This document provides an introduction to strategic environmental assessment (SEA), including its purpose, principles, process, and emerging directions. SEA involves systematically analyzing the environmental impacts of policies, plans, and programs to support sustainable development decisions. It differs from environmental impact assessment (EIA) in applying earlier in the decision-making process and covering a broader scope. Key principles of good SEA practice include being integrated, adaptive, sustainability-oriented, and participatory. The main steps of SEA involve screening, scoping, detailed assessment, and follow-up such as monitoring. Challenges to effective SEA include acceptance, assessing cumulative impacts, integration across sectors, and public participation.

1. Introduction to Strategic
Environmental
Assessment - SEA
Purpose, Principles and Process
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ICEM - International Centre for Environmental Management

2. Main points to be covered
• The aims and scope of SEA
• Major trends and challenges
• Principles of good practice
• Steps and elements of the SEA process
• Emerging directions
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3. Some commonly asked questions
• What is SEA, what is it used for?
• Why is it important, what is the valued added?
• How does SEA relate to EIA, what are the similarities
and differences?
• What are the basic principles and steps of SEA?
• Who does what in SEA, how long does it take?
( for discussion with Vietnamese participants)
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4. What is SEA?
• Systematic, open process of analyzing the impact of policies,
plans, programs and other strategic initiatives on the
environment
• Undertaken to ensure that environmental considerations are
taken into account and integrated into decision-making in
support of sustainable development
• Applied to all strategic proposals that have a potentially
significant impact on the environment
• Because these relatively diverse, SEA approaches are more
diverse than EIA although the same basic principles apply
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5. Why is SEA important?
• EIA typically does not cover higher level decisions,
including those that determine type/location of projects
• SEA focuses on the upstream source of environmental
problems not just their downstream impacts
• In doing so, responds to sustainable development
agenda, e.g. WSSD and MDG 7 to ensure environmental
sustainability
• Emphasis of international lending and cooperation is
changing from projects to policy-based and budgetary
support, sector programming, regional planning etc
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6. How does SEA add value?
• Ensures critical resource and environmental assets are protected
• Supports sustainable development and poverty alleviation, e.g. in reinforcing
MDG 7 which underpins all others
• Identifies development opportunities and potentials that otherwise might be
missed, e.g by thorough examination of options
• Prevents costly mistakes and avoids risks by eliminating environmentally
damaging options and taking account of cumulative impacts at an early
stage in decision-making
• Streamlines and focuses any follow-on SEA or EIA process by:
- clarification of scope and context
- reducing the time and effort needed for review
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7. Wider or secondary benefits of SEA
• Provides a means of ‘mainstreaming’ the environment across all
levels and sectors of decision-making
• Builds environmental accountability in development agencies
• As a systematic, evidence-based approach, SEA helps to improve
the quality of policy and plan-making
• Procedural requirements of SEA help to strengthen good
governance and the credibility of decision-making
• Public and stakeholder engagement promote greater
transparency and openness in decision-making and help to build
civil society
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8. SEA IN RELATION TO EIA
SEA
EIA
Policy
Plan
Programme
Projects
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9. • Takes place at end of decision-
making cycle
• Well-defined process, clear beginning
and end
• Reacts to specific development
proposal
• Detailed, cause-effect analysis of the
impact of project components
• Considers limited range of feasible
alternatives (how to carry out
projects)
• Limited opportunity to address
cumulative impacts at project level
• Emphasis on mitigating and
minimising impacts
• Focus on do no/least harm
SEA and EIA
compared
• Takes place at earlier stages of
decision-making cycle
• Multi-stage process with
variations e.g. policy v
plans/programmes
• Pro-active, out-in-front approach
to development proposals
• Broad level of analysis, e.g. focus
on cross-sector links and issues
• Considers potentially wide range
of development alternatives
• Gives early warning of cumulative
impacts (sector or region wide)
• Emphasis on meeting goals and
safeguards for the environment
• Focus on ‘do most good’
SEA EIA
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10. Key trends in SEA (1)
• SEA still at a relatively early stage of development
• Three main stages in process evolution
1) early, formative phase to 1990, limited use of SEA
2) wider adoption, greater differentiation 1990 -2001
3) toward standardization and extension, 2001 onwards
• EC Directive (2001) and UNECE SEA Protocol
(2003) established new international legal regime
• EIA-based procedure applied to plans/ programs
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11. Key trends in SEA (2)
• Today, approx 50 countries are estimated to have some
provision for SEA with increasing number of developing
countries
• Several different procedural models, e.g. EIA-based, appraisal-
type approaches, integrated assessment, SEA-like approaches
(para SEA)
• Some countries have different SEA systems for policies and
regulations compared to plans and programmes
• New generation of SEA and SEA-type processes applied by
international agencies and donors
• New OECD Guidance to harmonise these approaches in
accordance with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness
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12. Key principles of SEA good practice (1)
Aspirational - not necessarily always practised
• Integrated -- with existing policy frameworks and
planning structures (not stand-alone, + to help improve
both over time)
• Adaptive – customized to context and issues at stake
• Relevant – focus on the potential impacts and risks that
matter (don’t study everything)
• Examine alternatives + evaluate significance of impacts
for each one
• Proactive – be forward-looking, and look for
environmental gains and opportunities as well as
constraints
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13. Key principles of SEA good practice (2)
• Sustainability oriented – consider linkages and trade-
offs among environmental, social and economic
considerations
• transparent -- clear, easy to understand requirements
• participative -- provides for input from all stakeholders,
including public involvement
• accountable -- implemented fairly, impartially and
professionally and in accordance with designated
responsibilities
• cost-effective -- meets objectives within time and
budget limits
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14. Some factors to help achieve initial
success in SEA practice
• Promote SEA as a bonus not a burden
• Tailor the approach to the needs of clients
• Provide as much start-up help as possible
• Use the simplest procedures and methods consistent with
the task
• Learn by doing and build a knowledge base from case
experience
• Pilot and demonstrate – don’t try and apply it
comprehensively all at once
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15. Main steps in the SEA process (1)
• PRELIMINARY STEPS
 Screening to determine whether or not an SEA is needed
and at what level
 Scoping to identify key issues and alternatives, set
objectives and develop terms of reference for SEA
 Identification of alternatives, including no action
• CONTINUES THROUGHOUT
 Identify and carry out defined roles & responsibilities
 Inform and involve the public – to identify the views and
concerns held by stakeholders
 Scoping can also be applied at regular points in the SEA
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16. SEA steps (continued)
• DETAILED ASSESSMENT
 Analyse and evaluate the impacts to identify the
significant effects of selected alternatives and measures
for mitigation and follow-up
 Report to provide the information for decision-making
 Review the quality of the information to ensure it is clear,
sufficient and relevant to the decision being taken
• FOLLOW-UP
 Undertake follow up to check on implementation, and
track any arrangements for subsidiary SEA or EIA.
 Monitoring and review to see if outcomes are as expected
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17. Quick screening guide to check if
SEA is needed
• Is the proposal known to have environmental effects, e.g. energy, transport,
housing?
• Does the proposal involve or relate to issues known to be environmentally
significant?, eg:
 use of resources (energy, land, water)?
 waste or pollution (including CO2 emissions)?
• Does the proposal initiate actions that will have evident and direct
environmental effects? If yes, an EIA-based approach may be suitable
• Alternatively, does the proposal raise broad environmental issues, or is it
likely to have indirect effects? If yes, environmental appraisal may be
appropriate. This is particularly likely for broad policies
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18. Key challenges for SEA
• Being accepted at senior and decision-making levels and
adopted for use
• Assessing cumulative impacts
• Addressing cross-boundary & trans-national issues
• SEA at the policy level (how to integrate with political
functions, and processes?)
• Integrating with planning and across sectors
• Effective public & stakeholder participation
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19. Future directions – strengthening the family of
approaches
Env
SEA
Social
Econ
Econ
Social
Env
Econ
Env
Social
Increasing integration of environmental, social and economic considerations
Social assessment tools
Economic assessment tools
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20. RESPONSE FROM PARTICIPANTS
• Based on this presentation – how does it relate:
 In general to Vietnamese experience and to the
legislation on SEA?
 Specifically to roles & responsibilities for
implementing the required processes and doing
SEA?
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