ABSTRACT
The concept of integrated impact assessment (IIA) implies that some sort of intervention may be introduced, as a result of which there would be consequent impacts on a social system; yet that there are interactions which are to be integrated and dealt with in a holistic manner. This chapter deals with a few general observations about the nature of the IIA task. It examines a particular project which had at least some of the characteristics of an integrated impact assessment. Most of conventional science is reductionistic in its methods and its explanations, whereas IIA is essentially holistic. History is perhaps more like IIA than most sciences. History is essentially interpretive. A much more appropriate question is whether IIA can be carried out in such a way as to fulfill its expected function. The preceding discussion underscores a predominant characteristic of the use of the IIA.
