EIA & SEA: a short state of the art

Adaptation Fund 19 June 2011

Rob Verheem 2011

What is NCEA?

• independent knowledge institute on EA since 1987

• 100% subsidized by Dutch government

• The Netherlands: EA quality review • International cooperation: supporting EA

systems of Dutch partner countries

NCEA key activities

• Quality review

• Capacity development

• Knowledge center

NCEA partners

• OECD

• World Bank

• African Development bank

• NORAD, Danida, Sida

• International Association for Impact Assessment

What is Environmental Assessment?

OECD DAC:

• analytical & participatory approach

• to integrate environmental considerations into planning & decision making

• to evaluate the inter linkages with economic and social considerations.

EA = EIA & SEA

• EIA = EA at project level

• SEA = EA at strategic level

How does SEA relate to EIA?

SEA

EIA

Policy

Plan

Programme

Projects

Acronyms

EIA = assessment of projects• Environmental Impact Assessment• Social and Environmental Assessment• Integrated Environmental Assessment

SEA = assessment of policies, plans, sector reform• Strategic Environmental Assessment• Strategic Social & Environmental Assessment (SESA)

Why is EA used?

• Objectives most mentioned in practice:– to identify better opportunities– to prevent costly mistakes– to build stakeholder commitment– to reduce poverty more effectively– to prevent conflicts

EA & the Paris Declaration

Development agencies and partner countries jointly commit to:

• strengthen the application of EIA

• develop and apply common approaches for SEA

Legal status world wide

EIA: • legally mandatory in all countries• mandatory in multilateral institutions & development

banks

SEA:• mandatory in all developed countries & World Bank• fast growing in developing countries and most

development banks

How to do EA?

• EIA: reasonably uniform approach world wide

• SEA: many forms and shapes; tailor made depending on context

What are key elements of EA?

dialogue

information enforcement

What are key elements of EA?incl. gender, CSO

vulnerability

risk, scenarios

transparency,

accountability

How to manage EA in practice?

decisions influence dialogue information

Issues for the AF

• How to reduce the risk of maladaptation: EA to compare alternatives

• How to increase stakeholder engagement: essential element of any good practice EA

• When to require EA: screening mechanism (check e.g. IFC) & when country regulation requires it

Issues for the AF

• Who should pay: proponent of the project or lead agency for the plan

• Work load of AF secretariat: EA provides a package deal of both information, participation & transparency requirements; guidance already exists

• How to include gender issues: can easily be included in EA, but no easy answers

Costs and delays

Cost and time involved in EA are:– cost and time of analysis– cost and time of stakeholder engagement– cost and time of inter agency cooperation– cost and time of communication with

politicians

Possible next steps?

• A closer look at:– EA requirements of multilaterals– EA requirements of recipient countries

• Match with:– requirements and limitations of the AF

(secretariat)

Possible support of NCEA

www.eia.nl:–EA information

–country profiles (EA regulation)

–case studies

–links to EA sites of multilaterals