What is Strategic Environmental Assessment

Abstract

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is 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 2 economic and social considerations . SEA is a process for analysing and addressing the environ-mental and health effects of proposed policies, plans, and programmes or other strategic initiatives (e.g. legislation or regulations). It can be applied at all stages and tiers of decision-making and at the local, regional or national level. When carried out systematically, SEA helps decision-makers to achieve a number of important environmental objectives and sustainable development aims. These are summarised in Box 1. Box 1: Aims of SEA SEA helps decision makers • to incorporate environmental and other sustainability objectives in the formulation of policies, plans and programmes, • to gather and analyse the information necessary for sound decision-making, including input from relevant stakeholders, • to evaluate likely significant environmental and health effects of strategic options and proposed actions, • to set conditions for environmentally sound implementation of strategic decisions. SEA responds to what the World Commission on Environment and Development called the chief institutio-nal challenge in the 1990s, namely considering " the ecological dimensions of policy at the same time as economic and other dimensions. " It addresses issues of environment and sustainable development at their source in decision-making, rather than treating them as symptoms or adverse effects much later at the stage of project design. By optimising policies, plans and programmes, SEA also promotes more sustainable development at the project level.