This practical guide on how to carry out strategic environmental assessment (SEA) presents a coherent 'how to do it' approach for the practitioner. It is the first publication to take account of the requirements of the European Union Directive 2001/42/EC - known as the 'SEA Directive' - and the UNECE Protocol on SEA.Part I provides an overview of the aims, principles, advantages and problems of SEA as well as looking at the SEA Directive and its requirements. Part II examines the SEA process in considerable detail including setting the context, describing the baseline, identifying alternatives, predicting and evaluating impacts and using the SEA information in monitoring and decision-making. Part III is devoted to assuring SEA quality with a discussion of resources and capacity building.Employing real-life case studies, each chapter presents a range of techniques and discusses what the final product should look like. Appendices provide a wealth of additional information including text of the SEA Directive and the UNECE Protocol on SEA, and a 'toolkit' of SEA techniques.The approach and techniques in Strategic Environmental Assessment in Action are useful for anyone carrying out SEA at any level from policy to programme, international to local, but particularly for practitioners responsible for implementing the SEA Directive.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a new approach to environmental assessment, global in scope, which considers the environmental impacts of policies, plans and programmes. It is already in use in a number of countries and is rapidly being adopted by those involved with environmental management and regulation, including governments, official and voluntary sector agencies, academic courses and consultancies. This text defines and analyzes SEA within the overall context of environmental assessment. It introduces and reviews the current state of SEA, evaluates its application in a number of countries with a range of detailed case studies, provides a critique of its techniques and an analysis of its importance for the future.

'A wonderfully international and up-to-date perspective on strategic environmental assessment of land use plans by leading experts in the field. Strategic Environmental Assessment and Land Use Planning covers not only how much such SEAs are carried out and in what context, but whether they are effective and why. It provides invaluable insights for practitioners and researchers in this rapidy evolving field'Riki Therivel, author of Strategic Environmental Assessment in ActionStrategic Environmental Assessment and Land Use Planning provides an authoritative, international evaluation of the SEA of land use plans. The editors place the SEA of land use plans in context, and uniquely qualified contributors then evaluate systems in Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and the World Bank. These chapters provide a description of the context in each country, a case study of the use of SEA in land use planning and an evaluation of each SEA system against a set of generic criteria specially designed to anlayse different aspects of SEA. The contributors critically review each SEA system, SEA process and SEA outcome, and conclude by summarizing their findings. The editors draw the various national perspectives together in a final chapter and derive widely applicable conclusions about SEA and land use planning.This book is a core text for all students in environmental assessment, land use planning, environmental science, environmental management, development studies, geography, landscape design and law and engineering. It is also essential reading for all governments and environmental regulators, academics, researchers and environmental and planning consultants worldwide who are involvedin SEA research, practice and training.

This authoritative handbook surveys the full breadth and depth of SEA, bringing together a range of international perspectives and insights on the theoretical, methodological and institutional dimensions and practical issues of the field. It then subjects this conventional wisdom to a critical reappraisal, looks at the vast lessons of experience and offers new ideas and interpretations as to where the field is going. The volume is organized into six major sections, beginning with an introduction and overview of the development of the field and a framework for evaluating SEA good practice. Part I comprises a review of SEA frameworks in leading countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA), the European Union and developing regions (Africa, Asia, Latin America and Newly Independent States). Part II reviews SEA practice in several major sectors (energy, minerals, transport, water, development assistance and coastal zone management). Part III addresses the linkages between SEA and other comparable tools such as spatial planning and environmental management. Part IV probes key cross-cutting issues in SEA, including how to address cumulative and trans-boundary effects. Part V identifies ways and means of SEA process and capacity development, focusing on how to improve and upgrade the theory and practice of the field. Part VI examines the shift from conventional SEA towards more integrative approaches, drawing on experience and examples from a number of countries. Published with IAIA

This unique sourcebook provides a global, state-of-the-art review of the rapidly evolving field of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) that is intended to serve as a baseline for the work of an OECD Task Team on SEA and a UNEP initiative on integrated planning and assessment. It describes trends in application and experience in different contexts worldwide, providing in-depth coverage of the status of SEA systems, and practice in developed, transitional and developing countries by a range of development agencies. The book draws on a large body of published and unpublished material, and contributions from a wide range of individual experts, organizations and agencies. It provides an unparalleled and invaluable understanding of the emerging scope and potential of SEA and describes how, when and where it is being used. The sourcebook includes a probing review of concepts, terminology, approaches and tools of SEA, and a comparative analysis of the different types of existing SEA systems. The volume also contains many case examples illustrating SEA practice in different countries and contexts, a full set of references and a number of appendices containing source materials.

The practical application of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is becoming increasingly common. A growing number of SEAs are being undertaken around the world, and several countries have issued guidance on how these should be carried out. However, few countries as yet have formal SEA regulations, and few completed SEAs have demonstrated all the elements of current best practice. The Practice of Strategic Environmental Assessment aims to provide a unique analysis of SEAs which have been undertaken, drawing on a variety of methods and circumstances to illustrate how best practice can be achieved, and providing inspiration for those considering studying, commission or carrying out an SEA. Part I sets the rest of the book in context, giving a review of international SEA guidance and regulations, and discussing models and methodologies. Part II then analyses a comprehensive set of case studies from countries which have extensive experience in SEA, or which provide particularly good examples. The case studies are discussed in three sections ? sectoral SEAs, SEAs of land-use plans and SEAs of policies ? and provide examples of different scales and approaches, as well as country-specific experience. The final chapter draws out some constraints to effective SEA, as well as positive themes which show how effective SEA can contribute to wider environmental assessment. Written by an international team of SEA practitioners and experts, this volume will be of particular use to students of environmental policy and management, environmental consultants, local authorities, policy-makers and anyone involved in the commissioning, process or review of SEAs.

This volume gathers a selection of research contributions on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), including theoretical and methodological studies and real-world case studies. It sheds new light on the respective steps in the procedure defined in the SEA Directive from theoretical and operational standpoints, intended to enhance the sustainability of plans and programmes adopted by local, regional and national authorities. Improving the legitimacy and transparency of decision-making in the field of environmental management was one of the goals that led the European Commission (EU) to adopt Directive 2001/42/EC on the assessment of environmental programmes’ effects. This book provides a multidisciplinary approach to SEA, and addresses the demand for policies and strategies to strengthen resilience through concrete measures to reduce energy consumption, mitigate pollution, promote social inclusion and create urban identity.