Prioritizing Impacts in Environmental and Social Impact Assessment : developing a semi-standardized and participatory approach applied to a golf-based tourism project

Abstract

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is an extremely useful tool for identifying and evaluating the social and environmental repercussions of a wide range of projects. Especially when the project and its impacts are very complex, an ESIA can result in the identification of a high number of impacts needing to be prioritized in order to be addressed effectively and efficiently. This paper presents a methodological proposal for the prioritization of impacts within an ESIA based on participatory and social justice criteria. This methodological approach is structured into four main phases: 1) Creating the stakeholders’ platform; 2) Preliminary identification and assessment of impacts; 3) Categorizing and reducing the selection of impacts; 4) Assessing and prioritizing impacts using MCDA. The process is illustrated by its application to an on-going ESIA on a golf-based tourism project in Huelva (Spain).