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Handbook 11
Impact assessment
Guidelines for incorporating biodiversity-related issues
into environmental impact assessment legislation
and/or processes and in strategic environmental
assessment
This second edition of the Ramsar handbooks series, like the first, has
been made possible through a generous contribution from the
Government of Spain, this time through the General Directorate for
Biodiversity, Ministry of Environment.
1
Acknowledgements
Note. This Handbook is based on Resolution VIII.9 and its Annex, with an
introductory section prepared by the Ramsar Secretariat, but also brings
together additional information relevant to this issue. The views expressed
in this additional information do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Ramsar Convention Secretariat or the Contracting Parties, and such
materials have not been endorsed by the Conference of the Contracting
Parties.
All decisions of the Ramsar COPs are available from the Convention’s
Web site at http://www.ramsar.org/index_key_docs.htm#res. Background
documents referred to in these handbooks are available at
http://www.ramsar.org/cop7_docs_index.htm and
http://www.ramsar.org/cop8_docs_index_e.htm.
2
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 2
Foreword 4
Section I
Introduction: Impact assessment and the Ramsar 5
Convention
Section II
CBD Guidelines for incorporating biodiversity related 8
issues into environmental impact assessment legislation
and/or processes and in strategic environmental
assessment
1. Purpose and approach 10
2. Biodiversity issues at different stages of environmental 11
impact assessment
3. Incorporation of biodiversity considerations in strategic 21
environmental assessments
4. Ways and means 21
Appendix 1: Questions pertinent to screening on biological 25
diversity impacts.
Appendix 2: The screening criteria. 26
Appendix 3: Indicative list (non-exhaustive) of examples of 29
functions of the natural environment that are directly
(flora and fauna) or indirectly (services provided by
ecosystems such as water supply) derived from
biological diversity.
Appendix 4: Biodiversity checklist on scoping for the 31
identification of the impacts of proposed projects on
components of biodiversity (Not exhaustive).
Section III
Strategic Environmental Assessment 32
3
Foreword
4
from a resource paper written for Ramsar by Andrea Athanas and Frank
Vorhies, in order to fill out the partial picture on SEA presented in the
Guidelines themselves.
5
Section I
Introduction
Despite a clear role for impact assessment being spelt out in several
convention texts or otherwise encouraged among their Parties, for the
greater part of the history of both the conventions and EIA, there has been
little overlap between these two worlds in terms of their processes and
the people involved. Many individuals engaged internationally in
biodiversity conservation have been aware that EIA has value for them,
and many in the international community of EIA professionals have known
that biodiversity conservation is one of the fields which can benefit from
what they do. But only relatively recently have there been real
institutional or policy linkages between them.
6
Non-governmental organizations have been instrumental in building that
bridge, and BirdLife International and IUCN-the World Conservation Union
were responsible for some of the first initiatives. In March 1996, David
Pritchard of BirdLife International presented a groundbreaking paper to a
Technical Session of the 6th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting
Parties to the Ramsar Convention in Brisbane, Australia. This presentation,
“Environmental Impact Assessment: Towards Guidelines for Adoption
under the Ramsar Convention” (http://ramsar.org/archives_pritchard.htm),
described the need for greater attention to EIA in wetland policy and
included a set of potential guidelines on the use of EIA “as an aid to the
wise use of wetlands” for the consideration of the Parties. At that time, the
COP adopted Recommendation 6.2 (http://ramsar.org/key_rec_6.2.htm)
requesting the Standing Committee and the Scientific and Technical
Review Panel (STRP) to examine existing EIA guidelines relevant to
wetlands and, if necessary, to pursue the question of drafting Ramsar
guidelines on EIA and wetlands as an aid to the Parties.
7
The Convention’s first Strategic Plan, for 1997-2002 (adopted in 1996)
(http://ramsar.org/key_strat_plan_e.htm#oo25), devoted Operational
Objective 2.5 to increasing the visibility of EIA issues in the Convention’s
processes and, accordingly, the present Strategic Plan 2003-2008
(http://ramsar.org/key_strat_plan_2003_e.htm#a2o2o3) urges the Parties
to “develop and implement Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
legislation so as to ensure that an EIA is carried out, as appropriate, in
wetlands, including Ramsar sites, where adverse impacts may occur due
to a proposed development, change in land/water use, invasive species,
etc.”
This increasing attention to EIA and SEA within the Ramsar Convention
over the past eight years continues to be accompanied by the rapid
growth of synergies between Ramsar work and the work of other
conventions and organizations. The IAIA is a formally invited permanent
observer to the STRP (Resolution VIII.28) and has been contributing to its
work since the establishment of an STRP Working Group on impact
assessment in 1999. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed
between the IAIA and the Ramsar Secretariat in June 2001
(http://ramsar.org/key_iaia_mou.htm), and the most recent result of this
has been the workshop at the IAIA’s June 2003 annual meeting led by the
Association’s Biodiversity and Ecology Section, which for the first time
included contributions from staff of the secretariats of both the Ramsar
Convention and the CBD.
Through the Ramsar Convention’s Joint Work Plans with the CBD, the
members of both the secretariats and the subsidiary scientific bodies,
STRP and SBSTTA, have contributed to each other’s progress, in particular
in Ramsar’s input, as well as the IAIA’s, to SBSTTA’s development of
guidelines on the screening and scoping stages of EIA which the CBD
Parties adopted in Decision VI/7 at their 6th COP, April 2002. In May 2002,
the Ramsar Standing Committee determined to recommend that the
Conference of the Parties adopt a Resolution urging the Parties to make
use of the CBD’s Guidelines, with the addition of wetland-specific
annotations provided by the STRP Working Group, and in November 2002
this became Resolution VIII.9.
During the triennium 2002-2005, the STRP’s work plan calls for continued
progress in preparing advice and case studies for the Ramsar Contracting
Parties on applying impact assessment to the conservation and wise use
of wetlands. The IAIA has taken the lead in the STRP’s task in the context
of its three-year project on biodiversity and impact assessment, partially
funded by the Government of the Netherlands, which is intended to
support implementation of the CBD and Ramsar Convention principally
through capacity building in the developing world – the project, which has
representatives of Ramsar and the CBD on its Steering Committee, will
engage in in-country training, at first in selected countries and then
potentially in more, as well as in the development of training materials,
8
possibly including guidelines that will be directly appropriate to wetland
situations.
9
Flowchart of key steps in the environmental impact
assessment procedure
(FROM UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/7/13, NOVEMBER 2001)
Initiation or
submission of
proposal
Screening
Scoping
Assessing
Impact analysis/
prediction; Public involvement*
impact significance
Mitigation
* Public involvement should
Redesign; ideally occur at all stages of
planning for impact the impact assessment
management
Resubmit Reporting or the
environmental
impact statement
Reviewing
Redesign
Document quality; Public
Stakeholders input; involvement*
Proposal
Not
approved Decision-making Approved
10
Section II
1. For the purpose of these guidelines, the following definitions are used
for environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic
environmental assessment (SEA):
11
ii) Scoping to identify which potential impacts are relevant to
assess, and to derive terms of reference for the impact
assessment;
iii) Impact assessment to predict and identify the likely
environmental impacts of a proposed project or
development taking into account inter-related consequences
of the project proposal, and the socio-economic impacts;
iv) Identifying mitigation measures (including not proceeding
with the development, finding alternative designs or sites
which avoid the impacts, incorporating safeguards in the
design of the project, or providing compensation for adverse
impacts);
v) Deciding whether to approve the project or not; and
vi) Monitoring and evaluating the development activities,
predicted impacts and proposed mitigation measures to
ensure that unpredicted impacts or failed mitigation
measures are identified and addressed in a timely fashion.
(For further information about Ramsar and SEA, see Section III)
12
environmental impact assessment procedures, noting that existing
procedures take biodiversity into consideration in different ways. A
draft framework has been developed to address the screening and
scoping phases of environmental impact assessment. Further
development of the framework will be required to address the
incorporation of biodiversity into subsequent stages of the
environmental impact assessment process, including impact
assessment, mitigation, evaluation and monitoring, and into strategic
environmental assessment.
13
6. Environmental impact assessment procedures should refer to other
relevant national, regional and international legislation, regulations,
guidelines and other policy documents such as the national
biodiversity strategy and action plan documents, the Convention on
Biological Diversity and biodiversity-related conventions and
agreements including, in particular, the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
and the related agreements, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, the
Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary
Context; the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; the
European Union directives on environmental impact assessment, and
the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against
Pollution from Land-based Sources.
(a) Screening
14
(a) Positive lists identifying projects requiring environmental impact
assessment. A few countries use (or have used) negative lists,
identifying those projects not subject to environmental impact
assessment. These lists should be reassessed to evaluate their
inclusion of biodiversity aspects;
15
provide these professionals with the means to come to a
motivated, transparent and consistent screening decision.
Furthermore, the expert teams should include professionals with
biodiversity expertise;
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IAIA members now number more than 2,500 and represent more than 100
countries. As of June 2003, IAIA Affiliates are operating in Beijing (China),
Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Ontario (Canada),
Quebec (Canada), Western and Northern Canada, Senegal and South
Africa. IAIA's first Branch (a group comprised entirely of IAIA-International
members), the Washington (DC) Area Branch, was organized in September
2001. International conferences are held annually. Regional conferences
are organized to make information exchange and networking
opportunities available to those who might not be able to attend the
international conferences, as well as to focus attention to specific issues.
3 / Some concrete targets are proposed in the note by the Executive Secretary on
a proposal for a global strategy for plant conservation (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/7/10).
16
Training programmes, ranging from one day to one week in duration and
dealing with a variety of impact assessment issues, are held regularly in
conjunction with IAIA international conferences.
In 2003 the IAIA initiated a project, with funding from the government of
the Netherlands, on “Capacity building in Biodiversity and Impact
Assessment in Developing Countries”. This is designed to support
countries in their implementation of CBD and Ramsar through the
establishment of networks of trained impact assessment professionals,
capacity-building, and the provision of training materials for integrating
biodiversity into impact assessment processes.
13. Screening criteria may relate to: (i) categories of activities, including
thresholds referring to magnitude of the activity and/or size of the
intervention area, duration and frequency or to (ii) a magnitude of
biophysical change that is caused by the activity, or to (iii) maps
indicating areas important for biodiversity with special legal status or
of high biodiversity value and endemism, species patterns, breeding
sites, or areas with species of high genetic value.
17
Ramsar: Projects with possible implications for a listed Ramsar site are
an example of the third type of screening criterion given above. This
should extend to sites selected according to any of the Ramsar criteria,
and not just those relating to the biodiversity importance of the wetland.
18
16. Considering the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity,
i.e., in particular, conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing
of benefits derived from biological diversity, fundamental questions
need to be answered in an environment impact assessment study:
(e) Does the intended activity constitute a use which would be “unwise”
in the sense of conflicting with the tenets of “wise use of wetlands” as
defined under the Convention in e.g. Recommendation 3.3,
Recommendation 4.10 and Resolution V.6?
(b) Scoping
18. Scoping narrows the focus of the broad issues found to be significant
during the screening stage. It is used to derive terms of reference
(sometimes referred to as guidelines) for environmental impact
5 / For example, fire can be too frequent and too infrequent to sustain the
integrity/health of a given ecosystem.
19
assessment. Scoping also enables the competent authority (or
environmental impact assessment professionals in countries where
scoping is voluntary):
19. During the scoping phase promising alternatives can be identified for
in-depth consideration during the environmental impact assessment
study.
20
ecosystems or land-use types and determine the values these
functions represent for society (see annex III for an indicative list
of functions);
(j) With the help of the biodiversity checklist on scoping (see annex
IV below), determine which issues will provide information
relevant to decision making and can realistically be studied;
Ramsar: In the case of Ramsar sites, the “baseline” should relate to the
site’s ecological character, as distinct from the attributes which cause it
to qualify as internationally important. Hence the baseline should be the
target condition (ecological character) described in management plan
objectives. It will therefore not necessarily equate to the condition of the
site described at the time of listing (or subsequent updating of the
Ramsar Information Sheet) unless at such times the site happens to
have achieved its optimal (target) condition, or if there is no better
baseline available.
21
(c) Impact analysis and assessment
25. If the evaluation process concludes that the impacts are significant,
the next stage in the process is to propose mitigation ideally drawn
together into an “environmental management plan”. The purpose of
mitigation in environmental impact assessment is to look for better
ways to implement project activities so that negative impacts of the
activities are avoided or reduced to acceptable levels and the
22
environmental benefits are enhanced, and to make sure that the
public or individuals do not bear costs which are greater than the
benefits which accrue to them. Remedial action can take several
forms, i.e. avoidance (or prevention), mitigation (including restoration
and rehabilitation of sites), and compensation (often associated with
residual impacts after prevention and mitigation).
(f) Review
23
review should also consider whether all of the relevant impacts of a
proposed activity have been identified and adequately addressed in
the environmental impact assessment. To this end, biodiversity
specialists should be called upon for the review and information on
official standards and/or standards for good practice to be compiled
and disseminated.
29. Review should also guarantee that the information provided in the
environmental impact statement is sufficient for a decision maker to
determine whether the project is compliant with or contradictory to
the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
(g) Decision-making
24
(h) Monitoring and environmental auditing
32. Monitoring and auditing are used to see what actually occurs after
project implementation has started. Predicted impacts on biodiversity
should be monitored, as should the effectiveness of mitigation
measures proposed in the environmental impact assessment. Proper
environmental management should ensure that anticipated impacts
are maintained within predicted levels, and unanticipated impacts
are managed before they become a problem and the expected
benefits (or positive developments) are achieved as the project
proceeds. The results of monitoring provide information for periodic
review and alteration of environmental management plans, and for
optimising environmental protection through good practice at all
stages of the project. Biodiversity data generated by environmental
impact assessment should be made accessible and useable by others
and should be linked to biodiversity assessment processes being
designed and carried out under the Convention on Biological
Diversity.
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25
• stakeholders’ perception of the tool;
• consistency with the internationally-recognized requirements for
EIA; and
• results of EIA’s effective use as a regulatory tool.
Chapter two presents the main results and observed tendencies from the
diagnostic phase with some useful subregional comparisons as well as
statistical analysis for the entire region. The results are helpfully
presented using tables, pie charts and bar charts.
26
environmental assessment, taking into account that for the latter
type of assessment, biological diversity concerns should be
considered from the early stages of the drafting process, including
when developing new legislative and regulatory frameworks (decision
V/18, paras. 1(c) and 2 (a)), and at the decision-making and/or
environmental planning levels (decision V/18, para. 2 (a)), and that
strategic environmental assessments by their nature cover policies
and programmes, a wider range of activities over a wider area.
(a) Capacity-building
6 / See the Global Taxonomy Initiative and the proposed programme of work
(decision V/9 of the Conference of the Parties and SBSTTA recommendation VI/6)
27
environmentally sound, efficient options that avoid, reduce or
mitigate biodiversity and other adverse impacts are made explicit,
this will prompt developers to, at a very early stage, use
environmental impact assessment tools to improve the development
process prior to the project consent stage or in some cases prior to
screening procedures.
(c) Participation
(d) Incentives
28
Following a brief synopsis of the importance of wetlands and the many
causes of wetland loss, the authors explain the role of economic valuation
in decision-making. They discuss why wetland values are frequently
undervalued and emphasise the need for Contracting Parties to the
Ramsar Convention to use appropriate valuation techniques to ensure the
conservation and wise use of their wetlands. The authors provide a
detailed framework for assessing the economic benefits of alternative
uses of wetlands, presenting it as a three-stage process. In a later
chapter, the three stages are broken down into seven practical steps,
providing readers with detailed advice on choosing the most appropriate
methodology and conducting the valuation study.
“Although the potential for wetlands to enrich human life and support
(often spectacular) ecosystems is generally acknowledged, the protection
of these values is often considered to be in conflict with what appear to be
more profitable economic uses. In the face of hard economics and the
need for governments to show tangible development achievements, it has
often been difficult to present persuasive evidence to help combat
unsustainable development options.”
Sections of the colorful brochure cover what wetland values are, how they
can be taken into account in decision-making, and how they can be
translated into incentives; in addition, six brief case studies, figures and
illustrations, and a list of references are included.
29
The pamphlet can be downloaded in PDF format from
http://www.wetlands.org/pubs&/SocioEcs.htm or purchased from NHBS
(http://www.nhbs.com) for £10.
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(e) Cooperation
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References mentioned in these guidelines
30
Nooteboom, S. 1999. Environmental assessments of strategic decisions
and project decisions: interactions and benefits. Ministry of Housing,
Spatial Planning and the Environment of the Netherlands.
31
Appendix 1
32
Red Lists). Similarly, the scale at which ecosystems are defined
depends on the definition of criteria in a country.
33
Appendix 2
34
protected by CITES;
• Directly or indirectly affect non-legally protected, threatened
species.
35
• Replacing agricultural, forestry or fishery varieties or breeds
by new varieties, including the introduction of living
modified organisms (LMOs) (screening questions I and II).
36
depend on relatively neglected taxa;
The generic nature of these guidelines does not allow for the positive
identification of types of activities or areas where environmental impact
assessment from a biodiversity perspective is not needed. At country
level, however, it will be possible to indicate geographical areas where
biological diversity considerations do not play a role of importance and,
conversely, areas where they do play an important role (biodiversity-
sensitive areas).
37
Appendix 3
Carrying functions
• Suitability for constructions
• Suitability for indigenous
settlement
• Suitability for rural settlement
• Suitability for urban settlement
• Suitability for industry
• Suitability for infrastructure
• Suitability for transport
infrastructure
• Suitability for shipping / navigation
• Suitability for road transport
• Suitability for rail transport
• Suitability for air transport
38
Processing and regulation functions Biodiversity-related regulation
functions
Land-based processing and • Maintenance of genetic, species
regulation functions and ecosystem composition
• Decomposition of organic material • Maintenance of horizontal and
(land based) vertical spatial structure, and of
• Natural desalinisation of soils temporal structure
• Development / prevention of acid • Maintenance of key processes for
sulphate soils structuring or maintaining
• Biological control mechanisms biological diversity
• Seasonal cleansing of soils • Maintenance of pollinator services
• Soil water storage capacity Signification functions
• Coastal protection against floods • Cultural/religious/scientific/landsca
• Coastal stabilisation (against pe functions
accretion / erosion)
• Soil protection
39
Appendix 4
Species Species composition, Seasonal, lunar, tidal, Minimal areas for species to Regulation mechanisms
diversit genera, families etc, diurnal rhythms survive. Essential areas such as predation,
y rarity / abundance, (migration, breeding, (stepping stones) for migrating herbivory, parasitism,.
endemism / exotics flowering, leaf species. Interactions between
Population size and development, etc.) Niche requirements within species. Ecological
trends Known key species Reproductive rate, ecosystem (substrate function of a species
(essential role) fertility, mortality, growth preference, layer within
Conservation status rate. Reproductive ecosystem)
strategy. Relative or absolute isolation
Ecosyst Types and surface area of Adaptations to / Spatial relations between Structuring process(es) of
em ecosystems dependency on regular landscape elements (local and key importance for the
diversit Uniqueness / abundance rhythms: seasonal remote) maintenance of the
y Succession stage, Adaptations to / Spatial distribution (continuous ecosystem itself or for
existing disturbances and dependency of on or discontinuous / patchy); other ecosystems.
trends (=autonomous irregular events: Minimal area for ecosystem to
development) droughts, floods, frost, survive. Vertical structure
fire, wind Succession (layered, horizonts, stratified).
(rate)
Section III
Note: The Ramsar Convention and Impact Assessment was prepared for Technical
Session IV of Ramsar COP7 (San José, Costa Rica, 1999); the full text is
available at http://ramsar.org/cop7_doc_19.1_e.htm.
SEA: a tool for legal and institutional review and for creating the
right incentives
The structured procedure of SEA means that it can be used as a tool for
reviewing and amending legislation, institutions and practices to ensure
the wise use of wetlands (Operational Objective 2.1). Additionally, as a
part of this review process, SEA can provide a means of designing
appropriate incentive measures for wetland conservation and wise use.
The Parties to the Ramsar Convention have agreed under the wise use
concept to “formulate and implement their planning so as to promote . . .
as far as possible the wise use of wetlands in their territory” (Article 3.1).
The guidance for implementing the wise use concept (provided in the
Annex to Resolution 5.6) explicitly recognizes that social and economic
factors are the main reasons for wetland loss and suggests that Parties
create inter-ministerial boards or commissions to oversee coordination
and cooperation for wetland management. The guidelines suggest that
these National Ramsar Committees include government agencies dealing
with economic and social as well as environmental sectors (including
agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, hunting, fishing, shipping, tourism,
mining, industry, health and development assistance). Furthermore, the
guidance recommends the periodic review of existing legislation to ensure
its compatibility with wise use obligations and make adjustments where
necessary. Explicitly mentioned in this section is the need to adjust taxes
and subsidies which encourage the destruction of wetlands and to create
financial incentives to encourage activities compatible with the
maintenance of wetlands and which promote their conservation. In other
words, Parties have agreed to design and implement incentive measures
for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
Both the CBD and Ramsar Conventions also recognize the role of SEA as a
tool for undertaking this review and redesign of policies, plans and
programmes in order to integrate the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity and wetlands. The CBD calls for Parties to “introduce
appropriate arrangements to ensure that the environmental consequences
of its programmes and policies that are likely to have significant adverse
impacts on biological diversity are duly taken into account” (CBD Article
14b). The first Ramsar Strategic Plan 1997-2002 Action 2.5.4 establishes
the role of SEA in this process by calling for the application of “Integrated
Environmental Management and Strategic Environmental Assessment (at
local, provincial and catchment/river basin or coastal zone levels) when
assessing impacts of development proposals or changes in land/water
use”. Action 2.2.3 of the Ramsar Strategic Plan 2003-2008 reaffirms the
call for SEA practices to be applied.
SEA in practice
Because SEA is still in the early stages of application, there are few
examples of complete SEA processes which have been applied to wetland
issues. Clare Brooke (1997) provides an overview of SEA as relevant to
water resources planning in Europe in a paper presented at the IAIA 1997
annual meeting (available at http://economics.iucn.org/kits-03-00.htm).
She concludes that elements of SEAs are apparent in a study of
hydrological planning in the Tajo river basin in Spain, but that hydrological
planning is still demand-driven and environmental protection is of
secondary importance. She does, however, identify a number of strengths
of SEA such as:
Additionally, there has been some debate about what level of policy, plan
or programme (PPP) to apply SEA to – whether it be applied only to those
PPPs which require consent and therefore go through an approval process,
or whether it be applied to the whole range of PPPs. This is related to the
issue of the nebulous planning process mentioned above, but is more
directly concerned with the stopping point or decision-making point of
PPPs. Again, other work under the Ramsar Convention suggests a way of
overcoming this hurdle. The Convention’s commitments to formulate
planning so as to promote the wise use of wetlands as well as the
recommendation to establish National Ramsar Committees under the legal
and institutional review and processes such as the National Biodiversity
Strategies suggest that a more holistic approach to SEA application is
compatible with Ramsar objectives.
Relevant Resolutions and Recommendations
Resolution VIII.9
(adopted by the 8th Conference of the Contracting Parties, Valencia, Spain,
2002)
4. AWARE that the Joint Work Plan 2000-2001 of the CBD and Ramsar
encouraged close cooperation in taking forward their respective
programmes on impact assessment and minimizing adverse impacts,
in consultation with IUCN -The World Conservation Union, the
International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), and others;
14. REQUESTS the Scientific and Technical Review Panel and the Ramsar
Bureau to prepare a synthesis of lessons learned from those case
studies submitted, including indications of linkages with existing
Ramsar guidance on other topics where relevant, to prepare a report
for COP9, and to provide expert assistance when appropriate;
16. FURTHER REQUESTS the STRP, with the assistance of the Ramsar
Bureau, to conduct a review, as a supplement to that presented in
Technical Session A of Ramsar COP6 in 1996, of references to impact
assessment in Ramsar COP decisions, guidelines and other Ramsar
publications, and in particular to identify and seek to correct if
necessary any inconsistencies of approach, and to make the results
of such review available as an updated index of references to impact
assessment in Ramsar materials;
Rica, 1999)
3. AWARE that Action 2.5.1 of the Strategic Plan 1997-2002 sets out to
“expand the Additional Guidance on Wise Use by preparing, for a
technical session at the 7th COP, the results of a review of
environmental appraisal guidelines and examples of current best
practice EIA”;
4. ALSO AWARE that Action 2.5.4 of the Strategic Plan 1997-2002 urges
Contracting Parties to “take account of Integrated Environmental
Management and Strategic Environmental Assessment (at local,
provincial and catchment/river basin or coastal zone levels) when
assessing impacts of development proposals or changes in
land/water use”;
14. ALSO CALLS UPON Contracting Parties with shared wetlands and river
basins to seek cooperative approaches to impact assessment with
neighbouring countries as encouraged by the Guidelines for the
integration of wetland conservation and wise use into river basin
management (Resolution VII.18) and the Guidelines for international
cooperation under the Ramsar Convention (Resolution VII.19);
16. FURTHER REQUESTS the Scientific and Technical Review Panel and
the Ramsar Bureau to work in cooperation with their counterparts
from the CBD and other relevant conventions and expert
organizations, to review existing guidelines and available information
on environmental impact assessment and economic valuation of
wetlands, in accordance with the high priority given during the last
triennium (Recommendations 6.2 and 6.10). This could be reported
as an Internet-based resource kit that examines the use of
environmental impact assessment and economic valuation as tools
for identifying opportunities to apply the wise use principle.