文章基本信息

标题：Perspectives from landscape ecology can improve environmental impact assessment
本地全文：下载
作者：Karly J. Harker ; Lauren Arnold ; Ira J. Sutherland 等
期刊名称：FACETS
印刷版ISSN：2371-1671
电子版ISSN：2371-1671
出版年度：2021
卷号：6
期号：1
页码：358-378
DOI：10.1139/facets-2020-0049
语种：English
出版社：Canadian Science Publishing
摘要：The outcomes of environmental impact assessment (EIA) influence millions of hectares of land and can be a contentious process. A vital aspect of an EIA process is consideration of the accumulation of impacts from multiple activities and stressors through a cumulative effects assessment (CEA). An opportunity exists to improve the rigor and utility of CEA and EIA by incorporating core scientific principles of landscape ecology into EIA. With examples from a Canadian context, we explore realistic hypothetical situations demonstrating how integration of core scientific principles could impact EIA outcomes. First, we demonstrate how changing the spatial extent of EIA boundaries can misrepresent cumulative impacts via the exclusion or inclusion of surrounding natural resource development projects. Second, we use network analysis to show how even a seemingly small, localized development project can disrupt regional habitat connectivity. Lastly, we explore the benefits of using long-term historical remote sensing products. Because these approaches are straightforward to implement using publicly available data, they provide sensible opportunities to improve EIA and enhance the monitoring of natural resource development activities in Canada and elsewhere.