The Role of Impact Assessment for Infrastructure Planning

After hearing from Dr. Michelle Angeles, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) expert at TU Delft and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, I was reminded of the complexity and importance of mitigating adverse social and ecological effects of infrastructural improvement projects while taking advantage of the positive ones. Even a bicycle path project, which may seem to have good intentions, can produce negative impacts. Through impact assessment, these effects can be controlled so that noise pollution and other impacts from construction and waste are held to a tolerable level. The decision on where to place infrastructure can also produce hostility from those using or living nearby the site, especially if their daily life patterns are suddenly changed; for instance, through a traffic detour, expropriation of certain land parcels, or disturbance of wildlife and plant habitat.

Project managers must realize that effects from a project are not only direct, but also indirect, and often cumulative. Interactions occur, and uncertain consequences ensue. Thus, the process of impact assessment amounts to valuing not only economic outcomes and other predictable outcomes and impacts but also positive and negative social and ecological ones. Developing a problem tree, often used in the evaluation phase of development projects, can be a helpful exercise. Mediation and negotiation with involved or impacted stakeholders also enhance the planning and construction process to ensure more desired outcomes. Although this incremental process can be slow, repeating stakeholders' concerns to stakeholders who disagree with a project due to its impacts can clarify underlying fears by those stakeholders about the project. This could lead them to reconsider their negative opinions on a project to avoid excessive NIMBYISM. In addition, the impact assessment process requires one to value not only monetary outcomes, but also consider the positive social and ecological ones. For example, a project that may have an unquantifiable social benefit of health and wellbeing or an overall cost reduction in health-related expenditures.