INTEGRATING CUMULATIVE EFFECTS IN REGIONAL STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORKS: LESSONS FROM PRACTICE

Jill Harriman Gunn () and Bram F. Noble ()
Additional contact information
Jill Harriman Gunn: Department of Geography and Planning, 117 Science Place, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5C8, Canada
Bram F. Noble: Department of Geography and Planning, 117 Science Place, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5C8, Canada

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), 2009, vol. 11, issue 03, 267-290

Abstract: The need to advance the assessment of cumulative environmental effects beyond the individual project, to the broader regional scale and strategic tier, is well argued. However, regional strategic environmental assessment (SEA) frameworks that facilitate cumulative effects assessment (CEA) at this scale and tier have been slow to evolve. The need for such frameworks is now at the forefront of Canadian environmental assessment. This paper examines current and recent attempts at regional, and strategic-type assessment frameworks to integrate and assess cumulative environmental effects. Based on lessons from practice and interviews with practitioners and administrators, we observe that assessing cumulative effects in a regional SEA context is most effective when there is a shared regional vision about the future state of environment and development; the development of regional environmental targets, thresholds and indicators takes precedent over cumulative impact prediction; strategies can be translated into operational terms and mandates; the assessment is sensitive to key decision windows; and CEA is recognised to be more than simply the "adding up" of environmental effects. Regional SEA is the most appropriate framework within which to address cumulative effects,ifthe primary goal is to influence the nature and pace of conservation and development in support of regional sustainability.

Keywords: Strategic environmental assessment; cumulative effects assessment; regional assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1464333209003361
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:jeapmx:v:11:y:2009:i:03:n:s1464333209003361

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from

DOI: 10.1142/S1464333209003361

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM) is currently edited by Thomas Fischer

More articles in Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().