DEVELOPING GUIDANCE FOR SEA IN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

1. DEVELOPING GUIDANCE FOR SEA IN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION JON HOBBS Chairman OECD: DAC TASK TEAM ON SEA Workshop on Development and Environment. Beijing, China March 21-22 2005

2. Scope of presentation • Key Concepts and Definitions • Why are Development Agencies interested in SEA? • What doing about it • What makes a good SEA? • A quick review of one initiative to consider if it was an SEA….and a good one.

3. WHAT DO WE UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENT?

4. ENVIRONMENT ? Traditional: “The living and non living (biophysical) world around us and the goods and services it provides” Environment is : The biophysical, social, economic and cultural dimensions of our surroundings

5. Multi dimensional Uncertain and Unpredictable Interconnected Dynamic CHARACTERISTICS OF ENVIRONMENT?

6. Environmental Management Requires? • Multi- disciplinary Problem Solving • Balanced & Integrated Decision Making • Environment – Development • Social – Economic – Environmental • Production – Consumption (Life cycles) • Local-Global • Openness not secrecy • Holistic approach • Doing things differently

7. Environment Gets? • Territoriality • Displacement activity • Tokenism • Avoidance Strategies • Under-management • Simple (Simplistic) Solutions

8. ECONOMIC • DEVELOPMENT • Trade • Finance • Investment • Technology • transfer • ENVIRONMENT • Oceans • Atmosphere • Biodiversity • Land degradation • Climate change • SOCIAL • DEVELOPMENT • Water • Health • Energy • Education • Food security CONNECTIONS: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

9. Bio-Physical UNSUSTAINABLE Socio- Economic GROWING TRENDS WE CANNOT IGNORE • Altered Bio-Chemistry • Stratospheric Ozone Depletion • Climate Change • Accumulation of wastes • Persistent Chemicals • Declining Renewable • Resources • Energy crisis • Freshwater Scarcity • Food Shortage • Soil Erosion • Desertification • Ecosystem Decline • Wetlands • Coral Reefs • Coastal Zones • Bio-Diversity • Habitat • Social Disintegration • Underemployment • Inequity • Political Repression • Family Breakdown • Human Rights • Gender Issues • Over Population • Population • Migration • Child Labour • Urbanisation • Resurgent Disease • Persistent Deprivation • Sanitation + Health • Illiteracy • Access to water & Energy • Family Planning • Shelter • Poverty

10. ROOT CAUSESOF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS? MUST ADDRESS CAUSES NOT SYMPTOMS • Technology and Policies • Affluence and Attitudes • Poverty

11. ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION EXACERBATES POVERTY • Poor are often… • Most vulnerable to stresses in their environment • Natural Hazards • Man made- • pollution / conflicts • Most directly dependent on the resources around them for their livelihoods. • Most excluded from decision making and resources. • .

12. POVERTY AND ENVIRONMENT INTERLINKED Improved Environmental Management supports… • Livelihoods • Reduces vulnerability Addressing poverty has environmental benefits Addressing environmental concerns has development benefits. • Environment not an end in itself or separate consideration • Env a means to address poverty and growth Poor people part of solution not problem

13. What does this mean for Environmental Assessment and Management in a Developing Country? THE DEVELOPING COUNTRY DILEMMA Cannot afford to use modern technology with poor environmental and social standards nor Uncritically import richer countries environmental and social standards into developing country situation Choice of priorities approaches must be Developing Countries.

14. BENEFITS OF POLICY • LENDING? • COUNTRY OWNERSHIP • MORE ACCOUNTABLE • GOVERNMENT • LONG TERM PLANNING • REDUCED TRANSACTION • COSTS • MORE EFFECTIVE • GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS THE CHANGING NATURE OF DELIVERING INTERNATIONAL AID

15. A MORE STRATEGIC APPROACH Bilateral Development Agencies International Institutions Civil Society Private Sector DEVELOPING COUNTRY’S PRIORITIES National Strategies Policies, Programmes,Plans Projects

16. Mutually agreed goals and targets Millennium Development Goals National Strategic Frameworks Poverty Reductionor DevelopmentStrategies 1: SUCCESSFUL UPSTREAM ASSISTANCE REQUIRES SHARED GOALS ?

17. 2: SUCCESSFUL UPSTREAM ASSISTANCE REQUIRES“GOOD GOVERNANCE” • Greater transparency, accountability and openness • Strengthened government institutions • Improved financial and budget management • Fairer administrative and judicial systems • Multi stakeholder participation • Democratic accountability • Protection of human rights • Rule of law SUPPORTED BY RIGOROUS POLICY APPRAISAL

18. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROFESSIONAL WORKING TO INTEGRATE ENVIRONMENT?

19. The Decision Making Hierarchy Goal Objectives Strategies EMS Systems Projects Practical Implementation Sustainability Sustainable Development Instruments SEA Policy PP Methods ECO EFFICIENCY Tools EIA Techniques EMP

21. Strategic Processes for Sustainability Country Environmental Analysis: CEA Strategic Environmental Framework:SEF Regional Environmental Assessment:REA Strategic Impact Assessment: SIA Comprehensive Options Assessment Integrated Trade Assessment Integrated Assessment : IA Poverty Impact Assessment: PIA Cumulative Impact Assessment Sustainability appraisal: SA Strategic Environmental Analysis Strategic Environmental Assessment : SEA Sectoral Environmental Assessment Analytical Strategic Assessment: ANSEA Participatory Poverty Assessment Integrated Environmental Assessment: IEM Policy Appraisal Poverty and Social Impact Assessment: PSIA Strategic Overview Energy and Environment Reviews : EER

22. Typology of SEA approaches International GEF-based studies UNECE SEA Protocol EU SEA Directive Nile Basin Regional Formal Near equivalentsPara SEA Formal: prescribed in international or national EIA-type instruments Near equivalent processes of environmental appraisal of policies/laws, and broader SEA-type processes/methods Para SEA: Don’t meet formal specifications or strict definitions; but share some characteristics or elements and have same overall purpose New UK ODPM Guidance on SEA W Bank CAS PRSPs Integrated land use Planning, NZ RMA Canadian SEA of PPP Dutch E-Test Danish SEA of Bills, etc UK policy/plan appraisal Dutch SEIA National

23. CONTINUUM ADJUSTING THE RESPONSE TO THE NEED Environmental Economic Economic Environmental Social Social POLICY APPRAISAL Need = Integrating Environment Need = Understanding the linkages

24. Strategic Environmental Assessment • SEA is a family of tools for up-streaming environmental and social issues into development planning, decision-making and implementation processes at the strategic level. (Based on World Bank, 2002)

25. How to do SEA? • There is no ONE SIZE FITS ALL(Recipe) • But there are common principles (Ingredients) and process elements (Ways to cook) • Therefore many forms and shapes (Types of cake on menu) • SEA is a family of tools all with broad common goals (Meal) • Responses need to be flexible and adapted to needs and context of application: Availability of resources (time, data) Early codification (straight jacket) is counter productive.

26. Selected key Guiding Principles of SEA • Measures of success • Integrated • Identifies key environmental, social and economic effects and interrelationships, trade offs and policy implications • Sustainability led or driven • Identifies best practicable option for sustainable development • Credible • Involves robust, evidence – based assessment using available methods. • Comprehensive yet Focused • Addresses the key issues (opportunities and constraints) pertinent to development • Accountable and Transparent • Well documented and subject to independent checks and verification • Participative • Involves interested and affected people including the poor and marginalised • Outcomes oriented • Delivers practical results/ benefits in terms of the development agenda.

27. The Standard SEA Process Plan Screening/ Scoping: Agree need for an SEA and what to do/ preliminary scan of ppp Find stakeholders, start planning process Develop a shared vision on problems/objectives/alternatives Do a consistency analysis: new versus existing objectives Assessment (Gathering the info for decision takers): Set TOR for the assessment of alternatives identified Do the assessment and document it Organise independent quality assurance Decision making: Discuss with all stakeholders the preferred option Make recommendations Monitoring the decision taken: Monitor the implementation and consider the results Do Check Act

28. What value does SEA add? • Better informed decision making • Better prospects for sustainable outcomes • Identifies the best development option/ pathway • Delivering on MDG 7 is the overriding focus for SEA in Development Cooperation • Makes AID more effective. • Contributes to Good Governance • Helps make Strategies more robust

29. Millennium Development Goal 7 • WSSD Johannesburg Plan of Implementation called for more integrated approaches to planning, • WCD and EIR • High Level Forum on Development Effectiveness (March 2005) PARIS DECLARATION ON AID EFFECTIVENESS

30. OECD’sDevelopment Assistance Committee (DAC) • OECD (30-members):inter-government think tank in key areas of economic and social policies • DAC (23 members):permanent body where bilateral donors work with multi-laterals towards coordinated, effective and adequately financed support to LDCs • Environet:Mainstreaming environment • Key areas of activity: Development effectiveness peer review -- policy coherence, evaluation, good practice reference papers and guidelines.

31. Task Team on Strategic Environmental Assessment

32. THE CURRENT STATUS OF SEA IN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION • Increasing focus of interest and work for international development agencies • Formal requirements for SEA established by the World Bank, ADB and others • SEA is rapidly developing next stage in the decade-long process of mainstreaming environmental and social considerations. • Much recent progress, but much to do to make SEA effective and widely applied • Mostly being applied opportunistically- not routinely