Addressing Cumulative Effects through an Indigenous-led Assessment Process

Cumulative effects assessments are often expected to include an analysis of environmental and social effects despite a relative lack of clarity around how include a broad spectrum of social and cultural impacts. In Canda, these expectations are evolving in part in response to the need to consider the impacts of development on Indigenous communities, and the emergence of Indigenous-led Led Impact Assessment. Led by a team from the Tŝilhqot'in National Government and the University of British Columbia's Centre for Environmental Assessment Research, this project explored how to improve processes for assessing cumulative effects drawing from an Indigenous-led approach. We identify six guiding principles, and discuss how they are integrated in the Tŝilhqot'in Nation's evolving Impact Assessment and Cumulative Effects Assessment processes.