Social Impact Assessment

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1 INTRODUCTION Usually when policies, programmes, plans and projects are introduced, it is usually to address certain negative issues or for development purposes. Sometimes this policies and projects can also bring negative results if proper research is not done. Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is a technique used to analyse, monitor and manage social consequences of these interventions. Social Impact Assessment in South Africa has been practised incorporated with Environmental Impact Assessment. SIA in South Africa is associated with the problems of no formal training, an “asocietal mentality” and also the problem of process. Countries of the south should develop and accredit special SIA trainings, introduce a system of mandatory registration of SIA practitioners and also pay attention to methodological guidelines for the conduct of SIA. 2 WHAT IS SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (SIA) Social impact assessment “includes the process of analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programmes, plans, projects) and any social change process invoked by these interventions” (Aucamp 2009:109). This means that SIA examine carefully the social effects of projects and other programmes intended for development so as to identify the possible results. 3 THE PURPOSE OF SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT Rakolojane, Treurnicht, Mokgupi, Plaatjie, Stewart, Cornwell and Modiga (2010: 60) indicates that the purpose of SIA is to estimate the effects of a proposed action on the social organization of community and on the well-being of people over both the short and the long-term. This means SIA predicts and describe the social impact and benefits of a project so that strategies can be developed to avoid or manage negative impacts and to maximise benefits. The SIA is done in order to understand the

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