Impact assessment — a tool for sustainable development

Check against delivery

Ladies and gentlemen,

I wish you welcome to Stavanger. Norway is proud to host the 2006 conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment. After 26 years, it is high time to meet in the Nordic region, where impact assessment has a strong foothold.

It has been said that “failing to plan is planning to fail”. This is very much the case when it comes to sustainable development. Unless we plan and make informed decisions along the way, we will fail to give future generations the same opportunities that we had. We must plan for a stable climate and a diverse nature with clean air, water and soil. We must plan to meet people’s basic social needs. We must develop and use impact assessments and other decision-making tools to promote sustainability - today and tomorrow.

This year’s Conference will focus on the role of impact assessment in “Power, poverty and sustainability”. We will look at power, in terms of energy. We will look at power, in terms of good governance and the empowerment of the poor. And, we will look at power in terms of the many different driving forces that combine to shape our societies.

We have a broad and diverse programme. More that 80 countries are represented. This shows us that impact assessment is being used in more and more countries. Many areas of expertise are also represented. This shows us that impact assessment continues to be developed and refined as a tool. These are positive developments – which we can also thank the International Association for Impact Assessment for bringing about. We look forward to building on these positive developments here in Stavanger.

It is important that we use impact assessment to create the changes that market forces or short-term sector interests alone will never bring about.

Today I would therefore like to present five key challenges when it comes to using impact assessment as a tool for sustainable development:

Challenge number one has to do with information.

Impact assessment must provide information that is relevant and easy to understand. If it is too technical and professional, most people will not understand the analysis or accept the conclusions. Stakeholder groups will miss out on their chance to voice their interests and to influence their surroundings.

At the same time, information is not an end in itself. The conclusions that are put forward in an impact assessment must be put to use in decision-making processes, both within industry and government.

Challenge number two is to secure public participation.

This also means giving a voice to groups that are not usually heard - whether this be the poor, the young, women, or other groups. Public participation - based on open information - is an important part of promoting democratic rule.

We have a special forum on indigenous peoples on our programme. It will look at ways of securing indigenous peoples’ participation and of integrating their local knowledge in impact assessment processes. This is important, given the unique culture and closeness to nature that is typical for indigenous peoples.

Challenge number three has to do with capacity-building.

With more and more countries taking on impact assessment, there is a growing need to build capacity and to share knowledge.

The International Association for Impact Assessment is in itself an important arena for capacity –building, with its training courses and wide range of publications, programmes, networks and conferences.

Still, there is a need to give systematic priority to impact assessment in our everyday lives around the world. There is a need to make room and set aside resources for impact assessment. There is a need to make it clear that impact assessment is an investment in a better future – and not another layer of red tape.

Challenge number four is about widening the scope of impact assessment.

Impact assessment has been an important tool for decision-making on environment for many years. To assess impacts on sustainable development, it is also necessary to look at topics such as health, social issues, economy and culture. Impact assessment must apply to government and developers alike – and cover projects and plans as well as programmes.

Academic work is being done to widen the scope of impact assessment. Still, it is important to come up with practical cases that show how it can be done in practise.

Impact assessment must keep pace with changes in the “real world”. I welcome the new OECD DAC (“dakk”) guidelines for impact assessment that target programmes – in addition to projects. I am also glad to see new guidelines on biological diversity in impact assessment, as part of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

Challenge number five has to do with harmonizing impact assessment regulations around the world.

Today there is a variety of regulations. People understand the same concepts in different ways. It is easy to get lost in this field, unless you are an expert.

It is worth thinking about harmonizing regulations – especially at a time when new countries, sectors and stakeholders are starting to apply impact assessment. This important topic was also on the agenda when government officials and international organisations met on Sunday for the Intergovernmental Policy Forum.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say a few words about the Nordic perspective on impact assessment.

Norway and the other Nordic countries have come a long way in terms of integrating impact assessment in the land-use planning process. Impact assessments are as a matter of routine at the basis of decision-making processes. This means that developers are familiar with impact assessments, and accept them. The Nordic countries have also come a long way in terms of securing the right of affected parties and the public to take part in the planning process.

I would also briefly like to draw your attention to some of the topics that will be presented here in Stavanger.

We will have a whole day on circumpolar issues.

The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment - that was presented to the Arctic Council in November 2004 - has helped put circumpolar issues on the global agenda.

The report found that in the Arctic region, temperatures have risen at almost twice the rate of the rest of the world. This is dramatic for the fragile Arctic environment and for people that live there. It is also dramatic for the whole world, since Arctic warming pushes global warming.

Based on this report, Norway works closely with others to profile the Arctic dimension of climate change at the global level.

I would also like to mention our new Integrated Management Plan for the rich but fragile Barents Sea, to the North of Norway. This is our first eco-system based management plan for a sea area. The Plan sets an overall framework for all old and new activities, bringing together many different interests and stakeholder groups – and creating a very lively political debate.

The Plan is unique in that it puts nature first. It lets the environment define the framework for fishing, sea transport, and oil and gas development. The plan opens up for coordinated and systematic monitoring of the state of the sea area, so that it may be revised as a result of new knowledge and information.

Finally, I hope that you will enjoy Stavanger – both the conference and everything else that the city and region has to offer.

Stavanger continues to be Norway’s oil and gas capital. We are glad that Statoil and other oil and energy companies have joined us for this conference. Let me also say that with Statoil’s plans for CO2 – handling, important steps have been taken to explore sustainable energy solutions for the future.

In closing, let me thank the International Association for Impact Assessment for their cooperation, as well as Sweden and the Netherlands for their help in bringing in participant to Stavanger. I also thank Stavanger municipality for their cooperation.

I wish you good luck with the conference. I hope that you will continue to develop, refine and apply impact assessment as a means of creating a sustainable future for all.

Thank you