SEA effectiveness criteria—equally valid in all countries? The case of Italy

Fischer, Thomas B.; Gazzola, Paola

doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2005.11.006

Cited by 176 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A summary is provided by Runhaar and Driessen (2007). Table 1 builds on the work by Runhaar and Driessen (2007) and provides an overview of 13 process-related factors that are believed to contribute to the effectiveness of SEA, as found in the studies that have been consulted (Arbter, 2003;Aschemann, 2004;Dalal-Clayton and Sadler, 2008;Fischer and Gazzola, 2006;Hildén et al, 2004;MEGJ/MIRI, 2003;Partidário, 1999;Retief, 2006;Runhaar, 2009;Runhaar and Driessen, 2007;Runhaar and van Nieuwaal, 2010;Sadler and Verheem, 1996;Sheate et al, 2001;ten Heuvelhof and Nauta, 1996;Thérivel and Minas, 2002). The factors that are deemed to influence SEA effectiveness are related to either the SEA content or SEA procedure.…”

Section: Explaining Sea Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The assessment report by an independent body Fischer and Gazzola, 2006;Hildén et al, 2004;MEGJ/MIRI, 2003;Retief, 2006;Runhaar and van Nieuwaal, 2010;Sheate et al, 2001. Independent review…”

Section: Factormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Understanding why and how an SEA is effective is crucial for the further development and success of the tool. The search for factors important for SEA effectiveness is an important theme within SEA literature (see Arbter, 2003;Aschemann, 2004;Dalal-Clayton and Sadler, 2008;Fischer and Gazzola, 2006;Hildén et al, 2004;MEGJ/ MIRI, 2003;Partidário, 1999;Retief, 2006;Runhaar, 2009;Runhaar and Driessen, 2007;Runhaar and van Nieuwaal, 2010;Sadler and Verheem, 1996;Sheate et al, 2001;Ten Heuvelhof and Nauta, 1996;Thérivel and Minas, 2002). Nevertheless, more must be learned about the factors that contribute to SEA effectiveness (Runhaar and Driessen, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating the substantive effectiveness of SEA: Towards a better understanding

Doren

Driessen

Schijf

et al. 2013

Environmental Impact Assessment Review

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a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oEvaluating the substantive effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is vital in order to know to what extent the tool fulfills its purposes and produces expected results. However, the studies that have evaluated the substantive effectiveness of SEA produce varying outcomes as regards the tool's contribution to decision-making and have used a variety of approaches to appraise its effectiveness. The aim of this article is to discuss the theoretical concept of SEA substantive effectiveness and to present a new approach that can be applied for evaluation studies. The SEA effectiveness evaluation framework that will be presented is composed of concepts of, and approaches to, SEA effectiveness derived from SEA literature and planning theory. Lessons for evaluation can be learned from planning theory in particular, given its long history of analyzing and understanding how sources of information and decisions affect (subsequent) decision-making. Key concepts of this new approach are 'conformance' and 'performance'. In addition, this article presents a systematic overview of process and context factors that can explain SEA effectiveness, derived from SEA literature. To illustrate the practical value of our framework for the assessment and understanding of substantive effectiveness of SEA, three Dutch SEA case studies are examined. The case studies have confirmed the usefulness of the SEA effectiveness assessment framework. The framework proved helpful in order to describe the cumulative influence of the three SEAs on decision-making and the ultimate plan.

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Section: Explaining Sea Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Factormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Evaluating the substantive effectiveness of SEA: Towards a better understanding

Doren

Driessen

Schijf

et al. 2013

Environmental Impact Assessment Review

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“…The main issue identified relates to improving SEA efficacy. A review of the literature (Figure 2, Stage 1) focuses on: 1) SEA legislation at the international and national scale (EC-DG-ENV, 2009;OECD, 2012;UNECE, 2012); and 2) performance criteria used to evaluate SEA efficacy at the regional and local level (Clark, 2000;DalalClayton & Sadler, 2005;Fischer & Gazzola, 2006;Kørnøv & Thissen, 2000;Sadler et al 2011). The resulting framework (Figure 2, Stage 2a) identifies context, procedural and methodological factors involved with SEA (Fischer, 2007).…”

Section: The Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Baresi

Vella

Sipe

2017

Environmental Impact Assessment Review

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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.

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“…2) Performance criteria used to evaluate SEA efficacy at the regional and local level (Clark, 2000;Dalal-Clayton & Sadler, 2005;Fischer & Gazzola, 2006;Jones et al 2005;Kørnøv & Thissen, 2000;Sadler et al, 2011). The resulting features are grouped in six thematic areas, as shown in Table 5.4.…”

Section: The Analytical Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Baresi¹

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Sustainable development is one of the key issues facing human survival on this planet. The urban planning discipline is actively involved in fostering more feasible ways to structure human activities and their relationship with the global ecosystem's finite resources. Since sustainability has become a major issue for human kind, sustainability assessments have proliferated in different ways to integrate socio-economic prosperity and provide environmental safeguards. In theory, these assessments can contribute towards addressing the increasing threats posed by climate change and by the depletion of natural resources, by building consensus around shared strategies involving a wide range of stakeholders to address national and international sustainable development goals. In practice however, sustainability assessments are undermined by problems associated with first the policy-making processes (for example, stakeholders' involvement) and second the measurement of the impacts of policies, plans and programs (such as the definition and computation of sustainability indicators). These issues weaken community trust in sustainability assessments and reduce their efficacy. Critical research is required to explore viable solutions.The main goal of this thesis is to address the shortcomings of current procedures for sustainability assessment. A comparative case study explores differences and similarities between an Australian region (South East Queensland) and an Italian region (Lombardia), which are representative of different institutional and planning backgrounds. Methodologically, this thesis develops and applies a framework to understand how limitations within political and societal processes prevent the achievement of environmentally sustainable planning. This framework combines a 'limits-oriented approach to evolutionary ecology' (Sih & Gleeson 1995) transposed to governance and policy-making processes, and the need to pursue a sustainable use of finite natural resources as suggested by positions addressing the 'limits to growth' by Meadows et al. (1972).Overall, this thesis develops an approach to diagnose current obstacles that need to be overcome and the pathway for achieving institutionalised limits-oriented approaches for improving procedures of sustainability assessment. This 'limits-oriented' framework outlines the benefits that South East Queensland and Lombardia can achieve by optimising current practices for sustainable planning within their regional contexts. This approach explores the limiting traits that undermine the performance of sustainability assessments, and proposes ways to bridge the gaps that separate their theoretical conceptualisation from their practical implementation.The framework developed and tested through this thesis offers an analytical lens to examine how the assessment of sustainable planning is currently featured in different institutional contexts. Its experimental implementation in countries with different planning traditions provides an insight on iii how to overcome iss...

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SEA effectiveness criteria—equally valid in all countries? The case of Italy

Cited by 176 publications

References 12 publications

Evaluating the substantive effectiveness of SEA: Towards a better understanding

Evaluating the substantive effectiveness of SEA: Towards a better understanding

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

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

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