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Chapter 4 Social Impact Analysis
4.2. Methodology
For the purposes of this study it was decided to use a judgement based method to evaluate the impacts. The presence of value judgements in life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) has been a constant source of controversy. However the present LCA methodology can be construed as containing value judgements. The example of the equivalency potential (see Section 3.1) for climate change, the global warming potential, demonstrates that any impact assessment method inevitably contains not only constitutive and contextual values, but also preference values
(Hertwich et al. 2000). In fact Hertwich felt strongly about the need to include value judgements in the LCA methodology as can be seen from his submission to the chair of the ISO committee on LCA standards;
...Hertwich and Pease express concern that the 14042 document (on LCI and LCA methodology) imposes extreme constraints and limitations on LCA and LCIA, especially for the case of comparative assertions. They characterise the language used in the committee draft as being natural science biased ignoring insights from academic disciplines that address value questions...
The social impacts for this study were evaluated using a life cycle assessment type methodology where all the inputs and outputs were considered and evaluated using a judgement method.
Similarly when considering each process the LCA methodology used to evaluate the environmental impacts was used. Each unit was separated into a construction, operation and decommissioning phase and evaluated. One must remember the social analysis was included in order to create a holistic picture of the system and as stated by the World Bank, 1991 'Social analysis in environmental assessment is not expected to be a complete sociological study nor a cost-benefit analysis of the project'.
The Interorganisational Committee on Guidelines and Principles for Social Impact Assessments (1994) highlighted 3 crucial areas of any social impact assessment. They are;
i. It is more important to identify likely social impacts than to precisely quantify the more obvious social impacts.
ii. It is important to be on the 'conservative' side in reporting likely social impacts.
iii. The less reliable data there are on the effects of the projects or policy change, the more important it is to have social impact analysis work performed.
With regard to area (i) and (ii); firstly an attempt was made to include all the observed impacts and to quantify the important ones and secondly the 'conservative' approach was followed when quantifying these impacts. There are two types of social impact assessments, predictive and retrospective. This study presents observed impacts unlike the predictive case. Therefore, the last point in the above list is not relevant to this study. The best way to describe this analysis is 'a social impact assessment carried out using life cycle thinking'.
A broad indicator is used for each category. Indicators provide a summary of conditions, rather like body temperature and blood pressure are used to measure human health status. Indicators have been used for many years by economists to explain economic trends but have only recently been introduced to measure social impacts (Walmsley, 2001). Two impact categories, common to all process units, were identified for use as indicators for this study. These are job creation and health and health risks. No attempt is made to quantify the impacts in terms of a functional unit for the health and health risks category however the job creation category is measured using an indicator and then quantified in terms of the functional unit described in Chapter 3.
Both the categories are inter-related as stated in the 2002 European Health report
...underlines the relation between socioeconomic factors and health. Poverty, in particular is recognized as the most important single determinant of ill health...
In a country like South Africa which has a high unemployment rate, job creation is critical in reducing poverty and thus raising the health level of the population. A World Bank study in 1999 showed the critical relationship between per capita Gross National Product (GNP) and the health of a population. Figure 4-1 shows these findings. In general, it is seen that among the countries below $0 00 per capita GNP there is a very steep influence of economic growth. Thus job creation is considered a positive social impact with a multiplier effect.
Mean Life Expectancy
at Birth (years)
Mean life expectancy and Per Capita GNP 1999 (PPP)
85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35
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5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 Per Capita GNP ($1999 PPP)
30000 35000
Source: World Bank, 2002: World Development 2000-2001 Chapter 12, Tables 1 and 2
Figure 4-1: Mean life expectancy at birth in relation to per capita gross national product
As in the case of the environmental LCA, social impacts that do not fall into these two categories are still presented to create a holistic picture. The impact categories and their measure are defined as follows
Job Creation
South Africa is a developing country where the level of technology ranges from very high-tech industries to basic outdated technology. Problems concerning labour relations arose due to political imbalances, resulting in revenue losses by industry. Process, product and service optimisation to minimise waste generation is secondary to immediate bottom line improvements like the increase of sales and the reduction of labour and purchasing costs (Stinnes et al., 1996).
The impact category of job creation relates to the creation of direct and indirect jobs. In this study a. job unit is defined as a job for one person for 25 years. This is in order to calculate the number of permanent jobs created. Thus for a short project like the construction of a dam which has a duration of between 5 to 10 years the number of people employed by the project are multiplied by the number of years worked on the project and divided by 25 in order to calculate the number of permanent jobs created by the project. Since it is difficult to get accurate figures for the number of people employed four broad bands were created to categorise the job creation category. Table 4-2 shows the indicator bands for the job creation category.
Table 4-2: Job creation category indicator bands
Band Job Units Small o35 Medium 50-100 Large 100-500 Very Large 500+
The job creation impact category is considered a beneficial social impact. One can make the generalisation that those policies or decisions that cause money to be spent will tend to have the highest job-creation effects; those that prevent money from being spent or somehow reduce spending will not measure up well on the job scorecard. When quantifying the job creation score in terms of the functional unit the median of each band was used and in the case of the very large band this was taken to be 1000 job units.
Health and Health Risks
Numerous vector borne diseases are associated with dam development in tropical and sub tropical areas. Bilharzia spread through snails breeding in still or slow moving water was a significant health problem that emerged from many early projects such as Kariba, Aswan and Akosombo. (Kariba dam in Hira, 1969. and Mungomba et al., 1993, Akosombo and Aswan dams in Jobin, 1999, p278, 298-300.) Most reservoir and irrigation projects in malaria endemic areas increase malaria transmission and disease (World Bank 1999b, p2)
Destruction of community food supply bases can lead to food shortages, resulting in hunger and malnutrition. Food shortages due to resettlement factors have been reported in Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Thailand and India. (China in Jing, op cit plO; Vietnam in Sluiter, op cit pVII;
Malaysia in ADM, 1999a, p5, 2000; Thailand in Sretthachau et, 2000, WCD Regional Consultation Paper; India in Laxman, 1999, p208).
In recent years the high incidence of HIV/AIDS in construction and settlement areas is a growing concern. In the Lesotho Highlands Project Area, infection rates are far higher than surrounding areas. (Macoun et al, 2000). Communities are concerned about transmission from migrant workers arriving to work in the Maguga project in Swaziland. (WHO, op cit, pi2).
Health is a primary need; it is also a primary indicator of levels of satisfaction of other basic human needs; finally it is an enabler of development. - (Norris, 2004)
Three indicator bands were created to evaluate this social impact category. They are described in Table 4-3;
Table 4-3: Health and Health Risks category indicators
Band Definition
Low Low incidence of injuries, project does not cause a great degree of pollution which affects human health Medium Medium incidence of injuries, project causes a moderate amount of pollution affecting human health High High incidence of life threatening injuries, project causes extensive pollution, affecting human health
As stated previously, the social indicators are calculated using a judgement based method therefore there is no quantification of the health risks. Some social methods use indicators such as effect on life expectancy, or child mortality however it is not practical to use those kinds of indicators for this study mainly because of the small size of the system.
It is worth mentioning a unit of measuring health impacts that is gaining popularity amongst LCA practitioners. The Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) is a single measure of health impacts that includes the effects of waterborne diseases and chemical impacts. It also includes years lived with a disability and years lost owing to premature death in a common metric (Havelaar et al., 2000). It can be used to represent the loss of healthy life years in the community owing to any hazard.
The health and health risks impact category is considered an adverse impact.