ANSEA- towards an analytical strategic environmental assesment

The European Directive for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of June 2001 will have to be implemented in the Netherlands. Therefore, it is important that European research on strategic environmental assessment is made available throughout the Netherlands.

As a member of a European research consortium, The International Institute for the Urban Environment (IIUE) has developed an approach to rational strategic environmental assessment (in the EC co-financed project "Analytical Strategic Environmental Assessment" or AnSEA)*. The IIUE has adapted this approach to the Dutch situation and presented it to a panel of experts. This report describes a version of AnSEA that is applicable to the Dutch situation and its method and instruments. The Dutch experts commented that certain parts of the AnSEA method are already in use in the Netherlands, but appreciated the AnSEA concept of 'decision window' and considered this to be an added value to the practice of strategic assessment in the Netherlands. Although some experts have doubts about the flexibility of the AnSEA approach (given the dynamics of society and political changes), the opinions were generally positive:

• AnSEA fits within the current social trends.
• AnSEA generates fast and good decision-making; although intensive preparatory work is required, the total amount of work is equal to conventional processes.
• AnSEA clarifies the content of a decision.
• AnSEA clarifies the process of decision-making.
• AnSEA creates social support.

The experts have also recommended that a case study or action research project be carried out in the Netherlands. Such a project should focus on an ex-ante environmental assessment of an urban planning policy, programme or plan (for instance, in the Arnhem-Nijmegen urban agglomeration). The case study should also demonstrate the added value of the decision windows in the practice of environmental assessment procedure.