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IAIA’07 Seoul Korea 3-9 June 2007 Growth, Conservation and Responsibility

IAIA’07 Seoul Korea 3-9 June 2007 Growth, Conservation and Responsibility. SEA: the missing ring between directive and practise To streamline bureaucratic EIA and SEA procedures Virginio Bettini University IUAV of Venice Chiara Rosnati University of Sassari. Structural limits of EIA.

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IAIA’07 Seoul Korea 3-9 June 2007 Growth, Conservation and Responsibility

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  1. IAIA’07Seoul Korea3-9 June 2007Growth, Conservation and Responsibility SEA: the missing ring between directive and practise To streamline bureaucratic EIA and SEA procedures Virginio Bettini University IUAV of Venice Chiara Rosnati University of Sassari

  2. Structural limits of EIA • Limits in the preliminary analysis of the examined area • Methodological limits concerning analysis parameters • Limits related to the administrative procedures • Limits due to the control of EIA by the proponent • Limits related to the public partecipation process: formal announcement to the public versus participation of the public

  3. Structural limits of EIA • Administrative procedures only begin with definitive stage of project: the scoping stage is optional, and it is never carried out • The environmental impact statement has to be carried out by the proponent: it is highly improbable that he would highlight all potential impacts of the project

  4. Structurallimits of EIA The actions aimed at public participation are limited to a newspaper announcement. It is very difficult to access the integral EIS and the observations by stakeholders are often not considered

  5. Structurallimits of EIA We can say with confidence that EIA is inadequate to guarantee a territorial management on an environmental basis

  6. IS SEA an effective tool for planning and management ??? • SEA should not be mistaken for just a ‘large’ EIA applied to plans and programmes • SEA should not follow the same procedural scheme as EIA

  7. IS SEA an effective tool for planning and management ??? • It should not start when the plan is already definite, but rather it should be involved in selection and assessment of alternatives (Directives 2001/42/CE: The environmental assessment referred to in article 3 shall be carried out during the preparation of a plan or programme and before its adoption or submission to the legislative procedure)

  8. IS SEA an effective tool for planning and management ??? • SECTORAL SEA: mainly applied to a specific sector • TERRITORIAL SEA: takes into consideration all the activities and plans in a defined area

  9. IS SEA an effective tool for planning and management ??? It is essential to carry out both a sectoral SEA and a thorough examination of the territory that would also takes into account other sectors of planning (i.e. transportation, waste, energy etc.)

  10. SEA and Public Participation Public Participation is an essential part of SEA Process (as defined by the Directive 2001/42/CE and by the previous conventions of Aarhus and Expoo)

  11. SEA and Public Participation • In order for the Public Participation to be truly effective it should: • Start in a preliminary stage of planning • Contribute to the choice of indicators to be used in the selection of alternatives and the weight to be attributed to the indicators • Actively involve all the interested stakeholders and it should not limit itself to a single act of formal public consultation

  12. SEA and Public Participation • Two predominant approaches in the international debate: • Rationalist approach is based on the belief that SEA has to be conducted by professionals following absolute technical rigour • SEA is centred on the Public Participation and negotiation in order to reach a consensus • These approaches are giving way to an intermediate position that prefers more integration between scientific rigour and consultation

  13. CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ASSESSMENT C.E.A. S.E.A. E.I.A. Environmental Impact Assessment Strategic Environmental Assessment A bridge between EIA and SEA

  14. SEA and Cumulative Effects Assessment • SEA allows for the verification of potential cumulative effects because its typical spatial and temporal scales are more adequate to carry out a cumulative impact assessment than the scales adopted for environmental assessment of a project • The typical spatial and temporal scales of the planning and the related SEA process, are adequate to carry out a cumulative impact assessment that could become a reliable tool for • prediction, • comparative selection between alternatives • and a final choice consistent with the environmental goals

  15. E.I.A. C.E.A. SINGLE SUM OF PROJECTS NO past YES present YES YES future SHORT TERM MEDIUM-LONG TERM SPECIFIC SITE WIDE AREA AT PROJECT LEVEL AT PLAN AND PROGRAMME LEVEL Horizon of C.E.A. as wider than E.I.A Project Temporal scale Spatial scale Relationship with planning process

  16. Cumulative effects refer to progressive environmental degradation over time arising from a range of activities throughout an area or region, even if each activity, considered in isolation, could possibly not be a significant contributor A. Gilpin, 1995 ‘Cumulative effects’ definition

  17. Effects that results from incremental changes caused by the plan together with other past, present and reasonably foreseeable actions ODPM – 2002 – Draft Guidance on the Strategic Environmental Assessment, prepared by Levett-Therivel Sustainability Consultants ‘Cumulative effects’ definition for SEA

  18. European and national regulations requiring consideration of cumulative effects

  19. IS SEA an effective tool for planning and management ??? Anyway, SEA seems to come to the same dead end in which EIA is trapped, a route that surely does not lead to efficient territorial management, but to a further bureaucratic load without positive results!

  20. Dlgs. 156/2006The Unique Text on environmental issues Critical reading of SEA Directive interpretation in the new Italian legislation regarding ‘rules on environmental issues’

  21. SEA according to EU Directive 2001/42 CE versus its interpretation in the Italian Unique Text (UT)

  22. E.U. Directives People who enjoy eating sausage and obeying the law should not watch either being made. People who enjoy eating sausage And obeying the law should not watch either being made. People who enjoy eating sausage and obeying the law should not watch either being made. People who enjoy eating sausage and obeying the law should not watch either being made.People who enjoy eating sausage And obeying the law should not watch either being made. “People who enjoy eating sausage and obeying the lawshould not watch either being made”Otto Von Bismarck Translation issues Political interests Italian D.Lgs People who enjoy eating sausage and obeying the law should not watch either being made. People who enjoy eating sausage And obeying the law should not watch either being made. People who enjoy eating sausage and obeying the law should not watch either being made. People who enjoy eating sausage and obeying the law should not watch either being made.People who enjoy eating sausage And obeying the law should not watch either being made. Routine behaviour

  23. Unique Text (UT) Italian interpretation of SEA • UT does not take into account the methodological approach derived from several SEA applications carried out in different sectors by different EU countries • UT does not catch the spirit of the EU Directive that would stimulate more attention for environmental items within plan and programme process. • On the contrary, UT follows the similar scheme adopted for the environmental assessment of a project (EIA)

  24. Analogies with EIA procedure • UT considers SEA as an authorization procedure and not a part of the planning process. • In UT, the judgement should be emitted by a different authority than that which develops the plan/programme • The authority in charge of the assessment is the so-called ‘technical-advisory commission for the environmental assessments’

  25. Analogies with EIA procedure • This commission should evaluate the environmental report and the documents provided by the authority that has drawn up the plan/programme and, within 45 days, should deliver the compatibility judgment • The commission could dictate prescriptions and the authorization is subordinated to the adoption of ‘specific modifications and integrations to the plan/programme assessed’

  26. Considerations about the Unique Text • In the UT, the introduction of a post –evaluation seems to originate from an incorrect translation of the EU Directive 2001/42 CE from English, or French, into Italian: Article 2 b) ‘environmental assessment’ shall mean the preparation of an environmental report, the carrying out of consultations, the taking into account of the environmental report and the results of the consultations in decision-making and the provision of information on the decision in accordance with articles 4 to 9

  27. Considerations about the Unique Text • In the Italian version the phrase the taking into account has been freely translated with a word valutazione that means assessment

  28. Consequences of this misunderstanding: • Conflict of interests between judging body and planning agency, which are both public administrators • Bureaucratic red tape, without efficient results

  29. Review of Dgl.152/2006 Draft of the new SEA-EIA-IPPC TextHas anything changed?

  30. Draft of the new SEA-EIA-IPPC TextSEA definition (art.2) • Process that includes: • Screening: process of determining whether or not SEA is required for a particular plan/programme • The development of an environmental report • Public consultations • The assessment of the report and of the results of consultations • Carrying out of a motivated judgment • The announcement of the decision and of the monitoring programme …..that is a large EIA!

  31. Draft of the new SEA-EIA-IPPC TextSEA designed as a bureaucratic – procedural instrument Cap. II, art.8, par. 7 • “SEA is an integral part of adoption and approval procedures of plan/programme. Authorizations given without Strategic Environmental Assessment are invalidated

  32. Draft of the new SEA-EIA-IPPC TextSEA definition (art.2) • The need for Cumulative Effects Assessment is mentioned only once and in an unclear way, within the definition of ‘environmental assessment’: • Change in the environment that could be qualitative and/or quantitative, direct and indirect, short, medium and long-term, permanent and temporary, single and cumulative, positive and negative.

  33. Draft of the new SEA-EIA-IPPC TextPartecipation Not only Participation but also Decisional Democracy, or even better Hearing Democracy (Ginsborg P., 2006, la democrazia che non c’è, Einaudi Torino)

  34. Draft of the new SEA-EIA-IPPC TextPartecipationFollowing the French model example • Law that defines “the democracy of proximity”, that imposes public hearing when decisions regarding great communities must be taken • Procedure managed by an independent agency: the “Commission National du Débat Public” formed by politicians, citizen representatives, environmentalist associations, judges

  35. Draft of the new SEA-EIA-IPPC TextPartecipationFrench Model • Development of independent researches • Information available to the public • Organization of local debates • Decisions that really take into account the results of the consultations (Rapport Annuel 2005-2006, Commission Nationale du Débat Public)

  36. Draft of the new SEA-EIA-IPPC TextEnvironmental sustainability • The principle of integration regarding the objectives of environmental sustainability (cap II art.8, par. 7) should be based on the following parameters: • Carrying capacity • Ecological Footprint • Impact on climate

  37. Other confusions on an international scale • Confusion of terms: SEA (Strategic Environmental Assessment) and SIA (Sustainability Impact Assessment). SIA is also the acronym of Social Impact Assessment • Need for a critical analysis of the European experience • Kirckpatrick C., George C., 2006, Methodological issues in the Impact Assessment of Trade Policy: experience from European Commission’s Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) programme, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 24,4, december 2006, 325-334

  38. Sustainability Impact Assessment and IAIA • Need for a discussion at an international level on the scientific reliability of Sustainability Impact Assessment • Sustainability Assessment experimentations: need for a review to verify if a ‘comprehensive adoption and more consistent application’ could be accepted.The theoretical analysis carried out by Robert Gibson is not sufficient • (Gibson R.B., 2006, Sustainability assessment: basic components of a practical approach, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 24, 3, september 2006, 170-182))

  39. EA and IAIAwhich contents? SEA-EIA-IPPC Text Art.19, par. 3 IAIA Proposal Project description Analysis of the interested area (LE –UE) Measures to avoid, minimize and compensate impacts Definition of reversible/irreversible impacts Assessment of the main impacts on environment and cultural heritage Assessment of the irreversibility of impacts (if any) Definition of alternatives (compensation, other location, do nothing) Rough description of the main alternatives

  40. CASE STUDY How the SEA should not be carried out The SEA on Energy Plan Sardinia Region (Italy)

  41. Studying the application of SEA to a planning process: the case of the SardiniaRegion energy plan In the regional SEA guidelines it is written: • SEA of P/P is a continous process integrated in the planning process • SEA is an open process that, through the integration of environmental considerations from the first stages of development and adoption of the plan, permits the introduction of environmental quality goals in the politics of economic and social development and represents a tool for the promotion of sustainable development

  42. Studying the application of SEA to a planning process: the case of the SardiniaRegion energy plan The Regional SEA guidelines define: • the contents of the Environmental report, • the need for a correlation with the other sectoral plans, • The need for the analysis of different alternatives, including the zero option • The essential role of public participation that should start before the plan adoption

  43. Studying the application of SEA to a planning process: the case of the SardiniaRegion energy plan All the directives of the SEA guidelines are very good propositions ….. but from theory to practice ……

  44. Definitive adoption of the plan Adoption of the plan and SEA guidelines scoping Environmental Report drafting Adjustment of plan an ER Information and participation Plan design

  45. Studying the application of SEA to a planning process: the case of the SardiniaRegion energy plan The phases of the plan design are not known….. • What are the alternatives considered? • What are the indicators used to select the plan proposed? • Why should this plan be better than others? • Why does the public involvement only start when the plan has already been defined?

  46. Studying the application of SEA to a planning process: the case of the SardiniaRegion energy plan The exercise is focused on the analysis of a planned incinerator that will be built in an industrial area located in the centre of Sardinia

  47. Studying the application of SEA to a planning process: the case of the SardiniaRegion energy plan Energy production of 40 MW by the burning of: • dry waste (20 MW) (recycling rate of 50%) • Biomass (20 MW) supplied by • forestry management, • non food agriculture, • gradual substitution of non autochthonous plants with endemic species etc.

  48. Inhabitants in Sardinia: 1,632,000 Inhabitants in the catchment area: 800,000 Catchment area

  49. Studying the application of SEA to a planning process: the case of the SardiniaRegion energy plan In the intention of the Regional Administration, this plant could solve many problems: • Energy needs of the industrial district • Waste management • Promotion of employment in a depressed area

  50. Studying the application of SEA to a planning process: the case of the SardiniaRegion energy plan However, this plant could also create many problems: Traffic congestion due to the transport of waste and biomass from the 65% of Sardinian territory to the incinerator site. Nearly total absence of transport systems that connect the site with the whole catchment area: • No highways (only one main road, SS 131 and some secondary roads) • No railways • No ports • No airports

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