 Institutional Requirements for Conducting SEA
Analysis of Alternatives Cumulative and Indirectly Induced Effects Public Participation Capacity Building Tailoring the Message Institutional Requirements for Conducting SEA Minimum organizational and institutional conditions must be in place in the organization that will sucessfully carry out an SEA. It is important to assess in advance whether or not these conditions are fulfilled to make the corresponding arrangements and adjustments prior to conducting the SEA. Analysis of Alternatives The contribution to the analysis of development alternatives is a unique feature of SEA. For designing and implementing SEAs, this contribution has different dimensions as follow. SEA assesses development alternatives at the national and sector levels before specific projects are identified. It can, for example, assess the convenience of using forests for economic activities that preserve the resource such as ecotourism instead of extractive or agricultural activities. From this perspective, while EIA is reactive because a project has been already identified, SEA is proactive because it informs project selection. However, in many cases a development action at the policy, plan or program level has been already identified and selected. If a commitment has been done, SEA can still contribute to generate options for a more sustainable and effective implementation of PPPs, leading to more sustainable development projects downstream. In this situation, SEA specialists need to integrate or effectively influence the tasks teams in charge of fleshing out the proposed PPPs to bring into the analysis the environmental implications of the proposed course of actions. It is not that the SEA will by itself be used to identify alternatives for implementing PPPs, but it will provide key information and suggestions that contribute to the alternatives analysis and, therefore, to the decision making processes. It is a fact that the higher decision level of a PPP such as macroeconomic or sector reforms, the greater the options for their implementation at lower decision levels such as programs and projects. Another SEA strength is that in a systematic and orderly way it can bring into the alternatives analysis the perspective of potentially affected groups and civil society, reinforcing the long-term feasibility of PPPs. Top of page Cumulative and Indirectly Induced Effects SEA mainly concentrates on the analysis of cumulative and indirectly induced effects of PPPs. Indirectly induced effects are the environmental second round effects caused by economic and social processes which have been induced or influenced by a specific PPP. Indirect effects can be significant in macro and sector policies especially in those aiming at creating social change. The higher or the more strategic the intervention in the social system is, the greater the uncertainty in predicting indirect environmental effects. Suggestions for analyzing indirectly induced effects can be found in subsection, "Identification of significant effects and opportunities ", on Institutions-centered SEA of this toolkit.
Top of page Public Participation Participatory methods are needed in SEA to understand how environmental degradation affects vulnerable groups, whose identity varies depending on the country context. Often, though, it is the poor who suffer most from environmental degradation. Those most affected by degradation may have a different view of the problem and of the solutions. Stakeholder analysis is a tool for identifying those affected and involved in the PPP decision. Surveys can be another technique to ascertain environmental priorities and concerns from different stakeholders. Usually, citizens from developing countries list health-driven environmental issues such as shortage of freshwater and air pollution as those that most affect their quality of life. A challenge of SEA is, therefore, to ensure that public participation is meaningful and not just a case of providing detailed, rigorous and comprehensive information. The participation process must provide an opportunity for stakeholders to voice their needs and influence decisions accordingly. Things that are important to consider when planning for their participation are: - How many people need to be consulted,
- How sampling will be conducted,
- Which methods will reach the various stakeholder groups,
- Identify affected people and not to limit consultation to NGOs, self-appointed community spokespersons, or private organizations.
- Identify stakeholders who may not have access to the internet, lack access to public libraries, speak a different language, are illiterate, have cultural differences or other characteristics that need to be taken into consideration
The Bank has its own tools for this. There are updates in the World Bank Environmental Assessment Sourcebook for Public involvement in environmental assessment and also on public consultation. There is also an interesting manual developed for participation for environmental work in Eastern Europe. The EBRD also has guidance on this. For selected resources for public consultation, please click here. Top of page Capacity Building Capabilities for carrying out SEA can be strengthened and developed at the following levels: Top of page Tailoring the Message SEA aims to influence policy making. This requires focusing on the “target audience” that are policy makers and policy constituencies or interested and affected groups. Ministries of finance, for example, will be more receptive to analysis providing quantified estimates of the environmental effects (positive or negative) of various policy options (e.g. in terms of percent of GDP). Ministries and agencies mandated to reduce poverty will be receptive to analysis focusing the impacts of given policy choices on the most vulnerable groups, especially if it results from consultation with affected groups. Elected officials, who tend to have short term horizons, will be more receptive to information on the short term impacts of given policy choices. The positive short term impacts of proposed amendments to policy proposals should also be highlighted, and if possible quantified. Top of page |
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