Unpacking Environmental Assessment Reports: Power, Discourse, and Policy Implications in North Kendeng Mountain, Indonesia

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a regulatory requirement for development across Europe, North America, Australasia and elsewhere, yet understanding the legal aspects is challenging. This comprehensive guide provides that understanding in a clear and straightforward way. The introduction considers SEA and the law, explaining what SEA is, why it is needed, how it works and why it is required, as well as examining the role of the law. Part One provides an overview of international law, environmental impact assessment (EIA) and international law, including treaties, customary international law and 'soft law' relevant to SEA. It analyses the Kiev SEA Protocol and related UNECE conventions, the Espoo Convention on EIA in a Transboundary Context and the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. It also analyses the role of SEA in conservation conventions. Part Two considers how the European legal system works, including an overview of the current status of European law. It examines the EIA Directive and SEA Directive together with other relevant directives and regulations, such as the Habitats and Wild Birds Directives, the Water Framework Directive, the Public Participation for Plans and Programmes Directive, and the Structural Funds Regulations. Finally the volume draws conclusions about the relationship and comparisons between international and European law generally, and in regulating SEA.

In the European Union, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive (2014/52/EU) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive (2011/92/EU) emphasise the assessment of population and human health. The directives require health to be considered within Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). To date, health is mainly considered in connection with negative environmental factors and in terms of risk assessments. The integration of health in EIA as well as SEA has not been investigated in a Danish context, and this study aims to address the missing knowledge. There is a need for a more comprehensive health assessment within EIA and SEA to comply with the EIA and SEA directives. An integration of health into EIA and SEA will ensure a sound examination of health determinants which can improve decision making and thus comprehensively promote and protect health. To establish the status of the inclusion of the assessment of impacts on health into EIA and SEA, a literature review was performed. In addition, a survey addressed to researchers and practitioners was conducted and analysed through a comparative analysis. The survey examined the needs of practitioners and researchers, focusing on the Danish context, regarding the inclusion of health into EIA and SEA. Enhanced intersectoral cooperation of the health and environmental sectors, more specific guidance documents, and underlying this, stronger political support, were identified among needs for more comprehensive health assessments.

This article reports on a review and analysis of the role of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and cumulative impact assessment (CIA) in the overall framework of environmental impact assessment (EIA). It is argued that to pursue the nationally agreed goal of ecologically sustainable development (ESD), it is essential to incorporate SEA and CIA into the EIA process. The article examines how SEA and CIA might be applied and addresses the implications. It notes that there are significant challenges in science, assessment technique and administration. Two specific areas of difficulty are highlighted, these being the lack of adequate information about environmental components and processes, and the likelihood of significant institutional impediments, both intergovernmental and within the bureaucracy. The discussion identifies approaches to assist in resolving these difficulties. The article concludes that, despite the challenges, SEA and CIA must be pursued, are “within our grasp now” and are critical for the pursuit of ESD.

It is indicated that an important special constitutional guarantee of the realization of the right to a safe environment is environmental assessment. Given the fact that special legislative acts were adopted in Ukraine, which regulated the key types of environmental assessment. At the same time, in the conditions of full-scale war and post-war reconstruction, it is important to improve the environmental assessment procedure in order to improve such important constitutional guarantees of the realization of the right to a safe environment. The article examines such an important special constitutional guarantee of the realization of the right to a safe environment as environmental assessment. Emphasis is placed on the need to analyze the role of environmental assessment in the conditions of full-scale war and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. The provisions of the special act - the Law of Ukraine «On Strategic Environmental Assessment» were analyzed, which defined the basic principles of environmental strategic assessment, provided for the mandatory assessment of possible consequences for the environment, in particular for people and their health, from the implementation of state planning documents in various spheres of activity , which may have an impact on the environment. It is substantiated that the legislative definition of the term «strategic environmental assessment» needs improvement, given the purpose and principles defined in Art. 3 of the Law of Ukraine «On Strategic Environmental Assessment», in particular, maximum support for sustainable development through environmental protection, integration of environmental requirements into the state planning process. Six stages of carrying out a strategic environmental assessment are distinguished in accordance with Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine «On Strategic Environmental Assessment», and it is proposed to add a seventh stage, which would provide for «making corrections to the state planning document based on the results of monitoring to reduce risks, eliminate the negative consequences of environmental impact» . Differences between strategic environmental assessment and environmental impact assessment have been identified. The results of the strategic environmental assessment of the «Social and Economic Development Program of the Transcarpathian Region for 2022» are presented. The author’s approach to the classification of environmental assessment according to three criteria (subject of implementation, territorial coverage and legal consequences) is proposed.

Sustainable development cannot be achieved without a sound environmental policy and management system. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a systematic process that integrates environmental considerations into decision-making and can be used as an efficient environmental management tool. The objective of this paper is to describe a coherent approach for establishment of the SEA system in the Republic of Moldova. The 2005 EU-Moldova Action Plan envisages the adoption of additional legal acts for key environmental sectors, based on EU environmental acquits and, therefore, the creation of further national legislative framework is essential. Currently, the existing system of environmental assessment in the Republic of Moldova is accomplished by two activities: state ecological expertise and environmental impact assessment (EIA). The establishment of SEA can be done in one of two ways: (i) amending the Law on Ecological Expertise and Environmental Impact Assessment, or (ii) drafting a new Law on SEA. Moreover, there is no specific structure dealing with SEA, except the Focal Point for Espoo Convention. In order to comply with the provisions of the SEA Protocol and Directive, the Republic of Moldova has to designate a Competent Authority for Environmental Assessment that will deal with EIA and SEA. This can be done in one of three alternative ways: (i) to establish new institution subordinated to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Republic of Moldova (MoENR), or (ii) to establish new department within the MoENR, or (iii) to reorganise functions and responsibilities of existing departments of the MoENR.

With a foreseen increase in maritime activities, and driven by new policies and conventions aiming at sustainable management of the marine ecosystem, spatial management at sea is of growing importance. Spatial management should ensure that the collective pressures caused by anthropogenic activities on the marine ecosystem are kept within acceptable levels. A multitude of approaches to environmental assessment are available to provide insight for sustainable management, and there is a need for a harmonized and integrated environmental assessment approach that can be used for different purposes and variable levels of detail. This article first provides an overview of the main types of environmental assessments: "environmental impact assessment" (EIA), "strategic environmental assessment" (SEA), "cumulative effect assessment" (CEA), and "environmental (or ecological) risk assessment" (ERA). Addressing the need for a conceptual "umbrella" for the fragmented approaches, a generic framework for environmental assessment is proposed: cumulative effects of offshore activities (CUMULEO). CUMULEO builds on the principle that activities cause pressures that may lead to adverse effects on the ecosystem. Basic elements and variables are defined that can be used consistently throughout sequential decision-making levels and diverse methodological implementations. This enables environmental assessment to start at a high strategic level (i.e., plan and/or program level), resulting in early environmental awareness and subsequently more informed, efficient, and focused project-level assessments, which has clear benefits for both industry and government. Its main strengths are simplicity, transparency, flexibility (allowing the use of both qualitative and quantitative data), and visualization, making it a powerful framework to support discussions with experts, stakeholders, and policymakers. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:632-642. © 2015 SETAC.

Towards SEA for the developing nations of Asia

The organised transfer of information between Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes – also known as tiering – has the potential to enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of environmental assessments and improve the coherence of information to support decisions. Nevertheless, research on tiering practice is limited and the added value of tiering to SEA, EIA and planning processes remains largely unexplored. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by examining tiering practice across sectors and planning tiers in the Republic of Ireland. It reviews nine SEA environmental reports and associated EIA reports, supplementing the review findings with 14 national expert interviews. The research reveals that SEAs can streamline processes by shaping alternatives, anticipating project-level issues and mitigation, and thus setting the terms of reference for EIA for more focused assessments and actions. When SEA and EIA ‘talk’ to each other, there is greater coherence, purpose and clarity of information which can result, ultimately, in better integration of environmental considerations across tiers, helping ensure that impacts are not significant on the ground. Although more apparent and effective in certain procedural stages, overall, tiering streamlines and strengthens environmental assessment processes, ‘raising the game’ through improved practice.

Sustainability assessments tend to integrate ecological, social, and economic concerns. Sustainability assessment could be considered the highest rung in the assessment ladder. Broad strategies that seek to integrate individual SEA(Strategic Environmental Assessment) could be subjected to a sustainability assessment. Sustainability assessment could incorporate global and transboundary effects and priorities into SEA and project-level EIA(Environmental Impact Assessment). SEA could provide an environmental context and direction for project-level EIA. Procedural and substantive EIA requirements can be addressed through tiering such as sustainability assessment, SEA, project-level EIA. In Korea, PERS(Prior Environmental Review System) that has been utilized to evaluate administrative plans related with various kinds of development projects should be evolved not only to incorporate environmental impacts into early stage decision-making, but also to implicate sustainability assessments that include social equity and economic efficiency. Integration of SEA and sustainability assessment can be initiated through the application of DPSIR (Driving Force - Pressure - State - Impact - Response ) framework that was developed by European Environmental Agency.

The obligation to conduct environmental impact assessment (EIA) of activities with the potential for significant impact on the marine environment within and beyond national jurisdiction has attained customary international law status. The related but broader process of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is also applied to plans, policies and programmes with the potential for significant impact on the marine environment in many national jurisdictions and in a transboundary context. The application of EIA and SEA for activities with the potential for significant impact on marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) has been much more ad hoc. This commentary reviews the initiatives being taken by the international community to develop a more comprehensive legal and institutional framework for EIA and SEA of activities affecting ABNJ. It examines the role of sectoral environmental assessment in ABNJ, as well as the potential role of global guidelines for EIA and SEA of activities affecting ABNJ.

From environmental impact assessment to strategic environmental assessment in Bangladesh: Evolution, perspective, governance and challenges

A new paradigm for Environmental Assessment (EA) in Korea

The strategic environmental impact assessment of electric wind energy plants: Case study ‘Bavanište’ (Serbia)

The synergies between Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) have often been debated. In the right context, SEA can contribute to the efficiency of the EIA process, for example, when informing the scoping stage of the EIA. It can also compensate for some of the EIAs shortcomings, particularly in the provision of an effective monitoring framework. This paper reports on the SEA carried out on a port and industrial zone master plan in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This assessment is unusual in so much as it is a SEA of a privately funded master plan; is one of the first to be carried out in the Middle East (therefore not subject to EU Directive 2001/42/EC); and has been followed directly by an EIA of the same development. As such it provided a unique chance to adapt the SEA process and fully exploit any possible synergies between the two environmental assessment processes.

This paper considers how the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process in Russia (OVOS) could benefit from incorporating some of the process and documentary features of European strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and US Environmental Impact Statements respectively. While the strategic level is addressed in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, the USA system of Environmental Assessment) and in the European Directive on SEA implemented in 2004, SEA is not currently undertaken in the Russian system in terms of legislation or practice. The first section of the paper describes the present state of the OVOS process, through presentation of the relevant legislation in Russia, taking into account European Union (EIA and SEA Directives) and US (Policy Act EIS/EA) experiences. In the second section, the Irkutsk case study (an OVOS report for the gas exploration and extraction project in the Irkutsk Region of Russia) is compared with the EIA undertaken for the Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sales in Alaska (planned activities under the considered projects are quite similar) to show differences between the two documents. In the third section the current situation with Irkutsk case study is presented and an example of how SEA tools could be integrated in the report is provided.