Widening the scope: strategic environmental assessment - Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment - page 358

12
Widening the scope: strategic
environmental assessment
12.1 Introduction
One of the most recent trends in EIA is its application at the level of policies, plans and
programmes (PPPs). In the USA, since the enactment of the NEPA, this so-called SEA
has been carried out as an extension of project EIA in a relatively low-key manner.
However, in the EU it has increasingly come to be viewed as a valuable technique for
achieving sustainable development, and a Europe-wide SEA Directive became
operational in July 2004. SEA is also a strong growth area in other parts of the world.
This chapter discusses the need for SEA and some of its limitations. It reviews the
status of SEA in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, European Union and UNECE. It then
discusses in more detail how the European SEA Directive is being implemented in the
UK. It concludes with a discussion of techniques for carrying out SEA in accordance
with the European SEA Directive. By necessity this chapter must radically simplify many
aspects of SEA. The reader is referred to Partidario & Clark (2000), Sadler & Verheem
(1996), Therivel (2004) and Therivel & Partidario (1996) for a more in-depth discussion.
Reference should also be made to Chapter 9 for two SEA case studies.
12.2 Strategic environmental assessment (SEA)
12.2.1 Definitions
Strategic environmental assessment can be defined as
a systematic process for evaluating the environmental consequences of
proposed policy, plan or programme initiatives in order to ensure they are
fully included and appropriately addressed at the earliest appropriate stage
of decision making on par with economic and social considerations.
(Sadler & Verheem 1996)