ID: 2048
Presenting Author: Patricia Cosmopoulos
Session: 660 - Using Digital Tools to Enhance Transparency & Collaboration during Impact Assessments
Status: pending
Showcasing Canada’s Interactive Assessment Map that allows the public to view assessment data for transparency, to create efficiency, streamline analysis, and support engagement.
The IAAC Interactive Assessment Map, available on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry, supports transparent planning and meaningful engagement. By integrating project footprints (spatial representations of boundaries, infrastructure, and related components) with authoritative environmental, Indigenous, and community information, the Map enables users to visualize projects, understand potential impacts, and engage more effectively in the assessment process.
Developed by IAAC’s Geomatics Team, the Map incorporates open datasets from federal departments, including migratory bird habitats, species at risk, and protected areas. This data-driven approach enhances transparency by consolidating reliable sources into a single, accessible platform and reduces duplication by reusing trusted datasets.
The Map offers advanced filters and visualization tools to overlay environmental, social, and infrastructure layers, customize views based on proximity to Indigenous lands or protected areas, and combine datasets to support evidence-based decisions and efficient analysis.
Beyond its technical capabilities, the Map facilitates consultation and engagement with Indigenous groups, communities, permitting departments, and other stakeholders by showing how projects intersect with environmental and community interests. This tool fosters informed dialogue and demonstrates how interactive mapping transforms information sharing and decision-making in assessments.
Patricia Cosmopoulos is the Lead Geomatics Specialist at the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC). With a background in Earth Sciences and a Master's in Geomatics and Remote Sensing, Patricia has