Professor Larry Canter is a well-known and highly cited author on environmental impact assessment. For many years, he has been researching, consulting, teaching, and training on several aspects of impact assessment. Cumulative impacts, or effects, are a major topic on which his contribution is lasting. His new book congregates and summarizes his experience and consolidates his important contribution to this branch of the impact assessment discipline.
In 14 chapters and 3 appendices, a comprehensive approach to cumulative effects assessment and management (CEAM) is presented and explained. The chapters follow the classical sequential steps of impact assessment from scoping to mitigation and management.
Terminology and eight principles of CEAM are introduced in Chapter 1. The principles are sourced in the pioneering US Council on Environmental Quality guidance published in 1997, still a key conceptual reference for this practice internationally. Although the book draws heavily on US and Canadian experience and research findings, the featured concepts, methods, and tips are largely of universal application.
Several key tasks of CEAM are presented in detail. One example is the identification and selection of past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions that can contribute to cumulative impacts on valued ecosystem components (VECs). A conceptual model, a flowchart and several examples guide the practitioner into identifying, characterizing, and finally selecting those actions to be included in the assessment. Practical difficulties are not forgotten, such as the fact that government agencies and private sector proponents may be reluctant to share information.
Detailed explanation and examples are also featured for ‘Connector methods for evaluating multiple effects contributors to key resources (VECs)’, which is the title of Chapter 7.
Inevitably, some of the methods, approaches, and tools described and discussed in the book are applicable not only to the assessment of cumulative effects, but also to the standard assessment of environmental impacts. Hence, the reader will find contents also featured elsewhere, including in the previous Canter textbook. One example is the chapter on determination of impact significance. This characteristic, however, makes easier the life of the reader who appreciates having a synthesis of the most relevant issues pertaining to CEAM at hand.
Of particular interest is the chapter on ‘Protocol for addressing environmental sustainability of specific VECs’. The contents are built upon an actual study linking sustainability with CEAM carried on for US Army Corps of Engineers. An investment plan to modernize navigation in the Ohio River waterway triggered a strategic-level impact assessment comprising the review of past, current, and future impacts from multiple actions and programs of several government agencies and private actors. No less than 87 types of actions potentially affecting the selected VECs were considered in the assessment, conducted according to a seven-step process starting with identifying sustainability indicators for 10 VECs and concluding with planning actions for enhancing environmental sustainability.
The importance of adequately communicating CEAM findings and recommendations is not forgotten. One chapter explains the purposes of documentation, presents a ‘comprehensive list of topical issues to be addressed within a CEAM study’, with examples, and summarizes general tips for preparing written documents.
Given the author’s role in shaping theory and practice in this field, the short appendix featuring snapshots of CEAM history is welcome, while examples of case law in the US are discussed in another appendix.
The book appeals to the students and especially to the professionals involved in cumulative impact assessment. It is not a manual, i.e. the book does not provide direct answers to all those frequently asked questions in CEAM, such as ‘how many VECs should I reasonably consider in my CEAM’, or ‘how best do I choose suitable indicators’. Readers instead will find detailed guidance, direction to consult additional sources, and especially inspiration to develop their own approach to each particular CEAM study.
Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering
University of São Paulo
Brazil
[email protected]
© 2016 Luis E. Sánchez
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2016.1244276