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Cumulative Effects
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Betty Biesenthal

Cumulative Effects

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment defines cumulative effects as changes in the environment caused by multiple interactions among human activities and natural processes that accumulate across time and space.

Some Indigenous communities and organizations have brought their perspective to cumulative effects by developing their own definition. Their original take helps to better understand cumulative effects. For example, the Metlakatla Cumulative Effects Monitoring program defines cumulative effects as “changes to the environment or human well-being from past, present, and future development projects and human activities”.  

Another Indigenous organization that has elaborated on the definition of cumulative effects is the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB). In 2007, they defined cumulative effects as “the impacts on the biophysical and socio-economic environment that results from the incremental effects of a development when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future developments, regardless of what agency or person undertakes such other developments. Cumulative impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time”.

When we look at cumulative effects from an Indigenous perspective, we always consider the cultural, social, and health impacts — in addition to the environmental effects — of such activities and processes on our land, water and air.

Across Canada, Indigenous communities are witnessing substantial changes that threaten our well-being. For example, the decrease of species that are vital to local and traditional food systems, such as salmon and caribou, may be devastating for our traditional cultural practices and the regional economy as a whole.

As Indigenous communities, we aspire to better understand how the cumulative effects of activities related to economic expansion and industrial development affect every person, place and thing on our evolving territory.

Facilitating enhanced assessment, monitoring and management capacity is vital for sound environmental stewardship and effective decision-making — for today, and into the future — because we are all connected.