Social impact assessment (SIA) has become an important factor for social conflicts prevention. In this study, we conducted SIA using the center-point triangular whitenization weight functions (CTWF) method, which is based on grey systems theory. A case study was conducted on a hydrocarbon exploration project located in the Gulf of Valencia, Spain. Two stakeholder groups and four evaluation criteria were identified. The results revealed that for the group of the directly linked population, the project would have very negative social impact; and for the group of indirectly linked citizens, the project would have negative social impact. The results could help central and community governments to make the best decision on the project. The method showed interesting results and could be apply to SIA of other projects or programs.

Social impact assessment (SIA) is an important factor to prevent environmental conflicts, in this way, it is very necessary to integrate SIA and environmental conflict analysis (ECA). In this work, we propose to integrate SIA and ECA by means of an integrated method based on grey systems and Shannon entropy. A case study was conducted on a hydrocarbon exploration project located in the Gulf of Valencia, Spain. Three stakeholder groups and four evaluation criteria were established. The results revealed that for group of affected directly population (G1), the project would have very negative social impact; for group of academic population (G2), the project would have negative social impact; and contrary perception was found in the group of retirees (G3), who opined the project would have positive social impact. In addition, it was also noted that the criteria most likely to generate enviro...

Environmental conflict analysis (henceforth ECA) has become a key factor for the viability of projects and welfare of affected populations. In this study, we propose an approach for ECA using an integrated grey clustering and entropy-weight method (The IGCEW method). The case study considered a mining project in northern Peru. Three stakeholder groups and seven criteria were identified. The data were gathered by conducting field interviews. The results revealed that for the groups urban population, rural population and specialists, the project would have a positive, negative and normal social impact, respectively. We also noted that the criteria most likely to generate environmental conflicts in order of importance were: access to drinking water, poverty, GDP per capita and employment. These results could help regional and central governments to seek appropriate measures to prevent envir...