Bridging the divide between theory and guidance in strategic environmental assessment: A path for Italian regions

Abstract

Clear and effective legislation is a prerequisite to move sustainable development from theory into practice. This paper develops a methodology to investigate how Italian regions use Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and the procedures used in the European Union (EU) to pursue sustainable development of policies, plans, and programs (PPPs). This case study is at the Italian regional level, examined to identify flaws and areas for improvement for each regional legislative framework. For this purpose, we used criteria from international debates on sustainability assessments. Through statistical multidimensional analysis, we classified Italian regions with similar SEA legislation. We developed four taxonomies, based on: i) legislation and guidelines; ii) integration between SEA and PPPs; iii) sustainability goals; iv) technical organization; v) participatory organization; and vi) monitoring. Our findings suggest that Italian administrators should cooperate to improve legislation at the regional level. Acknowledging the institutioncentered nature of SEA, this methodology could support SEA development in European countries with diversified traditions.

The Methods and Techniques of Strategic Environmental Assessment. Comparative Evaluation of Greek and International Experience

“…Numerous definitions have been offered in international literature for SEA, by researchers who have studied both its theory and practice. The most comprehensive of these was formulated by Partidario [9] (p. 19), according to whom, "SEA is a systematic, on-going process for evaluating, at the earliest appropriate stage of publicly accountable decision-making, the environmental quality, and consequences, of alternative visions and development intentions incorporated in policy, planning, or programme initiatives, ensuring full integration of relevant biophysical, economic, social and political considerations". Essentially, SEA is utilized at the international level in order to assess environmental impacts during planning, at a higher level than that of the project in question, i.e., during the preparation and enactment of PPPs with the objective of integrating the aspect of sustainable development at an early stage of planning.…”

“…Several authors have conducted research on the SEAs legislative framework, its application and effectiveness in areas such as urban planning in Italy and in Spain [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Specifically, Spain has incorporated the SEA Directive through the Law 9/2006, which was later replaced by the Law 21/2013, and more recently by the Law 9/2018.…”

“…The distinctive characteristic of the Italian system is the regional diversification of SEA procedures due to the legal provisions varying between regions [26]. However, due to the inadequacy of existing legislation, the regional legislative framework has only complied with the minimum requirements of the European directive, along with the Italian national decree [19]. Notwithstanding this shortcoming, SEA has gradually introduced concepts such as carrying capacity and resilience at the planning stage.…”

Just so that we don't miss it: A critical view on the meaning of decision in IA

“…The research also discusses decision-making as afinal event, performed by a single actor, as defined in the rationalist decision theory that dominated the formative years of the environmental assessments (Nitz and Brown, 2001;Cashmore et al, 2004;Lobos and Partidário, 2014). Literature on guidance for effective SEA is limited (for example Therivel et al, 2004;Noble et al, 2012;Baresi et al, 2017;Montaño and Fischer, 2019) and, with few exceptions, 'decision' is presented as a vague and undefined notion. Thus, there are no previous studies of how 'decision' and 'decision-making' are described in SEA guidance documents.…”

A limits-oriented approach to sustainable planning assessments: a comparative analysis of South East Queensland (Australia) and Lombardia (Italy)

“…A similar scenario characterises SEA, which is defined at national level by the decree n. 152/2006. Although inspired by common references and sharing basic contents, regional laws on SEA and planning differ in terms of guidelines and procedures, as shown by recent studies (MATTM 2011b; Baresi et al 2017). …”