Cumulative Impact Assessments (CIA) are designed to model the potential impacts of developments in a region. Using a combination of ethnographic research and computer predictive modeling, CIAs allow First Nations to gain a detailed understanding of the potential benefits and harm caused by forestry, mining, hydro-electrical projects, pipelines, and other developments on traditional lands. Cumulative Impact Assessments present spatially (usually in the form of maps) the impact of developments on traditional use areas, wildlife, plants, soil, and other local values. While these models do not provide ‘absolutes’ — they are able to indicate the relative impacts of developments on traditional activities and biological values.
The CIA process involves working closely with members of a First Nations community to identify the cultural values that might be impacted by development. From there, computer models compare development plans with the location of cultural activities or wildlife locations. A range of scenarios can be considered: what will happen, for example, to moose habitats if mining goes ahead or if mining and forestry take place. Once the results of each scenario are generated, community members look at the results and have an opportunity to adjust the importance of various cultural values. Discussions of acceptable and unacceptable development thresholds follow.
Cumulative Impact Assessments are useful for communities facing the uncertainty of development on traditional lands. These assessments can provide assistance in making decisions about which developments to support and which ones to reject as having too great an impact on cultural values and wildlife.
Cumulative Impact Assessments can also be combined with socio-cultural impact assessments to provide both a spatial and a demographic picture of the impacts of development. Socio-cultural impact assessments also rely on community decisions about significant cultural values; these values are used as a baseline for determining the impact of developments on aspects of local culture such as language, education, governance, hunting, and fishing.
