Box 1: Environmental assessment and the landscape approach The landscape approach and environmental assessment complement each other in several ways: • Environmental assessment is mandatory for projects (ESIA) in almost all countries around the world, and a growing number of countries are making it mandatory for strategic decisions on plans, policies and programmes (SEA). The landscape approach is usually voluntary. • Environmental assessment is intrinsically linked to formal decision making: the granting of a project licence requires ESIA, and the adoption of a plan, policy or programme requires SEA. As such, environmental assessment complements the landscape approach by giving decisions a strong legal basis. • The landscape approach promotes multi-stakeholder engagement in decision making. ESIA and SEA can strengthen this as they are often the only formal processes for which public participation is statutorily required. Also, they often require that documents produced in the process are made public, thereby allowing effective participation. • An important step in both ESIA and SEA is the development and equitable comparison of alternatives. This allows the best option to be selected for a project or plan, given the economic, environmental and social considerations expressed by the different stakeholders. gether around strategic-level decisions on plans, policies or programmes, may also be instrumental in implementing the multi-stakeholder approach. This approach is promoted in the SRJS programme and in dialogues facilitated between CSOs, government and private sector parties. Being an impartial tool linked to formal decision making, SEA brings clear added value to the landscape approach (see box 1). Why the NCEA? According to Cas Besselink, SRJS coordinator at IUCN-NL: “The NCEA’s independence and professionalism makes them a credible player to government, non-government and businesses. They have an overall vision of the instrument that others would not have. Their position opens doors, brings other institutions to the table, and as such gives the entire SRJS programme more impact.” The NCEA has achieved this position over 25 years by being an independent adviser on ESIA and SEA for complex projects and plans, working in response to demand and at the request of government authorities. In addition, over the last 40 The NCEA’s Views and Experiences 2018
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