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- Title
Innovative Public Participatory GIS Methodologies Adopted to Deal with the Social Impact Assessment Process Challenges: A Sri Lankan Experience.
- Authors
Alagan, Ram; Aladuwaka, Seela
- Abstract
Public participatory geographic information system (PPGIS) is a growing concept in many disciplines and is increasingly practiced in participatory approaches to national planning and development proposals. Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is a vital element in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which helps minimize impacts on local communities because of development projects and proposed mitigation measures. Both concepts require professional involvement with bottom-up approaches and innovative methods to identify societal concerns in relation to proposed development. Currently, use of a PPGIS application within an SIA is limited, yet use of these innovative approaches is vital to explore the strengths and weaknesses of assessment methodology and community impact. This paper presents challenges encountered in the process of conducting SIA in the Kalu Ganga reservoir project in the Matale District of Sri Lanka. The proposed Kalu Ganga reservoir development will force 613 families to relocate. The business district will be totally inundated. The project site is environmentally and culturally sensitive, for it still maintains its pristine surroundings and the long-term impact on the area is unknown. As a result, the assessment team faced severe challenges from the local communities, including: (1) obstacles to carrying out the SIA because of strong resistance against construction of the reservoir; (2) difficulties of recording sensitive cultural and social aspects of the community; and (3) limited opportunities for integrating local and expert knowledge for effective decision making. In this paper, we will discuss the innovative, bottom-up PPGIS methodologies adopted to deal with the SIA process challenges. PPGIS integrates a variety of geospatial technologies and various traditional participatory research methods to represent people's concerns over development proposals and advocacy. In this reservoir project, PPGIS methodologies have helped developers, policy planners, and stakeholders to appreciate the project issues and incorporate them in the decision making. By bridging the strengths of PPGIS within SIA, we suggest that PPGIS techniques and procedures have great potential to enhance public policy and community engagement in development proposals.
- Subjects
KALU Ganga River Valley (Sri Lanka); GEOGRAPHIC information systems; SOCIAL impact assessment; ENVIRONMENTAL impact analysis; RELOCATION; ENVIRONMENTALLY sensitive areas; RESERVOIRS; COMMUNITIES; DECISION making; GOVERNMENT policy
- Publication
Journal of the Urban & Regional Information Systems Association, 2012, Vol 24, Issue 2, p19
- ISSN
1045-8077
- Publication type
Article