Impact Assessments are used to evaluate the impact of infrastructure development on the environment and / or social structures with a view to identifying and avoiding or mitigating negative impacts and maximizing positive ones. These assessments can be conducted at two decision-making levels: (1) Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA, also referred to as Environmental Impact Assessmenta, EIA, or Integrated Environmental Assessmenta, IEA) consider and evaluate the impact of individual infrastructure projects on the environment and / or social structures in the project area. Many countries require a specific ESIA procedure to be completed during infrastructure project planning. (2) Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) evaluate the impact of upstream decision-making such as infrastructure policies or development plans and support the integration of environmental and social development goals into those plans. While several countries require SEA to be completed in certain areas of decision-making, their individual design can be based on a variety of participatory and analytical approaches.