SEA IN THE CONTEXT OF LANDTUSE PLANNING

planning theory in respect of environmental assessment relates to the relevance of publiceducation, involvement and shared decision-making as well as the need for fair dialogues andeffective communication, which are recurrent themes in EIA literature (Lawrence 2000).Regarding the academic discussion of SEA, some argue that the recent debates in theEnvironmental Assessment literature echo the shift in planning in the 1990s, i.e. representinga turn from instrumental rationality to communicative planning theories (Richardson 2005).However, it can hardly be argued that a shift towards applying communicative planning as atheoretical basis for SEA is universally accepted. Among the critics of communicativerationality is Fischer (2003) who argues that the quest for increased flexibility and for thegreater adaptability of SEA to the planning process can become the means to an end, thusundercutting the underlying rationale behind Environmental Assessment and the mainreasons for conducting SEA in the first place.The starting point for this research is the proposition that there are differences in theway that the SEA directive is introduced to the legal framework for planning in differentEuropean countries. Furthermore, that the countries’ national planning contexts have a majoreffect on the way that SEA is perceived and the way it will be applied. This includes that thereare differences in the perceptions of what sort of tool SEA is or could be, how it is integratedinto existing process and what effects it could have on current practice. A sound knowledgebase of the context into which SEA is introduced is therefore of crucial importance for theprocess and includes both institutional and procedural factors, as well as the cultural aspectsthat can determine planning outcomes. Furthermore, the outcome of the SEA application islargely dependent upon the proficiency and capacity of existing decision-making processes.This supposition is supported by SEA scholars. Jones et al (2005:10) state in relation to SEAand land use planning that: “Every SEA and land use planning system is unique and each is the productof a particular set of legal, administrative and political circumstances”. In order to prognosticate on theeffect of the implementation of the EU directive 2001/42/EC, improved knowledge istherefore needed on the specific planning context to which SEA is being introduced. Thisincludes the establishment of a body of systematic knowledge on existing SEA practice andon environmental integration in land use planning, as well as on the legal and institutionalframework. Hildén at al (2004) emphasise the bearing of the different views on planning onthe role of environmental assessment:“Different view of planning lead to very different interpretations of what the assessment can and shouldbe about, what they should deliver and whether SEA as a whole is a justified mean” (Hildén et al2004).On the basis of the literature review, of which the main findings have been presented, theattention is shifted to the actual experience of introducing SEA to the legal system in threecountries affected by the EU directive 2001/42/EC. Furthermore, the spatial planningframework to which SEA is introduced is described. On the basis of a review of the tangibleexperience of introducing the SEA directive, the influence of the national context on thepotential impact of SEA on the planning system and hence fulfilling its objectives ofenvironmental integration and promoting sustainable development can be discussed.41