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Chapter 7Notification and Impact Assessmentof Tourism ProjectsRoderick Eime (www.flickr.com/photos/rodeime)
A critical determinant of the impact of tourism on biodiversity is the way that individual developmentproposals are handled. The Guidelines set out requirements for the notification of potential projects,undertaking an impact assessment and making decisions about them.7.1 Prior communication and notification of tourism projectsThe Guidelines contain a separate section at theend on Notification that stipulates that “proposalsfor tourism development and activities at particularlocations are to be submitted through a notificationprocess”. Proposers of projects are required toprovide full and timely advance notice of proposeddevelopments to all stakeholders who may be affected.Information that is required from them isset out in paragraph 84 of the Guidelines. In summary,this covers: details of the project; the market,location and legal context; inputs required; anticipatedsocio-economic and environmental impacts;measures to avoid and mitigate adverse impactsand maximize local benefits; and other relevantinformation.Although not specified in the Guidelines, potentialdevelopers should be encouraged to take full accountof national and local policies and plans, includingbiodiversity conditions and constraints, beforeany formal notification. They should also havean appropriate level of dialogue and consultationwith local planning authorities and stakeholders.This will reduce the likelihood of unsuitable proposalscoming forward and save time for the proposers,local authorities and other stakeholders. Itshould occur when the proposals are still flexibleand enable an exchange of ideas. The existenceof good baseline information and a local plan willgreatly assist these early discussions as well as theimpact assessment and decision-making processthat will follow. In some situations, EnvironmentalImpact Assessments (EIA) may be proposed by developers.Hence while Government is approachedto approve an EIA or a building permit, there maybe no obligation to notify the public. Application ofthe Guidelines, however, would still require publicannouncements of any tourism project that Partieshave been asked to approve. BirdLife International,Conservation International, UNEP-WCMC and IUCNoffer a support tool in assessing development andinvestment options, as below.Box 13: IBAT for BusinessThe Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) helps businesses incorporate biodiversity considerations into key projectplanning and management decisions at various stages of a project’s life cycle. The scoping process can help companies identifyareas of high ecological value to avoid during development and narrow in on specific locations for any infrastructure developedas part of the project. IBAT can help to identify information gaps that will need to be followed by on-the-ground surveys and consultationin order to understand the current status of the site and the magnitude of the potential impacts of a project on species,communities and ecological processes.IBAT for business facilitates access to the following datasets in one central integrated platform:• Nationally designated and international recognized protected areas (World Database on Protected Areas);• National sites of global conservation importance (Key Biodiversity Areas, including Important Bird Areas and Alliance forZero Extinction sites), and;• Globally threatened species (The IUCN Red List). 737.2 Environmental Impact Assessment requirements,content and proceduresAn Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) seeksto ensure that the environmental effects of majorprojects and development proposals are fully investigated,understood and taken into account beforedecisions are made on whether they should proceed.The Guidelines require that proposers should assessthe impacts of developments and provide informationon this through the notification process. Governmentsare then required to undertake evaluationsof the adequacy of these impact assessments. Theymay require a further assessment study which mayneed to be funded by the proposer and undertakenTourism Supporting Biodiversity 33
Page 1 and 2: A Manual on applying theCBD Guideli
Page 3 and 4: TourismSupportingBiodiversityA Manu
Page 5 and 6: 6. Tools for Controlling and Influe
Page 7 and 8: ForewordBiodiversity and sustainabl
Page 9 and 10: This Manual provides information fo
Page 11 and 12: Users of the CBD Guidelines on Biod
Page 13 and 14: The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands,
Page 15 and 16: In applying the Guidelines, it is n
Page 17 and 18: Chapter 3Tourism and Biodiversity P
Page 19 and 20: It is important to bring to attenti
Page 21 and 22: agreement on aims and actions, this
Page 23 and 24: The Guidelines require that baselin
Page 25 and 26: Chapter 5Plan Formulation for Touri
Page 27 and 28: Box 5: Tourism planning in Phong-Nh
Page 29 and 30: Chapter 6Tools for Controlling and
Page 31 and 32: Box 7: Planning Policy Guidance (PP
Page 33: eforming environmentally harmful su
Page 37 and 38: Box 14: EIA Guidelines for the Tour
Page 39 and 40: In addition to planning and develop
Page 41 and 42: 8.4 Working with local communities
Page 43 and 44: Any process that involves the plann
Page 45 and 46: Chapter 10Awareness Raising and Cap
Page 47 and 48: 10.2 Capacity-building and resource
Page 49 and 50: Chapter 11Reporting on Tourism and
Page 51 and 52: Notes1 Secretariat of the Conventio
Page 53 and 54: 50 The concept of Key Biodiversity
Page 55 and 56: References*Association of Hoteliers
Page 57 and 58: Ecotourism Project, Cambodia (2008)
Page 59 and 60: 6Impact assessments should pay spec

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