STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL

ASSESSMENT (SEA)

L4
ENVS 322 Environmental Management
 What is SEA?
Numerous Definitions:
SEA considers environmental issues whilst making development
plans & programs
Evaluates the opportunities & constraints that the environment
offers to development
A structured, proactive process that strengthens the role of
environmental issues in strategic decision making (Tonk and
Verheem (1998)
Integrate environmental (biophysical, social & economic)
considerations into the earliest stages of planning development
(Sadler (1995))
A process that should be used to encourage and promote
sustainable development on a strategic level (i.e. for areas,
regions or sectors of development)
 Overall Purpose
Primary purpose of EIA is to determine & evaluate environmental
impacts of development inform decision-making at project level
However, there are strategic decisions that are made at planning,
programming and policy level that influence development
SEA evolved, complementary to EIA, to determine environmental
implications of policies, plans and programmes (PPP)
In many cases, SEA sets out to provide a sustainability framework
(opportunities and constraints, thresholds, carrying capacity, limits
of acceptable change) at a specific geographic scale
Can have an advocacy role (raise profile of the environment) or
an integrative role (combining biophysical, social & economic
considerations)
Comparing EIA & SEA

EIA focuses on + and impacts of a specific

development project, once it has been formulated,
on the existing environment & socio-economic
conditions
Role of SEA however, is to allow decision-maker to
proactively determine most suitable development
type for an area, before development proposals
are formulated, by looking at the opportunities and
constraints that the environment and socio-economic
conditions places on development
SEA Internationally
Can be traced back to the USs NEPA - requires an EIS for
major federal actions (incl. projects and programmes, rules and
regulations) that may significantly affect the environment
Provision for SEA typically based on one of four categories:
EIA Law (US)
Planning regulations (Sweden)
Administrative order or policy directive (Canada)
Process of policy appraisal and plan evaluation (UK)
Expanded rapidly since early 1990s - promoted further by
landmark events such as EU SEA directive (2001) and the
WSSD (2002) the UN Economic Commission for
SEA internationallycont.

Europe (UNECE) Protocol on SEA Provisions for SEA

Practiced in countries such as the US, the Netherlands,
Australia
Concept formulated in developed world but has expanded in
developing countries as well
As noted above, no single international understanding or
definition of SEA
Thus instead of developing a common definition, rather
identify common principles
 Principles of SEA
SA has developed a set of principles:
Driven by the concept of sustainability - provides guidelines to
ensure that development is within sustainable limits
SEA identifies the opportunities and constraints that the
environment places on the development of plans and
programmes
Improves the considerations of cumulative effects

Focuses on the maintenance and enhancement of a chosen level

of environmental quality or limits of acceptable change, rather
than on minimising individual impacts
 SEA is a flexible process which is adaptable to the planning
and sectoral development cycle
SEA is a strategic process which begins with the
conceptualisation of a plan or programme
Has the ability to integrate across areas, regions or sectors

SEA is part of a tiered approach to environmental assessment

The scope of an SEA is defined within the wider context of

environmental processes
SEA is a participative process

SEA is set within the context of alternative scenarios

SEA includes the concept of precautions and continual

improvement
Similarly, Canada has its own set of principles
IAIA has developed a set of performance criteria for SEA
 Approaches to SEA
No single approach various aproaches internationally
Integration of sustainability objectives into plans &
programmes
Environmental assessment of a region

Environmental assessment of sector plans and programmes

Nature of policy, plan or programme & level of decision-

making
Need for simplicity & speed in context of limited resources

Flexibility for self-assessment & early integration of

environmental considerations into development of policies,
plans and programmes
However, each SEA system may exhibit one / more of the
characteristics listed above
 SEA Practice in SA
In light of confusion over definitions, SA developed own context-
specific approach. Currently, no formally functioning SEA systems
(responsibilities for SEAs within organisations not bee assigned) and
often undertaken on an ad-hoc basis. No specific legislation for SEAs
in SA but several enabling mechanisms in terms of other legislation:
Municipal Planning & Performance Management Regs (2001)
promulgated in terms of the Municipal Systems Act No 32 of
2000,
White Paper on Spatial Planning & Land Use Management, 2001,

South African White Paper on a National Commercial Ports Policy,

states that, SEA should be used for the proactive integration of
environmental issues with social and economic issues at the policy
and planning level (National Department of Transport, 2002: 25).
SEA Practice in SAcontinued..

While there is no legislation making SEAs mandatory

this may change i.e.
Provisions of the Land Use Bill (2002) could facilitate
requirement of SEAs every 5 years as part of
preparation of SDFs for provinces, metropolitans, district
and local municipalities
SEAs could be required for WMA and even CMAs by
DWAF
Thus potential for increasing practice of SEAs in SA
exists
 Tiers of SEA in the Decision-making Process

No one form of SEA that can be applied to all levels of PPP

In SA, variety of sectoral types implemented at national,
provincial and local geographic scales
Retief et. al. (2007) describe 3 models of SEA in terms of
decision-making:
Consent related
Integration model
Objectives-led
Types of SEA
Comprehensive: all activities in a specified area
are considered
Sectoral: further classified into sub-sectoral types
(i.e. conservation and biodiversity management).
Each type represents a particular decision-making
& institutional context
Spatial Scales

Wider, less detailed than EIA

Geographic scale and location NB determine
political decision-making contexts (jurisdictions) and
level of detail required
IEM in SA has proposed use of EMFs to provide
relevant data at appropriate scale and level of
detail
 Systems
No formal system but several enabling conditions (legislative
provisions & policies)
SEA lead agents versus SEA consultants
SEA lead agents:
National departments - only two have actively pursued SEA: the DWE
(formerly DEAT) and DWAF
Provincial environmental departments (DAEA in KZN)
Local, metropolitan and district municipalities
Conservation agencies (SANParks)
Companies in private sector
SEA consultants: SEAs seldom undertaken in-house by public sectors.
Suggest majority of expertise lies in private sector (Retief et. al.,
2007)
 SEA Successes

Retief et. al. (2007), very little research has been undertaken
to assess success of SEAs undertaken in SA to date
The IAIA Performance Criteria aim to provide general
guidance on the development of new SEA processes and on the
evaluation of existing SEA Processes
But the testing of various approaches and determining the
effectiveness of these, is thus NB in the development of best
practice
Focus of SEA should not be on just the production of the Report
but on development of institutional arrangements & decision-
support systems
 SEA Successescont.

Capacity building amongst all stakeholders and training will also

help to promote the effective implementation of SEA
Specialists providing an input into the SEA process may require
help in moving away from assessment of impacts of proposed
development (as in EIA) to identifying opportunities and
constraints that the biophysical environment and socio-economic
conditions present for future development
It is contended that the effective implementation of SEA will
promote the integration of the objectives of sustainability into
strategic decision-making.
References
Retief, F., Jones, C. and Jay, S. 2008:The emperor's new
clothesReflections on strategic environmental assessment
(SEA) practice in South Africa, Environmental Impact Assessment
Review, 28:504514
Retief, F., Jones, C. and Jay, S. 2007: The status and extent of
strategic environmental assessment (SEA) practice in South
Africa, South African Geographical Journal 89, 44-55.
SEA Guidelines-First Draft for comment
http://deastsea.csir.co.za