Session Description
Traditional cumulative effects assessments have largely focused on projects, stressors, indicators, and thresholds. While these remain important, Indigenous-led approaches offer a broader perspective: cumulative effects are fundamentally about relationships. They emerge through the interactions among stressors, across generations, between people and place, and between governments and Indigenous Nations. Strengthening these relationships can improve understanding, build trust, and support more meaningful impact assessment and decision-making.
This interactive workshop invites participants to explore what it means to assess cumulative effects through a relational lens. The session will begin with brief presentations introducing Indigenous and conventional perspectives on cumulative effects, followed by facilitated discussion. Throughout the workshop, a graphic recorder will capture participants' ideas in real time by creating a collaborative Living Landscape Map.
Participants will identify the relationships that sustain healthy landscapes and communities, then examine which relationships are commonly recognized in current impact assessment practice and which are often overlooked. Together, participants will consider how governance, knowledge systems, stewardship, culture, and ecological connections shape cumulative effects and how these dimensions can be better reflected in future assessments.
The workshop will conclude by identifying principles for integrating relational approaches into cumulative effects assessment. Participants will leave with a visual synthesis and shared insights to support more holistic and collaborative impact assessment.
Session Summary
Traditional cumulative effects practice often emphasizes stressors and thresholds. This interactive workshop explores a relational approach, where cumulative effects are understood through relationships among people, place, generations, and governance, culminating in a collaboratively created Living Landscape Map.
Additional Information
I would welcome any suggestions for a local graphic recorder, but can also do this research on my own. Would also be interested if the conference had any funding that could support it, but if not, I will cover it.
Session Chair
Paula Doucette
Consultant
Canada