Paola Gazzola

Effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment - the significance of learning

Learning, particularly transformative learning, is an established feature of environmental planning, management and assessment. Nevertheless, very often it loses its prominence both as a process and as a goal. This paper explores the extent to which strategic environmental assessment (SEA) can facilitate learning at an organisational and individual level, and ultimately, achieve effectiveness. It is based on the assumption that SEA effectiveness can be achieved if policy, programme and plan-making are oriented towards both the continuous improvement of decision-making and the associated implementation processes. Set within the context of the European SEA Directive, the learning dimension of SEA is explored in Germany, Italy and the UK. This is done through a framework for analysis based on a review of the organisational and individual learning literatures. The research indicates that, owing to their unique contextual and methodological influences, the three countries developed distinct approaches to SEA, with differences in the skills and knowledge needed to improve its learning outcomes. Based on the research findings, the paper identifies what further research is needed to improve SEAs learning outcomes and achieve more effective SEA practice.

Enhancing environmental appraisal effectiveness: Towards an understanding of internal context conditions in organisational learning

Part of a wider comparative European research project on developing the learning potential of appraisal in spatial planning in the UK, Germany and Italy, this paper aims to explore whether context conditions can facilitate internal organisational reforms and changes, trigger appraisal effectiveness, and facilitate organisational learning. The discussion comprises a synthesis of the environmental appraisal and organisational learning literatures and illustrates the relevance and applicability of this body of work for wider planning practice through an examination of the Comune of Ravenna, Italy. The insights from the case study suggest that sensitivity to internal context conditions is critical to understanding the capacity for organisations to learn, and illustrates how the potential for learning might exist if an organisation is open to nurturing it.

WHAT APPEARS TO MAKE SEA EFFECTIVE IN DIFFERENT PLANNING SYSTEMS

If Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is to develop into an effective decision support instrument globally, then it should not just rely only on the input provided by a selected group of countries. In this context, the understanding of how to apply SEA effectively in different planning systems is unlikely to improve if the knowledge about those systems is limited. This paper establishes what appears to make SEA effective in two countries with different planning systems: Italy and the UK. Italy is chosen as an example, representing a specific Southern-European planning culture, which to date has not contributed to the SEA literature to any great extent. Based on empirical observations, it is suggested that the SEA effectiveness elements portrayed in the international literature are not fully valid. The UK is chosen as an example, which represents a specific Northern-European planning culture. Countries representing this planning culture have contributed heavily to the international SEA literature and have influenced the development of SEA theory strongly. In this context, the SEA effectiveness elements and benefits portrayed in the international literature appear to be valid.As part of a PhD research project, this paper builds on the findings of a content analysis of the international SEA literature (Fischer and Gazzola, 2006).

Trends in education in environmental assessment: a comparative analysis of European EA-related Master programmes

The international take-up and rapid development of environmental assessment (EA) systems has been driven by the introduction of EA legal requirements and by the advancement of methodological aspects published in the EA literature. However, despite the existence of common legal frameworks and methodological guidelines, the way in which EA is practised and conceived within a multidisciplinary context varies. There are a range of interpretations defining the way in which EA should be used and how EA fits within different disciplines; in Europe, this variation is reflected in the formative and educational programmes offered by universities in EU Member States. This paper identifies existing trends in EA education by providing an overview of the ways in which EA is taught in Europe. A comparative analysis of 64 EA-related Master programmes representing nine EU Member States is conducted. Furthermore, the paper aims to set the basis for a discussion on the different social science and physical science understandings of EA revealed by the research findings. We recommend that interlinkages between these two understandings be improved and suggest that this could occur through the introduction of formal EA education, enhanced collaboration between different types of departments, and holistic approaches to teaching and learning.

Internationalisation and Standardisation of European Environmental Assessment. Relevance to India.

This paper discusses the rationale underlying ‘PENTA’, an EU funded Erasmus Mundus project. In doing so, it explores the challenges of internationalising and standardising European environmental assessment (EA) practice and education to a third country audience, looking at India as a case study. It is argued that the EU EA Directives are influencing the development of EA systems internationally, leading to a standardisation of the way in which EA is practiced. The so‐called Bologna process is especially playing a crucial role in leading to the standardisation of European higher education and the EUs marketing initiatives are generating effects of internationalisation. Within this context, it is argued that an internationalised and standardised approach to EA education could improve the effectiveness of EA practice in both the developing and developed nations, and ultimately help address the environmental challenges that the world is facing today. However, harmonisation and standardisation challenges must be taken into account at an international and national level, as an internationalised EA curriculum such as that proposed by PENTA must nevertheless be relevant to different policy planning and cultural contexts.

Marine spatial planning and terrestrial spatial planning: reflecting on new agendas

This paper explores the ontological differences between terrestrial and marine environments from a spatial perspective and reflects on the usefulness of the application of established ideas of terrestrial spatial planning in marine spatial planning, using the UK system as the main reference. Through a critical review of the literature an analytical framework is developed that is informed by four interlinked deficiencies, namely disciplinary, conceptual, legitimacy and knowledge deficits. The paper provides two main conclusions. First, as a discipline and profession, planning must reassess the suitability of present approaches to marine spatial planning and provide innovative thinking to a complex and different potential area of planning theory and practice. Second, that marine spatial planning should develop its own responses to the particular needs of the marine environment and take into consideration influences from various disciplines and perspectives to ensure appropriate and adequate consideration of marine-based concerns.

Can environmental appraisal be truly interdisciplinary

Environmental appraisal is a multidisciplinary decision-making support tool, which aims to promote sustainable development through policies of environmental management and planning. It does so by relying on skills and knowledge that come from the social sciences, natural sciences and applied sciences. Within this context, many recognise that to strengthen and improve practice, environmental appraisal needs to evolve into a more interdisciplinary tool, with greater cross-fertilisation between disciplines and closer collaborations between practice traditions and communities of professionals. This paper suggests that, to date, environmental appraisal is far from being truly interdisciplinary. It argues that ‘gate-keepers’ are ensuring that the boundaries, traditions and cultural assumptions between disciplines and professions are maintained, setting the frame of reference that guides the practice of environmental appraisal, and influencing professional views in terms of the way in which things are/should be done. Therefore, this paper attempts to explore the cultural assumptions through which environmental appraisal is practised in competent planning organisations, using a cultural filters approach.

Shared values for the marine environment – developing a culture of practice for marine spatial planning

ABSTRACT Though still relatively new, the development of marine spatial planning has been based on the on the premise that as a rational planning process, it can be applied following universal principles and steps informed by land-based inspired theoretical underpinnings. However, within this process, differences between marine and terrestrial environments are being overlooked, potentially affecting the way in which the marine environment is understood and valued, and the development of a culture of practice for, and specific to, marine spatial planning. By framing planning as a cultural construct, this paper aims to explore the extent to which land-based rationales are affecting the development of a marine spatial planning culture of practice, with its own ethos and shared values. A culturalised planning model adapted from [Knieling, J. and Othengrafen, F. (2015). Planning culture—a concept to explain the evolution of planning policies and processes in Europe? European Planning Studies, 23(11), 2133–2147] is used as a framework. Whilst acknowledging the importance of the contributions from land-based planning and the ecological sciences, the findings suggest that those unconscious beliefs and perceptions affecting society’s understanding of the marine environment should contribute to informing shared values for marine spatial planning practice.

Reflecting on SEA's usefulness. A case-study on Italy

According to the published literature, for Strategic environment assessment (SEA) to make a meaningful difference, it should be integrated into planning processes. Yet, in situations and contexts where the two processes appear to be disjointed, SEA could be applied upon conclusion of the plan-making process justifying decisions already made, or just before a decision can be made to comply with existing legal requirements. Where this is the case, then what is SEA really for? This paper aims to reflect on the usefulness of SEA, and explore whether a shift of focus from actual effectiveness to perceived effectiveness could help further legitimise the need for SEA. This is done by looking at SEA practice in Italy as a case study, as the country’s diverse regional setup presents situations in which SEA may appear to be avoided because being perceived as not very useful or where SEA may appear to be functioning and actually effective.