UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA)
College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
⋄
Specialist Impact Assessments
Social, Health and Heritage Impact Assessments in EIA Practice
⋄
Module Code GGH3705
Assignment Assignment 2
Semester Semester 1, 2026
Due Date 13 April 2026
Topic Specialist Impact Assessments
Institution University of South Africa
Submitted in partial ful
lment of the requirements for GGH3705 · UNISA 2026
,UNISA | GGH3705 Specialist Impact Assessments
Contents
Introduction 3
1 Social Impact Assessment (SIA) 4
1.1 1.1 Purpose of Social Impact Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 1.2 Methods and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 1.3 Experts Responsible for Conducting SIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 1.4 Project Example: Medupi Power Station, Limpopo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Health Impact Assessment (HIA) 8
2.1 2.1 Purpose of Health Impact Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 2.2 Methods and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 2.3 Experts Responsible for Conducting HIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.4 2.4 Project Example: Transnet Port Expansion, Durban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3 Heritage Impact Assessment (HeIA) 12
3.1 3.1 Purpose of Heritage Impact Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2 3.2 Methods and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.3 3.3 Experts Responsible for Conducting HeIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.4 3.4 Project Example: N2 Wild Coast Toll Highway, Eastern Cape . . . . . . . . . 15
4 Comparative Overview of the Three Specialist Assessments 16
Conclusion 17
Reference List 18
Page 2 of 19
, UNISA | GGH3705 Specialist Impact Assessments
Introduction
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a decision-support tool designed to identify, pre-
dict, and evaluate the potential eects of a proposed development on the biophysical and social
environment before the project commences (Glasson, Therivel & Chadwick, 2019). While a full
EIA encompasses a broad range of environmental and social considerations, complex or sensi-
tive developments often require specialist studies to assess particular types of impact in greater
depth. Three such specialist assessments that feature prominently in South African EIA prac-
tice are the Social Impact Assessment (SIA), the Health Impact Assessment (HIA), and the
Heritage Impact Assessment (HeIA).
This document presents, in lecture-slide format, a detailed discussion of each of these three
specialist impact assessments, covering their purpose, methods, the experts responsible for
conducting them, and a real-world project example where each assessment was applied. The
discussion draws on South African legislation, the International Association for Impact Assess-
ment (IAIA) principles, and relevant academic literature.
Page 3 of 19
College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
⋄
Specialist Impact Assessments
Social, Health and Heritage Impact Assessments in EIA Practice
⋄
Module Code GGH3705
Assignment Assignment 2
Semester Semester 1, 2026
Due Date 13 April 2026
Topic Specialist Impact Assessments
Institution University of South Africa
Submitted in partial ful
lment of the requirements for GGH3705 · UNISA 2026
,UNISA | GGH3705 Specialist Impact Assessments
Contents
Introduction 3
1 Social Impact Assessment (SIA) 4
1.1 1.1 Purpose of Social Impact Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 1.2 Methods and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 1.3 Experts Responsible for Conducting SIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 1.4 Project Example: Medupi Power Station, Limpopo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Health Impact Assessment (HIA) 8
2.1 2.1 Purpose of Health Impact Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 2.2 Methods and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 2.3 Experts Responsible for Conducting HIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.4 2.4 Project Example: Transnet Port Expansion, Durban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3 Heritage Impact Assessment (HeIA) 12
3.1 3.1 Purpose of Heritage Impact Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2 3.2 Methods and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.3 3.3 Experts Responsible for Conducting HeIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.4 3.4 Project Example: N2 Wild Coast Toll Highway, Eastern Cape . . . . . . . . . 15
4 Comparative Overview of the Three Specialist Assessments 16
Conclusion 17
Reference List 18
Page 2 of 19
, UNISA | GGH3705 Specialist Impact Assessments
Introduction
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a decision-support tool designed to identify, pre-
dict, and evaluate the potential eects of a proposed development on the biophysical and social
environment before the project commences (Glasson, Therivel & Chadwick, 2019). While a full
EIA encompasses a broad range of environmental and social considerations, complex or sensi-
tive developments often require specialist studies to assess particular types of impact in greater
depth. Three such specialist assessments that feature prominently in South African EIA prac-
tice are the Social Impact Assessment (SIA), the Health Impact Assessment (HIA), and the
Heritage Impact Assessment (HeIA).
This document presents, in lecture-slide format, a detailed discussion of each of these three
specialist impact assessments, covering their purpose, methods, the experts responsible for
conducting them, and a real-world project example where each assessment was applied. The
discussion draws on South African legislation, the International Association for Impact Assess-
ment (IAIA) principles, and relevant academic literature.
Page 3 of 19
