TOWARDS A STRUCTURED APPROACH TO STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Bram F. Noble () and Keith Storey ()
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Bram F. Noble: Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, A1B 3X9, Canada
Keith Storey: Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, A1B 3X9, Canada

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), 2001, vol. 03, issue 04, 483-508

Abstract: Considerable attention has been given to the role of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in policy, plan and program assessment; however, there is very little consensus on an appropriate methodology for SEA. Two basic perspectives on SEA methodology emerge from the literature: first, that appropriate SEA methodologies are readily available based on the application of project-level EIA approaches to strategic assessment questions and second, that SEA requires a different, more broad-brush approach than project-level EIA. If SEA is to advance in application and effectiveness, then appropriate SEA methodologies need to be established. Despite calls for SEA to develop more independently of project-level assessment, existing SEA methodologies tend to be based on project-level EIA principles. It is argued here that while SEA can perhaps utilise many of the existing methods from project-level EIA, it requires a different, more broad-brush, but structured methodological approach. This paper reviews the current state-of-the-art of SEA methodology, and presents a generic SEA methodological framework and example based on the notion of the "best practicable environmental option".

Keywords: strategic environmental assessment methodology; methods; techniques and methodology; SEA principles and characteristics; SEA framework; multi-criteria problems; Delphi technique (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001
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DOI: 10.1142/S1464333201000832

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