Cumulative Impacts of Diverse Land Uses in British Columbia, Canada: Application of the “EnviroScreen” Method

Chris G. Buse (), Aita Bezzola, Jordan Brubacher, Tim K. Takaro, Arthur L. Fredeen and Margot W. Parkes
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Chris G. Buse: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
Aita Bezzola: School of Health Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
Jordan Brubacher: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
Tim K. Takaro: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
Arthur L. Fredeen: Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
Margot W. Parkes: School of Health Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-17

Abstract: (1) Objectives: Cumulative impacts refer to the legacies of land use decisions on environmental, community and health values. New integrative impact assessment tools are required to assess cumulative impacts on diverse values to meet sustainability goals in the 21st century. In this contribution, the CalEnviroScreen methodology-a screening tool capable of merging environmental, socioeconomic and health data-is applied to Local Health Areas in British Columbia, Canada. (2) Methods: The CalEnviroScreen is a method that standardizes environmental, socioeconomic and health data to depict an indicator’s percentile rank in the distribution of all units of analysis. The method combines indicators to measure four dimensions of pressure: environmental exposures, environmental effects, socioeconomic conditions, and sensitive populations (i.e., health outcomes). We create two versions of EnviroScreen: one following the CalEnviroScreen suite of indicators, and another that uses nuanced indicators to approximate the realities of industrial land uses present in British Columbia. BCEnviroScreen scores are plotted by race/ethnicity to understand potential racial inequities in cumulative exposures. (3) Results: The BCEnviroScreen has a greater likelihood of quantifying the cumulative impacts of diverse industries and land uses present across resource-dependent parts of the province, relative to the more urban-centric CalEnviroScreen indicator suite. Analyzing the distribution of BCEnviroScreen scores by race/ethnicity suggests that visible minority populations may be inequitably exposed to cumulative impacts in BC. (4) Conclusion: EnviroScreen tools hold significant potential to influence Canadian environmental health policy. This research demonstrates the applicability of the tool to British Columbia and other jurisdictions, illustrates how indicators can be tailored to better represent regional context, and shows how the tool can be used to screen for potential environmental health injustices.

Keywords: health impacts of land use change; environmental health justice; cumulative impacts; CalEnviroScreen; BCEnviroScreen (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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