A Proposed Framework to Assess Cumulative Environmental Effects in Canadian National Parks

📖 The Scoop

This report proposes a framework that promotes cumulative impact assessment (CEA) as a decision-making process where information on the ecological integrity of national parks is integrated into park management planning. Research for the development of the framework includes a literature review, interviews with park managers and cumulative effects specialists, and field work in two Atlantic region parks. Two illustrations using a project from each park helped refine the framework and ensure its utility. The framework links three components: sources of cumulative environmental change, assessment of this change, and the options available to manage cumulative effects. The framework establishes a link between local effects induced by specific projects or activities and overall park ecological integrity by highlighting the relationship between project-specific environmental assessment and park planning. CEA is the bridge between these two management activities. The report focuses mainly on the assessment portion of the framework and provides a series of steps to assist in conducting CEAs. The steps are organized into three tiers of analysis that correlate with regional, park, and project site scales. The framework also directs the assessor to examine broad temporal scales.

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