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Module Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
1 In contrast with SoE reporting, an EIA is a tool or framework used to assess environmental impacts of

an activity (Harding 1998). EIA is a process for evaluating possible risks or effects on the environment

of a proposed activity or development. The purpose of an EIA is to inform decision-makers and other
stakeholders of potential environmental impacts, and to suggest ways to reduce or minimize impacts
9-12 December, 2013 given project. Its quality depends on its rigorous application of a systematic approach and the quality
that would arise from proposed activities. An EIA is intended to drive decisions in the context of a

of its science.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

Various users define the term SEA in different ways. According to one commonly referenced, a SEA can
be defined as the systematic and comprehensive process of evaluating at the earliest possible stage, the
environmental effects of a policy, plan or programme and its alternatives (adapted from Thérivel and
Partid?rio 1996).

SEA represents a body of practice and methodology directly relevant to the policy analysis component
of an IEA, but does not explicitly involve the regular reporting requirement. SEA also may focus solely

on a single policy or programme, while an IEA must by definition involve scanning the entire spectrum
of relevant policies. Further, an IEA will single out priority policies for detailed analysis, but also provide
an overview of the entire policy landscape.

The key concept in this comparison is that the SEA process focuses on assessing all types of potential
environmental impacts of proposed policies, plans, or programmes, and seeks to incorporate
environmental considerations into the development of public policies. Its basic function is to facilitate
policy learning and adaptation in an early phase, before policies are formalized, interests are entrenched

and potential significant, irreversible damages occur.

SEA is ideally undertaken before policies, plans, and programmes are put in place. It extends the policy

analysis to alternatives that may be proposed as a result of the assessment process, including impacts
of withdrawing the proposed policy. SEA also considers the environment as part of a system, looking at
impacts on the interface between the environment and socio-economic conditions.

The SEA approach is comprehensive because it broadens the policy target from individual decisions to
the sequence of associated plans and programmes. It identifies and involves all major actors on multiple
scales; it assesses potential direct and indirect impacts; and it considers both short- and long-term
environmental consequences (Pintér, Swanson and Barr 2004).

26 The GEO Approach to Integrated Environmental Assessment