Year: 2006
Type: book-review
Abstract: International experience with strategic environmental assessment (SEA), where, when and what is happening with the broad field of SEA around the world, up to October 2004, is what this book is about.Nearly 70 countries and regions, and 12 international organizations have been surveyed, and 54 case studies used to illustrate the practice of SEA around the world.The initial pages of acknowledgements (107 names mentioned), plus the reference to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/ Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC) task team and the UN Environment Program (UNEP) steering group, illustrate well the vast range of people that, through substantial inputs including case studies, review of written materials or simply as sources of data and information, have contributed to the collection, and sometimes preparation, of the materials in this book.The wide coverage of experience and the broadbased concept of SEA are key outstanding aspects in this volume.The book assumes a broad view of SEA practice, embracing its wider aspects, looking at SEA as an holistic approach and an umbrella concept.In doing this, the authors reiterate the idea of SEA as a family of tools, advanced by previous authors in the past decade (for example, Goodland, 1997).Another significant aspect of this book lies in the authors' criticism of the narrow concept of SEA found in EIA-based approaches, a concept that is often associated with the European Union (EU) Directive 2001/42/EC, and the assessment of certain effects of plans and programmers on the environment (also expressed on page 358).Dalal-Clayton and Sadler clearly state "for the time being we are content to live with a relatively open-ended map that is inclusive of a number of routes to the same end, rather than marking only an EIA-recommended highway" (page 358).This book will remain a key record on the status and diversity of forms adopted for SEA before 2004.To use the words of the two authors, the book provides a "broad base empirical review of SEA practice, taking stock of trends and issues in developing and transitional countries and amongst international lending and aid agencies" (page 356).Equally it addresses developed countries' experience.A quick check, however, shows that the emphasis on different countries and regions is rather uneven.This is a consequence of the level of experience with SEA in different countries, but it also reflects leading networks and the higher exposure of certain countries and organizations.Developed countries, development cooperation organizations, transitional countries and developing countries are reviewed in four separate chapters (3 to 6 respectively) each looking at roughly 12 different countries or organizations, except in chapter 6 where 38 developing countries are mentioned at different lengths.Despite its ambitious scope, the clearly expressed intention to look at developing countries, particularly where experience is usually overlooked in the SEA literature, remains rather limited.The amount of information on certain countries is no more than a few lines (for instance, Cameroon, Djibouti, Indonesia, to name just a few).In chapter 6, on developing countries, three countries out of 38 (South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique), take up almost 50% of the whole chapter.Even in the developed world chapter, Denmark and the Netherlands are extensively reviewed, in comparison to remaining
Language: English
Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4256488648