is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Aboriginal Education Research Centre in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan 

Annette Lutterman is Principal Consultant with A.L.Ecologic based in Golden, British Columbia, specializing in river and wetland ecology 

Noah Massan is an Elder, Trapper, and harvester from Fox Lake Cree Nation 

Ovide Mercredi is the former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations as well as the former Chief of Misipawistik Cree Nation 

Cathy Merrick is the former Chief of Pimicikamak Okimawin 

Bram Noble is a Professor of Geography & Planning at the University of Saskatchewan 

Melanie O’Gorman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Winnipeg 

Agnieszka Pawlowska-Mainville is an Assistant Professor in First Nations Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia 

James Robson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan 

Terry Sargeant is the former Chair of the Clean Environment Commission during the Keeyask Project hearings 

James Schaefer is a Professor of Biology at Trent University 

Greg Selinger is the former Premier of the Government of Manitoba and the MLA for St. Boniface 

Byron Williams is the Director of the Manitoba Public Interest Law Centre 

 

What is implicit, though not widely discussed or recognized in academia, is that professors are running a research enterprise, which we argue is analogous to running a small business. That said, virtually no professor has the training or experience needed to be a successful small business owner! The Research Enterprise is a book about learning to build the systems that are necessary to support a successful research enterprise.

As professors, aren’t we all here because we love doing research? Yet, somehow, in the years following our academic appointment, the harsh reality becomes clear that we have much more to do than simply carry out the research as we did in our graduate programs. Thus, we begin to grow frustrated, disillusioned and even downright crabby, questioning our career choice, our institution choice, or both. The messaging we receive about the need to simply manage our time better and work harder is misaligned with the messaging we need to be successful in the ‘business of research’. Soon, we are engulfed by the culture of overwork and even start pushing that on others. As one semester gives way to the next in rapid succession, many of us simply cannot understand why we cannot get the time to read, to think, to write, to reflect, and to grow the research program, brand and reputation we always dreamed of.  

Some of the messages we so badly need about the research business are simply never going to come through the standard institutional channels, unless you have had a forthcoming, ‘business-minded’ mentor. The Research Enterprise is a wealth of information the authors have synthesized through trial and error, observation, and cobbling together bits of advice from the leading researchers around them. The result is a book where we liken the job of a professor to that of an entrepreneur - a person who organizes and operates a business - and impart lessons wherein we can work much smarter, but hopefully not harder, across the full range of assigned duties. The book covers a range of ‘business practices’ needed to support knowledge generation: setting the research agenda; building both internal and external teams; financial management; developing and managing a workflow; building a research brand; and importantly, investing in yourself. These lessons inside will be of use to those who were not lucky enough to be blessed with good or fulsome mentorship, and who might be a tad lacking in natural academic business acumen! The central premise of The Research Enterprise is that the systems professors employ (sustained, intentional business practices) are the key to long-term success. These systems provide the gateway to efficiency and delegation; quality control; maximized reach in the distribution of ‘products’; the establishment and maintenance of reputation, and the opportunity to continually detect opportunities for improvement. The benefits of organizing work flow is availing professors to consistently produce top-shelf research without burning out.

The Research Enterprise will be of great benefit to early- and mid-career academics who want to build a successful research program and aren’t sure where to start, or who are struggling to do so for any number of reasons. Full professors will also find many helpful ideas to enhance businesses practices and systems already in place, boosting productivity and job satisfaction. Our suggestions will aid readers in developing a positive, rewarding, productive and successful program of research for themselves and their graduate students. The book strives to shift the mindset of professors toward that of being a small business entrepreneur - we believe this, not overwork, is key to long-term success.

Authors:

Jill Blakley, PhD, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Cherie Westbrook, PhD, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

University of Toronto Press, Canada

Anticipated Release Date: 2024

This is a short, public-facing, plain-language text explaining the fundamental concepts and practice of cumulative effects assessment (CEA) to a broad audience, enhanced by a variety of seminal and more recent case examples. Cumulative environmental effects are changes in the environment caused by multiple interactions among human activities and natural processes that accumulate across time and space. Human development is now intense in many regions of the world and, as such, CEA has become a central consideration in the approvals process for many industrial projects including pipelines, mines, transportation corridors, hydro-electric dams, and shipping ports. Increasingly, cumulative effects issues become contentious ‘flash-points’ for public debate and legal battles regarding the actions of proponents and the failure of governments to prevent environmental degradation due to ‘death by a thousand cuts’.  

Within the international environmental impact assessment community, CEA is widely considered to be both essential and impossible. It is undoubtedly critical to assess the contribution of industrial projects and development programs to such issues as wildlife habitat fragmentation, water and air pollution, and decline of Indigenous traditional economies. Yet it is a highly complex, often technical undertaking with ‘expert’ knowledge still largely situated within corporate proprietary and academic domains. This book aims to ‘democratize’ CEA knowledge by placing information about fundamental concepts, approaches, and ‘practice pitfalls’ into the hands that need it most: public office holders, environmental organizations, Indigenous communities, and the general public. The goal is to engender a common language and understanding among the many parties involved in CEA, thereby enhancing collaborative efforts to apply CEA, and ultimately render CEA practice more effective internationally.  

Key themes of the book include: 

• The significance of CEA in land use planning and environmental management today; 

• International development of CEA since its introduction via the United States National Environmental Protection Act in 1969; 

• Ideological progression of CEA within environmental impact assessment, from project-based impact assessment to strategic environmental assessment, and including regional scale impact assessment processes; 

• Explanation of the anthropogenic drivers of cumulative effects issues such as land use conversion and climate change, and common pathways or mechanisms of change; 

• Description of various types of cumulative effects impacting air, land, water and mineral resources such as ‘additive’, ‘synergistic’, ‘masking’, and ‘growth-inducing’ cumulative effects; 

• Explanation of common cumulative effects policy issues such as wildlife habitat fragmentation, wetland loss, light and noise pollution, and so on; 

• Illustration of key concepts using a wide variety of case examples from CEA practice in Canada and abroad. 

Author:

Jill Blakley, PhD, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Routlege, Taylor and Francis Group, United Kingdom

Anticipated Release Date: 2025