Policy Sea : Conceptual Model and Operational Guidance for Applying Strategic Environmental Assessment in Sector Reform

Abstract

Around the world, it is increasingly being recognized that for sustainability goals to be reached, efforts need to go beyond compliance with standards and mitigation of adverse impacts, to identifying environmental sustainability as an objective of the development process. This requires a focus on policies that promote integration of environmental, sustainability, and climate change considerations into development strategies and sector reform. Because sector reform brings about significant policy change involving adjustments in laws, policies, regulations and institutions, it is a sensitive political process often driven by strong economic interests. Policy makers are subject to a number of political pressures that originate in vested interests. In situations such as these, the recommendations of environmental assessment are often of little relevance unless there are constituencies that support them, and with sufficient political power to make their voices heard in the policy process. While strong constituencies are important during the design of sector reform, they are even more important during implementation. It follows that effective environmental assessment in sector reform requires strong constituencies backing up recommendations, a system to hold policy makers accountable for their decisions, and institutions that can balance competing and, sometimes, conflicting interests.