Strategic Environmental Assessment in International and European Law: A Practitioner's Guide

Description

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a regulatory requirement for development across Europe, North America, Australasia and elsewhere, yet understanding the legal aspects is challenging. This comprehensive guide provides that understanding in a clear and straightforward way. The introduction considers SEA and the law, explaining what SEA is, why it is needed, how it works and why it is required, as well as examining the role of the law. Part One provides an overview of international law, environmental impact assessment (EIA) and international law, including treaties, customary international law and 'soft law' relevant to SEA. It analyses the Kiev SEA Protocol and related UNECE conventions, the Espoo Convention on EIA in a Transboundary Context and the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. It also analyses the role of SEA in conservation conventions. Part Two considers how the European legal system works, including an overview of the current status of European law. It examines the EIA Directive and SEA Directive together with other relevant directives and regulations, such as the Habitats and Wild Birds Directives, the Water Framework Directive, the Public Participation for Plans and Programmes Directive, and the Structural Funds Regulations. Finally the volume draws conclusions about the relationship and comparisons between international and European law generally, and in regulating SEA.

Simon Marsden is Associate Professor at the School of Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

'It is so interesting that I just skipped all other work and started to read ... I can only praise the way [the author has] been able to make difficult issues understandable.' Dr Timo Koivurova, co-editor of Theory and Practice of Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment 'A comprehensive overview on the basis of quite a serious amount of literature (including very recent publications). The book offers a lot of information, and is presented in a clear way.' Mr Jan de Mulder, chair of the Law Section IAIA 'I am very impressed! The author has done a tremendous job.' Dr Thomas Fischer, Reader in the Department of Civic Design, University of Liverpool 'Simon Marsden's comprehensive examination of strategic environmental assessment is a significant contribution to the literature which, even though focused on European law, provides important insights for the development of strategic initiatives in any jurisdiction.' Mr Gerard Early, Australian Government Department of the Environment 'Makes an important contribution to the literature on SEA by drawing on and integrating international and European jurisprudence and scholarship, as well as the policy science literature on SEA and environmental assessment. The result is a rich analysis that provides environmental assessment professionals with an overview of the legal context in which assessments are carried out, while also providing lawyers with valuable insights into the operation of SEA in policy formulation both within and beyond the state.' Dr Neil Craik, author of The International Law of Environmental Impact Assessment 'Excellent... Marsden has brought together in a clear and systematic way the disparate and overlapping European provisions on EA matters and the SEA provisions in European and international law. Because of this, I believe this text will be an excellent resource for scholars in a wide range of subject areas and for practitioners operating within the European and international legal framework.' Town Planning Review 'This book offers a good mixture of rather introductory legal information and specific, mostly SEA-related analysis of international and European environmental law.' Jan De Mulder, RECIEL.