Difference between revisions of "European Union - Strategic Environmental Assessment"

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{{Review
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==Review by Job Dronkers (January 2013)==
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Full information on the provisions of the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment directive and the ensuing obligations for the EU member states can be found on the [http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/sea-legalcontext.htm EU SEA website]. A few essentials are reproduced below:
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==Strategic Environmental Assessment==
 
  
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Since its introduction Integrated Coastal Zone Management has been a tool for implementing [[sustainable development]] in coastal areas. Although it has brought a lot of benefits/answers to coastal issues there are some challenges that need to be considered
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==[http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/sea-support.htm EU SEA procedure]==
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* Limited awareness of the relationship between socioeconomic and environmental impacts
 
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* Poor levels of institutional coordination
 
  
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The exceeding concentration of the world’s population in coastal areas has created conflicts between the human and development activities and the coastal ecosystems along with management difficulties. Typically, management in coastal areas has been characterized by fragmented and short-term development strategies that have failed to take into account the multiple uses occurring within the coastal environment. This has led to problems arising from the lack of understanding the socioeconomic character of coastal environments and poor cooperation between different levels of administration and management.
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An environmental report is prepared in which the likely significant effects on the environment and the reasonable alternatives of the proposed plan or programme are identified. The public and the environmental authorities are informed and consulted on the draft plan or programme and the environmental report prepared. As regards plans and programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment in another Member State, the Member State in whose territory the plan or programme is being prepared must consult the other Member State(s). On this issue the SEA Directive follows the general approach taken by the SEA Protocol to the UN ECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context.
  
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==[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52009DC0469:EN:NOT EU Legislation]==
  
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===Introducing Strategic Environmental Assessment===
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A SEA is mandatory for plans/programmes which are prepared for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, industry, transport, waste/ water management, telecommunications, tourism, town & country planning or land use
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* that set the framework for future development consent of projects listed in the EIA Directive;
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* that require an assessment under the Habitats Directive.
  
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For that matter, a new tool has been recently introduced, the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), including both socioeconomic and environmental issues.  SEA is a process to ensure that significant environmental effects arising from policies, plans and programmes are identified, assessed, mitigated, communicated to decision-makers, monitored and that opportunities for public involvement are provided.
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==Difference with the Environmental Impact Procedure==
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SEA has become an important instrument to help to achieve sustainable development in public planning and policy making. The importance of SEA is widely recognised. Particular benefits of SEA include:  
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The SEA and EIA procedures are very similar, but there are some differences:
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* To support sustainable development;
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* the SEA requires the environmental authorities to be consulted at the screening stage;  
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* To improve the evidence base for strategic decisions;
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* scoping (i.e. the stage of the SEA process that determines the content and extent of the matters to be covered in the SEA report to be submitted to a competent authority) is obligatory under the SEA;
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* To facilitate and respond to consultation with stakeholders;  
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* the SEA requires an assessment of reasonable alternatives (under the EIA the developer chooses the alternatives to be studied);
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* To streamline other processes such as Environmental Impact Assessments of individual development projects.
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* under the SEA Member States must monitor the significant environmental effects of the implementation of plans/programmes in order to identify unforeseen adverse effects and undertake appropriate remedial action;
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* the SEA obliges Member States to ensure that environmental reports are of a sufficient quality.
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SEA is a generic tool which can be used in a variety of situations. A particular form of SEA is being introduced by the European Union Directive 2001/42/EC. This requires national, regional and local authorities in Member States to carry out strategic environmental assessment on certain plans and programmes that they promote <ref>http://www.sea-info.net/</ref>.
 
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===Benefits===
 
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One of the most important elements that constitute SEA is that, in contrary to the past policies about coastal issues that focused on the physical environment excluding some external factors (economic, social etc), it constitutes a more integrated approach, taking into account the impacts of strategic proposals on the wider environment. Apart from the holistic approach, SEA has also a certain flexibility concerning the different levels of decision making. This means that not only are the consequences of decision making explored at policy, programme and plan level but also at various stages of the planning and management hierarchy. Finally, SEA can be obtained as a very useful tool for proactive assessment providing feedback information for the formulation of policy and planning.
 
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===Issues===
 
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# Consideration of whether the policy, plan and programme (PPP) formulation process requires SEA  
 
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# Establishment of PPP objectives and alternatives
 
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# Identification of key impacts, indicators and environmental baseline
 
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# Predication and evaluation of impacts and assessment of alternatives
 
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# Consideration of mitigation measures
 
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# Review and decision making
 
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# Monitoring of impact of PPP on objectives <ref>Barker, A. (2006) Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as a Tool for Integration within Coastal Planning. Journal of Coastal Research, 22(4), 946-950</ref>
 
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==References==
 
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<references/>
 
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[[Category:Policy and decision making in coastal management]]
 
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[[Category:Environmental management in coastal and marine zones]]
 

Revision as of 16:56, 18 January 2013

Review by Job Dronkers (January 2013)

Full information on the provisions of the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment directive and the ensuing obligations for the EU member states can be found on the EU SEA website. A few essentials are reproduced below:

EU SEA procedure

An environmental report is prepared in which the likely significant effects on the environment and the reasonable alternatives of the proposed plan or programme are identified. The public and the environmental authorities are informed and consulted on the draft plan or programme and the environmental report prepared. As regards plans and programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment in another Member State, the Member State in whose territory the plan or programme is being prepared must consult the other Member State(s). On this issue the SEA Directive follows the general approach taken by the SEA Protocol to the UN ECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context.

EU Legislation

A SEA is mandatory for plans/programmes which are prepared for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, industry, transport, waste/ water management, telecommunications, tourism, town & country planning or land use

  • that set the framework for future development consent of projects listed in the EIA Directive;
  • that require an assessment under the Habitats Directive.

Difference with the Environmental Impact Procedure

The SEA and EIA procedures are very similar, but there are some differences:

  • the SEA requires the environmental authorities to be consulted at the screening stage;
  • scoping (i.e. the stage of the SEA process that determines the content and extent of the matters to be covered in the SEA report to be submitted to a competent authority) is obligatory under the SEA;
  • the SEA requires an assessment of reasonable alternatives (under the EIA the developer chooses the alternatives to be studied);
  • under the SEA Member States must monitor the significant environmental effects of the implementation of plans/programmes in order to identify unforeseen adverse effects and undertake appropriate remedial action;
  • the SEA obliges Member States to ensure that environmental reports are of a sufficient quality.
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