Azura-Edo Independent Power Plant Environmental Impact ... - IFC

Significance for Socio-economic Impacts
For social impact assessment, the perceptions of stakeholders, expressed as
opinions around certain issues, can be as important as actual impacts.
Consequently, the concept of perception is explicitly brought into the
evaluation of significance after an impact is evaluated. When an impact is of
significant stakeholder concern, this may be cause to raise the significance
rating. This prompts the formulation of more rigorous and appropriate
mitigation measures which focus on the source of the impact and also address
stakeholder perceptions. The risk of not addressing stakeholder perceptions is
that reputational damage could arise, resulting in the loss of a ‘social licence to
operate’.
7.2.3 Predicting the Magnitude of Impacts
The impact assessment describes what will happen by predicting the
magnitude of impacts and quantifying these to the extent practical. The term
‘magnitude’ covers all the dimensions of the predicted impact to the natural
and social environment including:
• the nature of the change (what resource or receptor is affected and how);
• the spatial extent of the area impacted or proportion of the population or
community affected;
• its temporal extent (ie duration, frequency, reversibility); and
• where relevant (accidental or unplanned events), the probability of the
impact occurring.
For biophysical impacts, the definitions for the spatial and temporal
dimension of the magnitude of impacts used in this assessment are provided
in Box 7.1.
For social impacts, the magnitude considers the perspective of those affected
by taking into account the likely perceived importance of the impact, the
ability of people to manage and adapt to change and the extent to which a
human receptor gains or loses access to, or control over socio-economic
resources (1) resulting in a positive or negative effect on their well-being (2) . For
impacts on ecological resources, the criteria used to assess the magnitude of
impacts are presented in Box 7.3 (based on Duinker and Beanlands, 1986).
Box 7.3
Magnitude Criteria for Ecological Impacts
A High Magnitude Impact affects an entire population or species at sufficient magnitude to
cause a decline in abundance and/or change in distribution beyond which natural recruitment
(reproduction, immigration from unaffected areas) would not return that population or species,
or any population or species dependent upon it, to its former level within several generations*.
A high magnitude impact may also adversely affect the integrity of a site, habitat or ecosystem.
(1) Socio-economic resources in this context refers to natural, physical, social and financial capital (stock of resources)
(2) A concept combining an individual's health, prosperity, their quality of life, and their satisfaction.
AZURA EDO IPP
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DRAFT EIA REPORT