Social Impact Assessment

Overview of Social Impact Assessment

The processes of analysing, monitoring, and controlling the intended and unexpected social repercussions, both good and bad, of planned interventions (policies, programmes, plans, projects) and any social change processes induced by such interventions are called SIA. Its overarching goal is to create a more sustainable and equitable biophysical and human environment. SIA has often been performed in India as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment approval procedure. As a result, it has yet to receive the attention it needs as part of the EIA process. SIA is increasingly an essential component of project planning, particularly for developing Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs). In this process, SIA is carried out as a socioeconomic survey, identifying the social and economic repercussions on persons and communities affected by project-induced displacement. Furthermore, the data provided is utilised to build mitigation strategies and monitor mitigation implementation.

Role of Social Impact Assessment

Impact assessment aims to create a more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable and equitable environment. As a result, impact assessment fosters community development and empowerment, capacity building, and the creation of social capital (social networks and trust).

The primary objective of SIA is a proactive approach to development and improved development outcomes rather than the discovery or amelioration of undesirable or unexpected consequences. Helping communities and other stakeholders identify development goals and maximise positive results may be more essential than minimising negative consequences. The SIA technique may be used in a wide range of planned actions and can be carried out on behalf of a wide range of actors, not simply within a regulatory framework.

SIA aims to guarantee that development maximises its advantages while minimising its costs, particularly those incurred by humans (including those in other places and in the future). Costs and benefits may need to be measured or quantifiable, and decision-makers, regulatory bodies, and developers frequently overlook them. By recognising effects in advance, the following can be achieved:

• Better decisions regarding which treatments to pursue and how to pursue them can be made.
• Mitigation measures may be established to minimise damage and maximise benefits from a given planned intervention, or associated activity can be undertaken.

SIA supplements the economic and technical models that underpin many development professionals' and organisations' thinking. SIA can be used in a variety of circumstances and for a variety of goals. This makes it difficult to define or evaluate. An SIA performed on behalf of a multinational corporation as part of that company's internal procedures may differ significantly from an SIA performed by experts in compliance with regulatory or funding agency requirements or an SIA performed by a development agency working towards the country's development assistance. These, in turn, may be significantly different from an SIA conducted on behalf of the local community by personnel or students at a local institution or an SIA conducted by the local community.

Documents for Social Impact Assessment

The SIA makes use of both secondary and primary data sources.

Supplementary Source: Examples of data sources include:

• Government census data
• Land records, including land transaction records
• District gazetteers
• Other administrative records (such as NSS)
• Non-governmental organisation Documents

Therefore, existing data from secondary sources cannot be used in place of project-specific surveys. Moreover, SIA obtains far more helpful information directly via surveys of various types, such as socioeconomic surveys and conversations with impacted persons.

Requirements for Social Impact Assessment

The requirements for developing an SIA are as follows:

• Developing a mitigation strategy to avoid displacement, minimise it, and compensate for adverse consequences.
• To assist in planning for, managing, and eventually mitigating any negative repercussions (or improving any good ones) that may develop due to a planned project.

Process of Social Impact Assessment

Impact Assessment: The first step is establishing the impact area. The area size varies depending on the project. A dam submerges a broad geographical region that affects multiple settlements. The impact of a highway and other linear constructions manifests as little strips of land on each side of the road along the corridor. The SIA team must get a map that delineates the region that will be affected by the project (both directly and indirectly). Furthermore, a field visit to the region is required to understand the area's geographic boundaries and the people that live there.

Determine Information/Data Needs and their Sources: Examine current data on potential project impacts to see if it may be utilised for assessment purposes. This might give disaggregated statistics by caste, religion, gender, and other administrative categories, such as those living below the poverty line. The secondary should be tested for both adequacy and dependability. This evaluation will also aid in determining the necessity for additional primary data gathering via surveys and participative techniques.

Identifying Stakeholders: All affected stakeholders should be provided information and consulted with them. Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or institutions who are likely to be affected (either adversely or favourably) by a proposed intervention or who may influence the result of the intervention. Create and implement a successful public participation strategy that includes all interested and impacted parties. Identifying stakeholders participating in consultative processes is the first stage in formulating strategy for consultation and participation.

Screening: It is done at the beginning of the project development process. The goal of screening is to separate those with no substantial effects from those with significant impacts to obtain a comprehensive picture of the kind, scale, and extent of the concerns. This aids in deciding the scope of the comprehensive SIA that will be performed later.

Scoping: This entails visiting the project site and consulting with all parties. It is critical to confirm their comprehension of critical problems. For large-scale displacement programmes, on-the-ground assessment of repercussions is essential. Local knowledge may be necessary in identifying options that help prevent or mitigate the number and severity of negative consequences. This is a first evaluation of potential implications, not a determination of the amount of impact.

Preparation of Socioeconomic profile: It is necessary to assess the socioeconomic conditions of the affected people. This assessment generally involves conducting a socioeconomic survey and broad consultation with all concerned groups.

Survey: A survey is conducted to ensure that enough land, income-generating possibilities, and other resources are available in the host region to maintain more people from the afflicted area and that this inflow does not strain local resources, which the host community may resent. Another critical point is that the persons being moved and the hosts have comparable socio-cultural backgrounds. The shared background considerably reduces social/ethnic tensions.

Identifying and Assessing the risks: Once the spectrum of predicted outcomes has been discovered, the next step is to assess their relevance. Many consequences need to be quantified, making objective ranking difficult. The perspectives of the community and those of the SIA team are sometimes different. As a result, while ranking affects, the impacted persons should be consulted. If the SIA determines the impacts are unacceptable, it must indicate why. The Social Impact Assessment will produce detailed mitigation measures to address critical social/resettlement concerns and possible repercussions.

Developing a mitigation plan: Strategy to avoid displacement, minimise it, and compensate for adverse consequences. An SIA study's main contribution is to assist in planning for, managing, and eventually mitigating any negative repercussions (or improving any good ones) that may develop due to a planned project.