6.5

Scoping: what should be assessed?

Once the need for an impact assessment has been identified (Section 6.4), the first step is to establish the scope of work. This details what the impact assessment should include and describes the expected outputs. The scope of work should be drawn up in consultation with rights-holders, local communities and key stakeholders (Section 6.2). If the scoping phase is done well, it can provide a strong foundation for the subsequent impact assessment process, saving time and money, and ensuring that the impact assessment effectively focuses on the key issues. The scoping document can be used again at a later stage to review the quality of the impact assessment and the final report.

Scoping Scoping identifies the issues that are considered to be important enough for planning and decision-making to be included in an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, and eliminates or limits consideration of those issues that are of little or no concern. It allows an impact assessment to focus on important issues and to avoid wasting time and resources on unnecessary investigations.
Scoping is a process that occurs early in an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, usually after screening. It normally occurs during prefeasibility studies when the nature and scope of a project is being developed at a fairly high level with little or no detail.
Thus, scoping is generally a qualitative assessment of potential environmental risks and impacts (while a subsequent impact assessment is more quantitative).
Typically, the scoping process results in a document designed to direct the conduct of an EIA study. This document can take various forms, and have various names, in different impact assessment systems, e.g. Initial Environmental Examination, Scoping Report, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Guidelines, Terms of Reference The Terms of Reference (ToRs) is a document typically given to the impact assessment team, describing the assessment which must be carried out, which issues should be considered and any particular methods to be used. This document is often adapted from the scoping report. , and Project Brief. takes a preliminary look at all the issues relevant to an impact assessment. To avoid repetition with later parts of this Guidance, this section only outlines the areas that need to be fully considered.

In a World Heritage context, the scope should include:

  • Significant data that need to be collected, and particularly data gaps that need to be filled.
  • Expected significant impacts (Sections 6.7–8). This can be done by bringing together information about the World Heritage property A cultural, natural or mixed heritage place inscribed on the World Heritage List and therefore considered to be of OUV for humanity. The responsibility for nominating a property to the World Heritage List falls upon the State(s) Party(ies) where it is located. The World Heritage Committee decides whether a property should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, taking into account the technical recommendations of the Advisory Bodies following rigorous evaluation processes.
    When used as a general term, World Heritage refers to all the natural, cultural and mixed properties inscribed on the World Heritage List.         , its buffer zone and wider setting with data on the proposed action. Heritage in general should be covered, plus those attributes that convey OUV and other heritage/conservation values (Section 6.6). Different impacts may occur at different phases of a project (i.e. construction, operation, decommissioning). Relationships between attributes of OUV and     environmental components should also be identified and described, as this allows the links between direct and indirect impacts to be taken into consideration. Impacts may be added or removed from the scope as the assessment progresses.
  • The geographical area of the impact assessment. This will include the World Heritage property A cultural, natural or mixed heritage place inscribed on the World Heritage List and therefore considered to be of OUV for humanity. The responsibility for nominating a property to the World Heritage List falls upon the State(s) Party(ies) where it is located. The World Heritage Committee decides whether a property should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, taking into account the technical recommendations of the Advisory Bodies following rigorous evaluation processes.
    When used as a general term, World Heritage refers to all the natural, cultural and mixed properties inscribed on the World Heritage List.         , the buffer zone where present, and possibly the wider setting. It may be helpful to map the attributes of OUV onto the same map as the area that will be influenced by the proposed action. This allows a geographical area to be defined which will become the focus of the impact assessment.
  • The time period that will be considered by the impact assessment. This may need to be based on relevant environmental cycles, such as wildlife migrations, or seasonal cultural activities, such as agricultural practices or rituals.
  • An initial identification of alternatives to the proposed action (Section 6.3). The aim is to establish the most environmentally sound option for achieving the proposed action’s objectives while protecting OUV and other heritage/conservation values. The option not to proceed with the proposed action (‘no project’) should always be considered.

The resulting scoping report (Table 6.1) sets the Terms of Reference The Terms of Reference (ToRs) is a document typically given to the impact assessment team, describing the assessment which must be carried out, which issues should be considered and any particular methods to be used. This document is often adapted from the scoping report. for the full impact assessment. It should be proportionate to the proposed action: a small project may only require a short template to be completed with relevant information, whereas a large infrastructure project or a major development plan would merit a thorough, detailed report.

It may become apparent during the scoping process that a proposed action is either incompatible with World Heritage or that it will not have any significant negative impacts on OUV. In these cases, the scoping document should lay out the case clearly for this conclusion, and the relevant authorities can take a decision without the need for any further assessment. The results of the scoping process should be shared with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is a technical administrative body within UNESCO, established in 1992 and appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO. It acts as the Secretariat of the World Heritage Convention The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage is an international treaty adopted by the UN in 1972 that defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List for their Outstanding Universal Value for all humankind. Commonly known as the World Heritage Convention, it establishes how the international community as a whole is responsible for
the protection of such heritage and sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites that may be eligible for inscription onto the World Heritage List and their role in protecting and preserving them. By signing the Convention, each country pledges to conserve not only the sites situated on its territory that have been recognized as being of Outstanding Universal Value, but also to protect its national heritage and to be involved in international efforts to protect, conserve and promote the heritage of humankind. , is the focal point and coordinator within UNESCO for all matters related to World Heritage, and ensures the day-to-day management of the Convention. , especially in those cases where it can be demonstrated that no further assessment will need to be undertaken.

Table 6.1 Suggested contents of a scoping report

Table of contents