EIA vs SEA: Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Assessment
EIA and SEA: A Comparison
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an administrative legal process that begins with the presentation of a summary report by the developer. It continues with consultations for people and institutions by the environmental agency, followed by the completion of an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) by the promoter and its presentation to the body. It extends into a public participation process and concludes with the issuance of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by the Environmental Authority. It is an administrative procedure to identify, manage, and interpret the environmental impacts that a project will produce in its environment if implemented, so that the competent authorities may accept, reject, or modify it.
The EIA is always specific to a project, as defined by its particular situation, such as the type of work, materials to be used, construction procedures, maintenance work in the operational stage, technologies used, and inputs.
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) allows us to overcome the scale of individual study to go global.
SEA: Strategic Environmental Assessment
SEA is the prevention of environmental damage before making decisions on construction projects. It occurs when authorities are planning actions in the field of road infrastructure, rail, agriculture, livestock, energy, water, and urban planning, among other sectors, including tourism.
The designation of strategic is because studies and analysis of environmental impacts are conducted during the planning process to preserve natural resources and ensure sustainable development. The idea is that at the time of planning—plans and programs—made by the government to meet social needs (in transportation, urban development (tourism), water, energy, etc.) environmental issues are prioritized, and decisions are made on what should be done to protect the population, biodiversity, human health, flora, fauna, water, climate and air quality, heritage, and landscape.
The tourism sector, which can impact fragile ecosystems (islands, coasts, mountains, historic sites, special protection from their biological significance, archaeological and historical sites), requires special protection from the negative impact of man. EIA will not be enough (i.e., on the particular project) but will require SEA to analyze the environmental impact (positive or negative) beyond the individual project in question.
Are They Additional?
Yes, they are. The environmental assessment technique is an additional tool with regard to spatial planning, to achieve the goal of sustainability by taking into account the regional impact that a proposed joint plan may involve. This would involve the analysis of synergistic or cumulative environmental impacts of policies, plans, and programs that can bring advanced conditions that must be incorporated into specific actions.
Mostly, an SEA is executed before the corresponding EIA is undertaken. This means that information about the environmental impact of a plan may go down “cascade” through the various levels of decision-making and be used in an EIA at a later stage.
This complementarity is defined clearly by referring to the importance of using a single operation to serve two purposes.