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The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a process aimed at integrating environmental considerations into development plans and programs, to improve overall decision-making quality according to Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001; d.lgs. n. 152/2006; Dgr n. 791 of March, 31st 2009. 

In particular, the main objective of the SEA is to assess the environmental effects of plans or programs, before their approval (ex ante), during and at the end of their period of validity (in-itinere, ex post). This serves, above all, to make up for the shortcomings of other partial environmental assessment procedures, introducing the examination of environmental aspects already in the strategic phase that precedes the design and construction of the works. Other objectives of the SEA concern both the improvement of information provided to people and the promotion of public participation in planning-programming processes.

 

Main steps of the SEA procedure:

  • Preparatory phase
  • Phase 1: preliminary report design and of the preliminary environmental report
  • Phase 2: consultation with relevant environmental actors and SEA Commission  
  • Phase 3: design of a Programme proposal and of environmental report proposal  
  • Phase 4: adoption 
  • Phase  5: consultation and participation
  • Phase 6: reasoned opinion 
  • Phase 7: approval

 

SEA monitoring system

The purpose of the environmental monitoring system (according to Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001; d.lgs. n. 152/2006; Dgr n. 791 of March, 31st 2009; and to the 2014-2020 Italy-Croatia Environmental report) is to promptly detect the main environmental effects resulting from the implementation of the Program, possibly including negative ones. 

Following the suggestions of the Environmental Report, the Managing Authority has activated an environmental monitoring group that has collected the data with the collaboration of the Joint Secretariat (hereinafter: JS) of the Program. In particular, the MA has overall responsibility for the establishment and operation of the environmental monitoring system and governs the data entered in the Program monitoring system, while the JS is responsible for the collection of qualitative data that emerge from the projects through the activities of project managers. The external expert in charge of the intermediate evaluation of the Program collaborates with the environmental monitoring group.

 

The Environmental Report suggested monitoring the progress of the Program from an environmental point of view through three categories of indicators:

descriptive (or contextual) environmental indicators relating to the general context, for which the initial state was measured and for which, through monitoring, it is intended to capture any changes attributable to the implementation of the Program;

environmental indicators of result / output, which measure the implementation of the Program in its environmental dimension, allowing to quantify its Impact. These indicators were selected by the Program during its writing phase and are monitored by the Managing Authority as the funded projects begin to produce their results / outputs, as indicated in the funding application;

environmental performance indicators relating to the actual contribution of the Program and therefore to its Pressure towards environmental objectives. These indicators were chosen during the drafting of this document to provide an overall and more descriptive reading, starting in any case from the elements available at the level of the result / output indicator.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL AND MONITORING REPORTS