Henrieta Martonakova ( henrieta.martonakova@undp )

Strategic Environmental Assessment for Environmental Mainstreaming Henrieta Martonakova(henrieta.martonakova@undp.org)

Presentation Outline • Brief introduction to SEA • Latest developments • - in region • - UNDP • SEA and Biodiversity • SEA and Adaptation to Climate Change

SEA = Range of analytical and participatory approaches to integrate environmental considerations into policy, plans and programmes and evaluate the inter linkages with economic and social considerations (OECD, 2006) • not a single, fixed and prescriptive approach • largely principle-based • continuous, iterative and adaptive • applied throughout the entire decision-making process • focused on strengthening institution and governance • adapted and tailor made

SEA is not • An approach for mainly developing environmental strategies, programmes and action plans, but ratherfor developing area based and sectoral plans, which take account of the objectives formulated in environmental strategies, programmes, etc. • A responsibility of the environmental ministries and authorities but rather ofsectoral ministries and authorities responsible for area strategic development (regional government, municipality, etc.)

Strategic Environmental Assessment Policy Plan Programme Environmental Impact Assessment Projects SEA: Up-streaming environmental considerations into the decision-making hierarchy Source: OECD. 2006. Applying Strategic Environmental Assessment: Good practice Guidance for Development Co-operation.

Key entry points for SEA in country development processes Source: OECD. 2006. Applying Strategic Environmental Assessment: Good practice Guidance for Development Co-operation.

SEA is effective if: • Integrates environment in a cross-cutting manner to other sectors • Address broader social concerns – is not only environment • Is a process integrated within the broader strategic national development planning process • Is adapted to national government specificities, and ensures capacity needs assessment and capacity building • Encourages broad and effective participation to ensure local ownership and innovation in the SEA process • Is reliable and relevant • includes economic and financial analysis of costs and benefits of policy measures

SEA in Europe and the CIS region • EC SEA directive: in force from July 2004 • UNECE SEA Protocol: • - Signed by EU and SEE countries, Armenia, Georgia, • Moldova Ukraine • Ratified by Albania, Bulgaria and Czech Republic (in ECIS • region) • Accession indicated by: Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan

Belgrade SEA Initiative • Invited to be adopted by the Belgrade conference by Armenia, Belarus and Moldova • Main objective – to support capacity development in EECCA • Priority actions related to Protocol implementation issues in EECCA: • Development of effective SEA procedures • National transposition of the Protocol requirements • Development of appropriate SEA guidelines • Developing necessary capacities for SEA • Evaluating SEA processes • Explaining benefits of SEA to decision-makers UNDP, UNECE and REC partnership: • Initiating the ‘Belgrade SEA Strategy’ • Organizing the' SEA side event’ at the Belgrade conference

OECD DAC Guidelines and Reference Series: Strategic Environmental Assessment Applications in Development Co-operation • Produced by the OECD DAC Network on Environment and Development Co-operation Task Team on Strategic Environmental Assessment. • Task Team co-chaired by UNDP and Department for International Development (DfID), with over 25 partners • Task Team received 2006 International Association for Impact Assessment Institutional Award for aid agency cooperation.

UNDP SEA Implementation Plan • ….supporting UNDP environmental mainstreaming agenda • Outcomes: • Supporting SEA application in development and implementation of (MDG-based) national and sub-national development strategies, policies, plans and programmes • Supporting SEA application for integrating environment and energy aspect into the UN and UNDP programming • Capacity development for SEA implementation both in countries of the region and within UNDP staff

UNDP comparative advantage for SEA support • Long and strong tradition in working with national and local governments since they are responsible for applying SEA in development of national and sub-national strategic documents; • Wide and well established environmental portfolio (referring to GEF in particular) creating opportunities and entry points for SEA application on one hand and providing good substantive input for analytical part of the SEA process (needs assessment, impact assessment, etc.) on the other hand; • Strong involvement of UNDP in the framework national and regional development programming (e.g. UNDP Crimea Integration and Development Programme and UNDP Upper Drina Regional Development Programme);

BRC SEA Focus • Support to the ‘Belgrade SEA Initiative’ implementation • Capacity development for SEA application in the countries as well as within UNDP: • Regional SEA training for trainers (South Caucasus and EE) • On-line SEA training for UNDP staff under development • SEA pilot projects: Azerbaijan (spatial planning); Crimea (regional development strategy preparation) • Awareness raising on SEA benefits and potential, and on entry points for its application; • Capacity development of COs in SEA application (training, fact sheets, guidelines); • Identification of potential national SEA interventions / projects and their implementation • Resource mobilization for national SEA interventions / projects and their implementation

Areas for COs support: • Awareness raising on SEA benefits and potential, and on entry points for its application; • Capacity development of COs in SEA application (training, fact sheets, guidelines); • Identification of potential national SEA interventions / projects and their implementation • Resource mobilization for national SEA interventions / projects and their implementation

SEA for mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change

SEA for Mainstreaming Adaptation to CC • Draws upon guidance in the Adaptation Policy Frameworks for Climate Change (APF) and in the OECD DAC Guidance on SEA • Objective: • To support national development priorities through • improved policies, plans and/or programmes. • support climate change adaptation mainstreaming • leverage SEA frameworks in place

Rationale for SEA and APF combination • SEA supports the integration of adaptation measures and strategies simultaneously with other environment concerns national and sub-national development and sectoral strategies, policies, plans and programmes; • More systematic consideration of climate change adaptation in strategic development planning processes as SEA is supported / required by national and even international legislation in many countries, expanding the usership of the APF • APF strengthens SEA by providing the explicit steps necessary for integrating future climate change risks and adaptation into the SEA process, helping to ensure that development policies and plans do not increase risks to the target system in the long term

SEA: basic stages Establishing the context for the SEA: - Screening - Setting objectives - Identifying stakeholders 2. Implementing the SEA - Scoping (in dialogue with stakeholders) - Colleting baseline data - Identifying alternatives - Identifying how to enhance opportunities and mitigate impacts - Quality assurance - Reporting 3. Informing and influencing decision-making - Making recommendations (in dialogue with stakeholders) 4. Monitoring and evaluating - Monitoring decisions taken on the policy, plan or programme - Monitoring implementation of the policy, plan or programme - Evaluation of both SEA and the policy, plan or programme Source: OECD. 2006. Applying Strategic Environmental Assessment: Good practice Guidance for Development Co-operation.

SEA approach for adaptation mainstreaming- examples of adaptation-related questions for each SEA stage • Stage 1: Establish the context for the approach • What development objective(s) or outcome(s) are sought? • Are the objectives in line with national environmental • objectives and sustainable development policies? • What kind of information is available on environmental • challenges, climate change vulnerability and projected • impacts, and what does the information suggest? • On which time horizon are climate change risks expected? • Who are the stakeholders and how should they be engaged • in the SEA approach to Adaptation? • Is there a need for institutional strengthening and capacity building • on the SEA approach to Adaptation?

SEA approach for adaptation mainstreaming- examples of adaptation-related questions for each SEA stage • Stage 2: Implement the approach • What are the relevant criteria and indicators for the assessment? • What methods should be used to assess future vulnerability and • adaptation needs, characterize future climate-related risks, etc.? • What impacts will climate change likely have on the effectiveness • of the policy, plan and programme, and the target population? • What impacts will the policy, plan or programme have on • environmental sustainability and development outcomes? • What responses (options) would reduce climate risks impacts • and improve development outcomes? • What are the barriers, costs, and impacts of those options? • Are the views of stakeholders being included in the process?

SEA approach for adaptation mainstreaming- examples of adaptation-related questions for each SEA stage • Stage 3: Inform and influence decision-making • What are the main conclusions on adaptive measures? • Are there adequate mechanisms for these to be reflected in the • policy and decision-making process? • Are financial resources sufficient to implement the activities • identified as needed to ensure sustainability and other • development outcomes? • Stage 4: Monitor and evaluate • What is the strategy for reviewing, monitoring and evaluating • impacts? • What indicators will be used for monitoring? How will they be • tracked?

SEA may be applied for mainstreaming adaptation in case of: • Applying adaptation at national, sub-national and sectoral level (not at the project level); • Countries having legal obligations to apply SEA • Countries developing capacity for SEA application by implementing SEA pilot projects

Next steps for completing combined SEA – APF approach • Identify pilot projects for testing the approach • Revise the SEA approach to Adaptation methodology based on the gained experience • Publish and disseminate the SEA approach to Adaptation guidance, case studies, • Organize training • Draft technical paper on merging SEA and APF is available at EEG Staff Work Space: • http://content.undp.org/go/bdp/eeg/Strategic-Environmental-Assessment

SEA for Mainstreaming Biodiversity

Overall objective of SEA • To ensure that the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is pursued as a fundamental objective of strategic decision-making. • To both advocate, to raise awareness of biodiversity issues, and to facilitate integration with environmental, social and economic considerations

Biodiversity “triggers” for SEA • Attention required when: • area affected by a policy, plan or programme known to provide one or more important ecosystem services • policy, plan or programme concerned with interventions producing direct drivers of change • policy, plan or programme concerned with interventions affecting indirect drivers of change (e.g. trade policy, poverty reduction strategy, tax measures)

Examples of plans likely to require biodiversity considerations • Poverty Reduction Strategies • National Park Management Plans • Offshore oil and gas licensing plans • Catchments or watershed management plans • Waste Management Plans • National or regional development plans • Sectoral development plans, e.g. for mining, tourism, transport, water resource management, farming, forestry • Integrated coastal zone management plans • Housing strategies

SEA has a mean to: • build biodiversity objectives into plan development; • provide an opportunity for those with an interest in, and responsibility for, • biodiversity to influence plan-development; • identify biodiversity-friendly alternatives; • focus on the longer term and larger scales; • consider all the threats affecting biodiversity in an area, enabling identification • and assessment of cumulative threats and impacts; • suggest effective mitigation strategies to ensure no net loss of biodiversity • throughout the development and implementation of plans, allowing sufficient • ‘lead-time’ to ensure that effective mitigation can be put in place; • establish monitoring to provide necessary biodiversity data and to enable • remedial measures to be taken.

SEA and the Convention on Biological Diversity • SEA = requirement of the Convention (article 14, par. 1b): “Each Contracting Party, as far as possible and as appropriate, shall introduce appropriate arrangements to ensure that the environmental consequences of its programmes and policies that are likely to have significant adverse impacts on biological diversity are duly taken into account” • Response to this requirement = Voluntary Guidelines on Biodiversity-Inclusive Impact Assessment

Examples of biodiversity-related questions for each SEA stage • Establishing the context for the SEA: • Is the plan likely to have a significant effect on biodiversity? • What are relevant environmental / biodiversity policies and objectives and does the plan conflict with any of these? • Which biodiversity experts need to be involved? • 2. Implementing the SEA • What are the main biodiversity implications of the plan and its proposed • activities? • Do existing objectives for biodiversity incorporate all important biodiversity • interests relevant to this plan? • What data on biodiversity exist and who holds them? Are there additional data requirements to understand biodiversity impacts? • What are impacts on biodiversity associated with this plan and • alternatives? • What opportunities are there for avoiding impacts on biodiversity?

Examples of biodiversity-related questions for each SEA stage • 3. Informing and influencing decision-making • Has consultation influenced the content and direction of the plan to benefit biodiversity interests? • 4. Monitoring and evaluating • What indicators/measures are to be used as a basis for monitoring biodiversity issues and who will be responsible for data collection? • Is there a high level of uncertainty about predicted impacts or plan outcomes for biodiversity? If so, recommend monitoring to reduce uncertainty.

Sources • Information on SEA and EIA for biodiversity, including case studies can be found in the Toolkitfor • ‘Capacity Building for Biodiversity-inclusive Impact Assessment’ • at • http://www3.webng.com/jerbarker/home/eia toolkit/overall/home.html

Voluntary Guidelines on Biodiversity-Inclusive Impact Assessment • Endorsed by the eight meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in Curitiba, Brazil (20-31 March 2006) • Developed from initial applications of SEA and from initial practice lessons • Guidance on whether, when and how to consider biodiversity in both project- and strategic-level environmental assessments • Consider SEA as an approach for “improving integration of national biodiversity strategy and action plans and national development strategies” and “promote the establishment of clear conservation targets through national biodiversity strategy and action plan process”

Henrieta Martonakova ( henrieta.martonakova@undp )