Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a systematic decision support pro-
cess, which aims to ensure that environmental and possibly other sustainability aspects
are considered in policy, planning and developing projects and programs (PP). It is
sometimes referred to as Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment. The specific term
Strategic Environmental Assessment relates to European Union policy. The SEA Direc-
tive (2001) in Europe required that all Member States of the European Union should
have transposed the Directive into national law by 21 July 2004. In between, in 2003,
the Espoo Convention was supplemented by a Protocol on Strategic Environmental
Assessment (SEA Protocol, 2003).
SEA is recommended by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)
Task Team on SEA to apply to development cooperation. DAC prepared a targeted
SEA Guidance document (2006) and explains the benefits of using SEA in development
cooperation. SEA is in most cases a structured environmental impact assessment but it
can also be used as a non-EIA-based process for the evaluation of legislative proposals
and policies. SEA applies a structured and tiered decision framework for sustainable
development. It covers the steps of
-
initial screening (if the project or program falls under SEA legislation);
-
scoping (defining the boundaries);
-
documentation of the environmental and socioeconomic baseline;
-
identification of the priority environmental and socioeconomic impacts for
evaluation;
-
informing and consulting the public;
-
influencing decision makers;
-
monitoring the effects after implementation plans and programs.
Sustainability, climate change (greenhouse gas emissions, flood risk, adaptation
and maladaptation) and biodiversity (ecosystem services, species diversity, endangered
species, etc.) in SEA play a key role. SEA deals with the long-term and cumulative
nature as well as the complexity of the effects, the cause-effect relationships and the
uncertainties. The cumulative impact e.g. of wind turbines and the stress of pesticide
use and food chain effects on birds is hardly quantifiable by simple summation. SEA
targets the following ecological impacts:
-
Degradation to ecosystem's health and services due to the proposed program:
direct and indirect effects leading to damage or loss
changes in ecosystem composition, structure or key processes;
necessity of program and planned use of ecosystem services;
impact on the food web structure, energy and material flows;
significant changes in water quantity and quality;
significant changes in air quality and pollution.
-
Loss and degradation of habitats due to the proposed program:
changes in the extent and quality of habitats and protected areas;
loss or deterioration of natural or semi-natural habitats;
availability of alternative habitats in case of habitat damage;
adverse effect on protected areas, migration corridors, threatened species;
fragmentation of habitats or areas providing key ecosystem services;
any other additional stress.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search