International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA)
The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) is a global nongovernmental organization dedicated to advancing biodiversity protection and promoting sustainable development. With over 2,500 members across more than 100 countries, IAIA emphasizes free and open access to its environmental impact assessment projects, ensuring the use of current and unbiased research findings. IAIA conducts research across various departments, addressing areas such as agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, disaster response, corporate stewardship, and health impacts, all with a focus on enhancing environmental and human rights protections.
The organization actively engages in public participation for its assessments and promotes the integration of local knowledge, especially concerning indigenous communities. IAIA tracks environmental legislation globally and shares its findings through its professional journal, "Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal," which highlights best practices and relevant updates. Additionally, IAIA publishes methodology guides to support effective assessment practices, aligning its efforts with major international environmental agreements. Through these initiatives, IAIA seeks to foster informed decision-making that balances developmental needs with ecological sustainability.
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International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA)
- DATE: Established 1980
The International Association for Impact Assessment brings together researchers in the sciences and social sciences, policymakers, academics, and others to analyze the possible and probable consequences for development policies that have an impact on the environmental, social, economic, and cultural health of human societies around the world.
Background
The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) is a nongovernmental organization dedicated to the protection of biodiversity and the promotion of sustainable development on a local to global scale. IAIA supports free and open access to all its environmental impact assessment projects, which use the most current, comprehensive, and unbiased research findings available. IAIA consists of more than twenty-five hundred members in more than one hundred countries. All IAIA research projects aim to protect both the natural environment and human rights, while developing increasingly sophisticated environmental impact assessments.
Impact on Resource Use
IAIA divides members’ research projects into a number of departments. The agriculture, forestry, and fisheries department collects data to develop numerous and widely available sustainable practices. The and department provides information to help establish environmentally significant and sensitive locations and develop ways to protect them. The disaster and conflict department collects information on the environmental impact of natural disasters, including the negative impact on biodiversity in affected areas. This helps develop environmentally and human-sensitive policy responses. The corporate stewardship department assists corporations in designing environmentally positive decisions in their manufacturing, marketing, and distribution processes. Trade-related projects focus on environmentally benign international and transnational trade development.
IAIA includes a department dedicated specifically to assessing the impact of development policies on Indigenous peoples and how best to preserve traditional forms of knowledge. The health impact department collects and disseminates information related to the connections between human health and environmental development and/or preservation. IAIA also tracks environmental impact legislation around the globe via its impact assessment law department.
All IAIA departments include options for public participation in environmental impact assessments and the provision of information helpful in constructing legislation in line with IAIA mission of environmentally aware development. IAIA publishes research findings, including requisite estimated cost-benefit analyses, in its professional journal, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal. The journal also includes a best practices section, book reviews, and updates on global environmental projects and legislation. Additionally IAIA publishes numerous books on assessment methodologies in order to ensure that research findings are reported in the most credible and functional way for later use in drafting legislation or supporting policy decisions. These methodology texts include volumes on what to assess for biodiversity impact, how research samples must be constructed for social impact assessments, and options for developing corporate stewardship decisions. IAIA uses its publications to contribute to global sustainable development projects in line with the goals of the Ramsar Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Water Forum, the Espoo Convention, and the Convention on Migratory Species.
"About IAIA." International Association for Impact Assessment, www.iaia.org/about.php. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Exploring the Relationship Between Context and Effectiveness in Impact Assessment." Environmental Impact Assessment Review, vol. 97, Nov. 2022, doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2022.106901. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Morrison-Saunders, Angus. "Developing International Guidance to Make Impact Assessment Follow-up Happeneflections on an Interactive Design Process." Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, vol. 42, no. 5, doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2024.2421031. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.