Theory versus practice in Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

Lobos, Víctor; Partidário, Maria Rosário

doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2014.04.004

Cited by 109 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…These conditions affect the management and the policy organisation, favouring reactive approaches to natural resource management rather than proactive ones. Lobos and Partidário (2014) observe these struggles affect the shift towards constructive approaches to SEA.…”

Section: 41mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The uncertainty around this tool feeds the debate on its methodology and effectiveness (Fundingsland Tetlow & Hanusch 2012), and the investigation of the unsolved issues that are limiting its successful implementation (Verheem & Tonk 2000;Bina 2007;Lobos & Partidário 2014;Bidstrup & Hansen 2014). Commenting on the multitude of SEA forms currently existing around the world, Dalal-Clayton and Sadler suggest, "[a]t present there is anything but clarity.…”

Section: The Research Background/rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although international and national organisations have provided guidance for SEA development and implementation, the current scenario around SEA appears uncertain (Fischer & Onyango 2012;White & Noble 2013;Lobos & Partidário 2014). This affects the evaluation of previous experiences on SEA, and the definition of how to improve SEA efficacy bridging the divide between theory and practice (Noble et al 2012;Pope et al 2013;Dalal-Clayton & Sadler 2014).…”

Section: The Research Background/rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In terms of SEA, many authors outline the importance of instructing the characters involved in the process (notably Brown & Thérivel 2000;Sadler & Verheem 1996;Sadler 1996;Thérivel 2004) (Leung et al 2015;Lobos & Partidário 2014). The related development of guidelines seems still far from reaching satisfactory results that could be attained with wider and more structured involvement of SEA designers and developers (Noble et al 2012).…”

Section: Sea Capacity Building and Policy-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Partidário (1996) suggests this strategic approach develops in parallel with the process of SEA and the formation of strategies, "working through problem based learning and policy design to flexibly respond to problems" (Partidário 2015). As the first two models of SEA still seem the most common on a global scale (Lobos & Partidário 2014), scholars might facilitate this transition by accepting and spreading the idea that strategic SEA is influenced by decision-making and it therefore has to be adaptable to changing decision contexts (Partidário 2015). This adaptation should both address the current shifts to strategic SEA in support of decision-making, and increase SEA adaptability for future changes related to varying social, political and institutional frameworks influencing policy-making and decision-making.…”

Section: 4mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A limits-oriented approach to sustainable planning assessments: a comparative analysis of South East Queensland (Australia) and Lombardia (Italy)

Baresi¹

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Sustainable development is one of the key issues facing human survival on this planet. The urban planning discipline is actively involved in fostering more feasible ways to structure human activities and their relationship with the global ecosystem's finite resources. Since sustainability has become a major issue for human kind, sustainability assessments have proliferated in different ways to integrate socio-economic prosperity and provide environmental safeguards. In theory, these assessments can contribute towards addressing the increasing threats posed by climate change and by the depletion of natural resources, by building consensus around shared strategies involving a wide range of stakeholders to address national and international sustainable development goals. In practice however, sustainability assessments are undermined by problems associated with first the policy-making processes (for example, stakeholders' involvement) and second the measurement of the impacts of policies, plans and programs (such as the definition and computation of sustainability indicators). These issues weaken community trust in sustainability assessments and reduce their efficacy. Critical research is required to explore viable solutions.The main goal of this thesis is to address the shortcomings of current procedures for sustainability assessment. A comparative case study explores differences and similarities between an Australian region (South East Queensland) and an Italian region (Lombardia), which are representative of different institutional and planning backgrounds. Methodologically, this thesis develops and applies a framework to understand how limitations within political and societal processes prevent the achievement of environmentally sustainable planning. This framework combines a 'limits-oriented approach to evolutionary ecology' (Sih & Gleeson 1995) transposed to governance and policy-making processes, and the need to pursue a sustainable use of finite natural resources as suggested by positions addressing the 'limits to growth' by Meadows et al. (1972).Overall, this thesis develops an approach to diagnose current obstacles that need to be overcome and the pathway for achieving institutionalised limits-oriented approaches for improving procedures of sustainability assessment. This 'limits-oriented' framework outlines the benefits that South East Queensland and Lombardia can achieve by optimising current practices for sustainable planning within their regional contexts. This approach explores the limiting traits that undermine the performance of sustainability assessments, and proposes ways to bridge the gaps that separate their theoretical conceptualisation from their practical implementation.The framework developed and tested through this thesis offers an analytical lens to examine how the assessment of sustainable planning is currently featured in different institutional contexts. Its experimental implementation in countries with different planning traditions provides an insight on iii how to overcome iss...

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Section: 41mentioning

confidence: 99%