Integrated impact assessment for land and water management

Impact assessment considers the future consequences of current or proposed actions, but multiple impact assessment types and silos of expertise make integration difficult. When faced with the development of policy and planning for the complex bio-physical and social-economic systems found in river catchments, integrated impact assessment (IIA) becomes imperative. IIA has well-recognised potential when considering multiple, intersecting impact domains in one impact assessment verses siloed technical workstreams, often not linked until the decision-making stage, and with little transparency around how integration transpires. A “collective” and systemic view of all impacts is essential for understanding the causal relationships between system components and their full consequences including cumulative impacts. In land and water management, the development and integrated assessment of scenarios of change requires integration of disciplinary expertise, and local and indigenous knowledge systems. The challenge here is to turn practice towards less technocratic, more collaborative, and better integrated approaches. This paper therefore advances a participatory approach to IIA that uses participation and co-production of knowledge throughout. Here IIA is facilitated by broad leadership and iterative communication of concepts, ideas, methods, and accessible data between all participants through purposeful management of the process. •IIA has well-recognised potential when considering multiple, intersecting impact domains.•A “collective” and systemic view of all impacts is essential for effective IIA.•IIA demands integration of disciplinary expertise, and local and indigenous knowledge.•IIA is facilitated by iterative communication of concepts, ideas, methods, and data.•The challenge for IIA is to embrace less technocratic, more collaborative approaches.