Table 9: Examples of key questi<strong>on</strong>s for identifying key biodiversity issuesMain c<strong>on</strong>cerns related to:Degradati<strong>on</strong> to ecosystemservices(including the impacts <strong>on</strong>the processes that areimportant for creating<strong>and</strong>/or maintainingecosystems)Loss <strong>and</strong> degradati<strong>on</strong> ofhabitats(including the extent orquality of the habitat,protected areas includingNatura 2000 sites, habitatfragmentati<strong>on</strong> or isolati<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong> green infrastructure)Loss of species diversity 23(including speciesprotected under theHabitats <strong>and</strong> BirdsDirectives)Key questi<strong>on</strong>s that could be asked at the screening <strong>and</strong>/or scoping stage of the SEA• Will the proposed PP, either directly or indirectly, lead to serious damage or total loss ofecosystem, or l<strong>and</strong>-use type thus leading to a loss of ecosystem services ofscientific/ecological value, or of cultural value?• Will the PP damage ecosystem processes <strong>and</strong> services, particularly those <strong>on</strong> which localcommunities rely?• Will the PP lead to changes in ecosystem compositi<strong>on</strong>, structure or key processesresp<strong>on</strong>sible for maintaining ecosystems <strong>and</strong> their services in areas providing key services?• Is the PP in any way dependent up<strong>on</strong> ecosystem services?• Can increased supply of ecosystem services c<strong>on</strong>tribute towards the PP's objectives?Processes that are important for the creati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong>/or maintenance of ecosystems:• Will the PP change the food web structure <strong>and</strong> interacti<strong>on</strong>s that shape the flow of energy<strong>and</strong> the distributi<strong>on</strong> of biomass within the relevant ecosystem?• Would the PP result in significant changes to water level, quantity or quality?Would the PP result in significant changes to air quantity or polluti<strong>on</strong>?• Will the PP lead to loss or deteriorati<strong>on</strong> of natural or semi-natural habitats, includinghabitats of Community interest? If so, to what extent; what are the functi<strong>on</strong>s performed bythis habitat; is the damage temporary or permanent <strong>and</strong> what can be d<strong>on</strong>e to minimise theimpact?• If habitats are lost or altered, are alternative habitats available to support associatedspecies?• Are there opportunities to c<strong>on</strong>solidate or c<strong>on</strong>nect habitats?• Will the PP adversely affect protected areas; threatened ecosystems outside protectedareas; migrati<strong>on</strong> corridors identified as being important for ecological or evoluti<strong>on</strong>aryprocesses; areas known to provide important ecosystem services <strong>and</strong> habitats forthreatened species?• Will the PP lead to fragmentati<strong>on</strong> of habitats or areas providing key ecosystem services,e.g. by the creati<strong>on</strong> of linear infrastructure, human settlements, intensive agriculturall<strong>and</strong>s, forest m<strong>on</strong>oculture?• How seriously will this impact <strong>on</strong> the habitats <strong>and</strong> corridors, given that they can be alsoadversely affected by climate change?• Are there opportunities to build or develop green infrastructure as a part of the PP tosupport its n<strong>on</strong>-envir<strong>on</strong>mental goals <strong>and</strong> its envir<strong>on</strong>mental goals (e.g. adaptati<strong>on</strong> toclimate change or increasing c<strong>on</strong>nectivity of protected sites)?• Will the PP have a negative impact, direct or indirect, <strong>on</strong> the species of Community interestlisted in Annex II <strong>and</strong>/or Annex IV or V, in particular, priority species from Annex II 24 of theHabitats Directive or <strong>on</strong> the species covered by the Birds Directive?• Will the PP cause a direct or indirect loss of a populati<strong>on</strong> of a species identified as prioritiesin NBSAPs <strong>and</strong>/or other sub-nati<strong>on</strong>al biodiversity plans?• Will the PP alter the species-richness or species-compositi<strong>on</strong> of habitats in the area?• Will the PP affect the sustainable use of a species populati<strong>on</strong>?• Will the PP exceed the maximum sustainable yield, the carrying capacity of ahabitat/ecosystem or the maximum allowable disturbance level of populati<strong>on</strong>s, orecosystem?• Would the PP increase the risk of invasi<strong>on</strong> by alien species?Loss of genetic diversity 25 • Will the PP result in the extincti<strong>on</strong> of a populati<strong>on</strong> of particularly rare or declining species<strong>and</strong> those with identified as priorities in NBSAPs <strong>and</strong>/or sub-nati<strong>on</strong>al biodiversity plans?• Will the PP cause a local loss of varieties of cultivated plants <strong>and</strong>/or domesticated animals<strong>and</strong> their relatives, genes or genomes of scientific, ecological, or cultural value?• Will the PP result in the fragmentati<strong>on</strong> of a populati<strong>on</strong> leading to (genetic) isolati<strong>on</strong>?23 Definiti<strong>on</strong>: The number <strong>and</strong> variety of species found in a given area in a regi<strong>on</strong> http://www.cbd.int/cepa/toolkit/2008/doc/CBD-Toolkit-Glossaries.pdf.24 Priority species are indicated by an asterisk (*) in Annex II of the Habitats Directive.25 The potential loss of natural genetic diversity (genetic erosi<strong>on</strong>) is extremely difficult to determine, <strong>and</strong> does not provide any practicalclues for formal screening/scoping. The issue probably <strong>on</strong>ly comes up when dealing with highly threatened, legally protected specieswhich are limited in numbers <strong>and</strong>/or have highly separated populati<strong>on</strong>s, or when complete ecosystems become separated <strong>and</strong> the risk ofgenetic erosi<strong>on</strong> applies to many species, COP 6 Decisi<strong>on</strong> VI/7, Annex: Guidelines for incorporating biodiversity-related issues <strong>into</strong>envir<strong>on</strong>mental impact assessment legislati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong>/or process <strong>and</strong> in strategic envir<strong>on</strong>mental impact assessment,http://www.cbd.int/decisi<strong>on</strong>/cop/?id=7181.36 <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
5. How to assess effects related to climate change <strong>and</strong>biodiversity in SEA?This secti<strong>on</strong> gives you specific tips, tools <strong>and</strong> methods for assessing the effects related to climatechange <strong>and</strong> biodiversity throughout the SEA process. It is organised according to the key aspects ofSEA where climate change <strong>and</strong> biodiversity c<strong>on</strong>siderati<strong>on</strong>s have the greatest impact <strong>on</strong> the process.Each sub-secti<strong>on</strong> looks at the practical elements of an SEA where climate change <strong>and</strong> biodiversityc<strong>on</strong>siderati<strong>on</strong>s are most relevant <strong>and</strong> provides examples of techniques that are most helpful. Manyof the approaches <strong>and</strong> techniques suggested can be used at various stages of SEA, not <strong>on</strong>ly the <strong>on</strong>esshown here.This secti<strong>on</strong> supports several stages of the SEA process, particularly, the c<strong>on</strong>siderati<strong>on</strong> ofreas<strong>on</strong>able alternatives, assessment of significant effects <strong>and</strong> identificati<strong>on</strong> of m<strong>on</strong>itoringmeasures.Addressing climate change <strong>and</strong> biodiversity in the SEA process (see Secti<strong>on</strong> 2.3) brings newchallenges for the SEA practiti<strong>on</strong>er. There will be situati<strong>on</strong>s in which the practiti<strong>on</strong>er will have tomake a judgement, preferably in c<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong> with stakeholders, to avoid unnecessarily extendingthe EIA procedure or to leave enough time to properly assess complex informati<strong>on</strong>. Taking apractical, comm<strong>on</strong> sense approach to SEA will sometimes be best.SEA should be used as an opportunity to address the key issues of climate change <strong>and</strong> biodiversity atan early stage, when many opti<strong>on</strong>s are still open. For example, planners should impose restricti<strong>on</strong>s,where appropriate, <strong>on</strong> developments <strong>on</strong> flood plains or areas at risk of flooding, or promote l<strong>and</strong>management to increase water retenti<strong>on</strong> capacity <strong>and</strong> avoid or minimise flood risk at project/EIAlevel.For linear types of projects, such as motorways or railways, it is important to assess the likelysignificant effects at corridor level before looking at individual secti<strong>on</strong>s (EIA level). This makes itpossible to c<strong>on</strong>sider a wide range of locati<strong>on</strong> alternatives <strong>and</strong> select the opti<strong>on</strong> that avoids orminimises significant envir<strong>on</strong>mental effects.5.1 An overview of tools <strong>and</strong> approaches to integrate climate change <strong>and</strong>biodiversity <strong>into</strong> SEAsTable 10 overleaf provides an overview of tools <strong>and</strong> approaches that can be used to help you assessclimate change <strong>and</strong> biodiversity issues during the SEA process. An example of the practicalapplicati<strong>on</strong> of <strong>on</strong>e tool — Critical (Decisi<strong>on</strong>) Factors — is described in the box below.Case study:SEA of Lisb<strong>on</strong> Metropolitan Area Regi<strong>on</strong>al Plan, Portugal — an example of using Critical Decisi<strong>on</strong>Factors <strong>and</strong> close collaborati<strong>on</strong> between plan-makers <strong>and</strong> SEA practiti<strong>on</strong>ersIncorporating biodiversity <strong>and</strong> climate change by using a Critical Decisi<strong>on</strong> Factors approach led to the effectiveintegrati<strong>on</strong> of climate change <strong>and</strong> biodiversity in the Plan. As a result of this <strong>and</strong> the SEA <strong>and</strong> planning teams workingtogether, significant opportunities were recognised <strong>and</strong> adopted, e.g. protecting natural <strong>and</strong> agro-forestry areas,limiting the expansi<strong>on</strong> of urban areas <strong>and</strong> adopting a preliminary regi<strong>on</strong>al strategy for climate change.Source: http://c<strong>on</strong>sulta- protaml.inescporto.pt/plano-regi<strong>on</strong>al (Plan <strong>and</strong> SEA in Portuguese)<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 37