Impacts & Dependencies - Impact Level

Overall Impact Level

1. For each site, an Impact Score is calculated based on the four Nature Impacts. For this, the Environmental Pressures (EP) and State of Nature Concern Levels (SoN) are treated numerically (VL= 1, L=2, M=3, H=4, VH=5) and summed across the four covered Nature Impacts (Increased Water Scarcity, Increased Water Pollution, Loss of Natural Land, Loss of important Biodiversity).
2. The Impact Score is then scaled to a 0-10 range using the following formula:
   
3. The Overall Impact Level is determined from the Impact Score, using the following thresholds:

• • Score 0 - 2 = Very Low
  • Score 2 - 4 = Low
  • Score 4 - 6 = Moderate
  • Score 6 - 8 = High
  • Score 8 - 10 = Very High

Example

A site with the following Impact Levels across the four Nature Impacts…

• Increased Water Scarcity = Very High (=5)
• Increased Water Pollution = Very High (=5)
• Loss of Intact Natural Land = Low (=2)
• Loss of Important Biodiversity = Very High (=5)

… results in an Impact Score of 8.1 based on the calculation:

… which in turn is translated to Overall Impact Level of Very High, since the score of 8.1 falls within the 8 - 10 range.