Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into ...
Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into ...
Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into ...
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Engaging proactively with envir<strong>on</strong>mental authorities <strong>and</strong> stakeholders can also help build climatechange mitigati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> adaptati<strong>on</strong> measures <strong>and</strong>/or biodiversity enhancement schemes <strong>into</strong> theproposed PP from the very beginning of planning, <strong>into</strong> all stages of the SEA process (see box below).Envir<strong>on</strong>mental authorities <strong>and</strong> stakeholders will be in positi<strong>on</strong> to give their advice if there are anysignificant <strong>on</strong>going plans that should be taken <strong>into</strong> account, but you may not be aware of, e.g. floodrisks.Case study:River Basin Management Plans, Spain — importance of integrating climate change issues <strong>into</strong> allstages of the SEA process<strong>Climate</strong> change needs to be c<strong>on</strong>sidered c<strong>on</strong>sistently at all stages of the SEA process, particularly in vulnerable areas<strong>and</strong> sectors.This case-study recommends that SEA practiti<strong>on</strong>ers clearly define mechanisms or instruments to integrate climatechange issues <strong>into</strong> the planning process. Proposed alternative measures need to be designed <strong>on</strong> the basis of anintegrated approach, <strong>and</strong> explicitly account for climate change-related uncertainty.Source: IAIA (Paper <strong>and</strong> presentati<strong>on</strong>: SEA of Spanish river basin plans <strong>and</strong> climate change: A checklist study)The breadth of sectors <strong>and</strong> stakeholders involved in climate change complicates the process ofc<strong>on</strong>sulting the correct authorities <strong>and</strong> stakeholders when carrying out SEAs, especially for PPs at thenati<strong>on</strong>al level. The SEA Directive requires early <strong>and</strong> effective c<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong> with authorities with‘specific envir<strong>on</strong>mental resp<strong>on</strong>sibilities’ <strong>and</strong> the public affected or likely to be affected by, or havingan interest in, the decisi<strong>on</strong>-making related to the PP in questi<strong>on</strong>, including n<strong>on</strong>-governmentalorganisati<strong>on</strong>s, such as those promoting envir<strong>on</strong>mental protecti<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> other organisati<strong>on</strong>s c<strong>on</strong>cerned(Article 6). These authorities are typically defined by the MSs as ministries or specialisedenvir<strong>on</strong>mental agencies at different levels (nati<strong>on</strong>al/regi<strong>on</strong>al/local), but climate change issuestypically require a different <strong>and</strong> often broader perspective, including authorities resp<strong>on</strong>sible forenergy, transport, water management, health <strong>and</strong> ec<strong>on</strong>omic sectors.Again, SEAs can help PP authorities <strong>and</strong> experts to better define the range of authorities <strong>and</strong>stakeholders that need to be part of climate change-related decisi<strong>on</strong> making, <strong>and</strong> to get theminvolved early in scoping the key issues. SEAs also have a role to play in building c<strong>on</strong>sensus overl<strong>on</strong>ger-term scenarios <strong>and</strong> alternatives.A series of key questi<strong>on</strong>s can be used as a starting point to help identify which aspects of climatechange <strong>and</strong> biodiversity are the most relevant — the headline c<strong>on</strong>cerns are listed in Table 6 overleaf.The secti<strong>on</strong>s below provide sets of questi<strong>on</strong>s <strong>and</strong> issues to help you c<strong>on</strong>sider which are the mostrelevant in any situati<strong>on</strong>. Note that envir<strong>on</strong>mental authorities <strong>and</strong> stakeholders may identify otherkey c<strong>on</strong>cerns, such as the interacti<strong>on</strong>s between issues in different columns in Table 6 (e.g. measuresto meet low-carb<strong>on</strong> energy dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> their impacts <strong>on</strong> habitat fragmentati<strong>on</strong>), <strong>and</strong> interacti<strong>on</strong>swith other envir<strong>on</strong>mental issues such as water, waste <strong>and</strong> air. As discussed in Secti<strong>on</strong> 3, it isimportant to c<strong>on</strong>sider the interacti<strong>on</strong>s <strong>and</strong> the potential synergies <strong>and</strong> c<strong>on</strong>flicts betweenenvir<strong>on</strong>mental issues as part of the SEA process.<str<strong>on</strong>g>Guidance</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> integrating climate change <strong>and</strong> biodiversity <strong>into</strong> SEA 31