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What is Strategic Environmental Assessment? |
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The objective of
the SEA Directive is "to provide for a high level of protection of
the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental
considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans and programmes
with a view to promoting sustainable development". These aims are
consistent with the general thrust of Government policies on sustainable
development. The Directive requires environmental assessments to be carried
out for a range of plans and programmes likely to have significant effects
on the environment.
The SEA Directive applies to plans and programmes whose formal preparation begins after 21 July 2004 and also to those which are already in preparation by that date but will not be adopted or submitted to a legislative procedure by 21 July 2006. Although Directive 2001/42 EC is usually referred to as the SEA Directive, it does not make use of the term "strategic environmental assessment" or SEA; rather, it requires an "environmental assessment" of certain plans and programmes. For convenience, the term SEA is used in this consultation document to mean an environmental assessment which complies with the Directive. The Directive defines "environmental assessment" as a procedure comprising:
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