IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/jeapmx/v18y2016i04ns1464333216500241.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Developing an Analytical Framework to Assess the Consistency of Contents and Terminology used by SEA Reports for Similar Types of Plans

Author

Listed:
  • Teresa Fidélis

    (GOVCOPP/Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

  • Ana Rita Rosa

    (Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

  • Rita Albergaria

    (Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

Abstract

Environmental reports are important documents within strategic environmental assessment (SEA). They identify, describe and evaluate the likely significant effects on the environment of implementing a plan or programme, playing, therefore, a key role for communication during the consultation and public participation processes. For similar decision-making contexts, environmental reports for the same types of plans should be consistent in terminology to assure a clear understanding by stakeholders of the aims and problems dealt with by SEA. This paper assesses to what extent SEA reports prepared for a similar type of plan and under similar regulations are comparable and how their contents are consistent in terms of structure, methodological approaches, critical sustainability factors and terminology used. To pursue this task an analytical framework is developed to compare a set of SEA reports. The SEA reports used as case study are the nine river basin management plans (RBMPs) prepared in Portugal for the first planning cycle of the Water Framework Directive. These plans must be subject to SEA, following the Portuguese regulations implementing the SEA Directive. The results show a significant similarity in the reports inside the same hydrographic region but relevant diversities among regions. The major differences are related to the methodological approaches and to the SEA terminology used. These differences resulted not from the features of the regions or of the plans, but from the different consulting teams involved in the assessment process. For an exercise undertaken by similar state agencies, under similar planning decision-making contexts and with broadly similar objectives, the disparities in SEA reports may threaten the consistency of the inherent communication process, disturb the credibility of the technical exercise and hinder the overall understanding of SEA by the stakeholders.

Suggested Citation

  • Teresa Fidélis & Ana Rita Rosa & Rita Albergaria, 2016. "Developing an Analytical Framework to Assess the Consistency of Contents and Terminology used by SEA Reports for Similar Types of Plans," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(04), pages 1-39, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:wsi:jeapmx:v:18:y:2016:i:04:n:s1464333216500241
    DOI: 10.1142/S1464333216500241
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1464333216500241
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1142/S1464333216500241?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lone K�rn�v & Jie Zhang & Per Christensen, 2015. "The influence of street level bureaucracy on the implementation of Strategic Environmental Assessment," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(4), pages 598-615, April.
    2. Michael Short & Carys Jones & Jeremy Carter & Mark Baker & Christopher Wood, 2004. "Current Practice in the Strategic Environmental Assessment of Development Plans in England," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(2), pages 177-190.
    3. Juliette Lees & Jochen A.G. Jaeger & Jill A.E. Gunn & Bram F. Noble, 2016. "Analysis of uncertainty consideration in environmental assessment: an empirical study of Canadian EA practice," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(11), pages 2024-2044, November.
    4. Rafik Hirji & Richard Davis, 2009. "Strategic Environmental Assessment : Improving Water Resources Governance and Decision Making," World Bank Publications - Reports 17244, The World Bank Group.
    5. Rodrigo Jiliberto Herrera, 2007. "Strategic Environmental Assessment: The Need To Transform The Environmental Assessment Paradigms," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(02), pages 211-234.
    6. Thomas B. Fischer, 2005. "Having An Impact? Context Elements For Effective Sea Application In Transport Policy, Plan And Programme Making," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 7(03), pages 407-432.
    7. Michel Crowley & Nathalie Risse & Jean-Philippe Waaub & Philippe Vincke, 2003. "Implementing the European SEA Directive: the Member States'margin of discretion," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/15783, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    8. Tarja Söderman & Tuomas Kallio, 2009. "Strategic Environmental Assessment In Finland: An Evaluation Of The Sea Act Application," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 11(01), pages 1-28.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ben Cave & Ryngan Pyper & Birgitte Fischer-Bonde & Sarah Humboldt-Dachroeden & Piedad Martin-Olmedo, 2021. "Lessons from an International Initiative to Set and Share Good Practice on Human Health in Environmental Impact Assessment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-23, February.
    2. Pauline Deutz & Gareth Neighbour & Michael McGuire, 2010. "Integrating sustainable waste management into product design: sustainability as a functional requirement," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(4), pages 229-239.
    3. Ayodele Omoniyi Olagunju & Jill A. E. Blakley, 2017. "Towards an Environmental Governance Agenda in Regional Environmental Assessment: A Case Study of the Crown Managers Partnership," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(02), pages 1-33, June.
    4. Ghislain Mwamba Tshibangu, 2018. "An Analysis of Strategic Environmental Assessment Legislation and Regulations in African Countries," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(01), pages 1-26, March.
    5. Hugh King & Laurence Smith, 2016. "Many Rivers to Cross : Evaluating the Benefits and Limitations of Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Koshi River Basin," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(02), pages 1-21, June.
    6. Maartje Bodde & Karin Van der Wel & Peter Driessen & Arjan Wardekker & Hens Runhaar, 2018. "Strategies for Dealing with Uncertainties in Strategic Environmental Assessment: An Analytical Framework Illustrated with Case Studies from The Netherlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-24, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wsi:jeapmx:v:18:y:2016:i:04:n:s1464333216500241. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tai Tone Lim (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.worldscinet.com/jeapm/jeapm.shtml .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.