Implementation of Strategic Environmental Assessment in Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

Abstract

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has long been identified as an important tool for bringing environmental and sustainability considerations to bear on planning processes and decisions. There are strong reasons for extending the application of SEA process to marine planning in areas beyond national jurisdiction, and SEA has been identified by participants in the ongoing negotiations for an international legally binding instrument on biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions for potential inclusion in the instrument. However, there are few existing examples of SEA being used in areas beyond national jurisdiction raising questions about how SEA processes could be implemented in this context. The intention of this brief is to examine current international and domestic SEA practices, with a view to identifying key implementation questions and the potential avenues for addressing those issues.