Regional-Level SEA (Part 3)
Moderator: Brent Bitter
Presentations
The Missing Link: EIA-SEA Systems in Hydroelectric Planning
Presenter(s): Juan Quintero
The efficiency and effectiveness of EIA systems as a tool for environmental management and long-term sustainability for the hydroelectric sector are being questioned in many countries. There have been many recent initiatives to introduce Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in hydroelectric sector planning in developing nations, however, without clear linkages to EIA. A conceptual Integrated Environmental Management System for the hydroelectric sector is proposed, which links SEA and EIA through Cumulative Impact Assessment at the watershed level.
Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment (RSEA) in Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industries in Arabian Gulf Countries
Presenter(s): Habib Alshuwaikhat
Concern for the environment has been one of the basic responsibilities and a long-standing commitment of oil, gas and petrochemical industries. However, it has been observed that regional strategic environmental assessments (RSEA) of major projects in many Arabian Gulf countries are not part of the industries’ environmental assessment practices. The main objective of this paper is to introduce the concept of RSEA. The international RSEA practices and experiences in oil and gas industries are also outlined.
Assessment of Cumulative Effects in Finnish Forest Planning Regulation
Presenter(s): Ismo Pölönen
The presentation deals with the existing and potential use of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in Finnish forestry planning. It focuses on the question how the assessment of cumulative environmental impacts is addressed in forest planning regulation. The context is largely regional forestry planning for private-owned forests. The paper shows that the assessment requirements on forestry planning are very general in nature and assessment documents contain only brief and often vague estimation of cumulative environmental effects. The paper also identifies the difficulties of introducing new statutory assessment duties and concludes that the new assessment requirements should be well-integrated to the existing planning system.
Method and Practice Progress of Cumulative Environmental Assessment in SEA at Planning Level in China
Presenter(s): Wei Li, Yanju Liu
As a key technical target of SEA at planning level in China, cumulative environmental assessment (CEA) has been a challenge for the existing SEA methods and practice. Based on the SEA pilot studies organized by Ministry of Environmental Protection, the merits and limits of four CEA methods are summarized and discussed: spatial and industrial correlation analysis, retrospective analysis of development decision and environmental change, dynamic evaluation of environmental carrying capacity and similarity analysis of cause and effect relations.