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Dams and Development E-Paper Contents

p. -1 of 74 BACK | NEXT Home Page of Dams and Development Foreword I. Why an e-paper on dams and development? II. Assessing options III. Participatory processes IV. Social impacts V. Environmental impacts VI. Benefit distribution VII. Dam safety and sustainability VIII. Existing projects IX. Improving governance X. What other organizations say XI. ADB, Dams, and Development XII. References Contact Us

South African Guideline Document on SEA

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in South Africa published a comprehensive Guideline Document on SEA in 2000 that . The rationale for the Document was noted in the summary:

'Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is becoming an accepted and widely used instrument for integrating environmental issues into the formulation of plans and programmes. Several SEAs have recently been undertaken in South Africa, or are currently in progress. However, these studies have been done in the absence of an agreed understanding and methodology for SEA. This gave rise to the need for guidelines which promote a common understanding of SEA in South Africa and assist in the development of best practice in SEA'.

'SEA aims to ensure that environmental issues are addressed from an early stage in the process of formulating policies, plans and programmes, and incorporated throughout this process. The Guidelines describe the main benefits of SEA and the contribution that SEA can make to guide development within sustainable limits'.

'Ten principles are proposed for SEA in South Africa. These principles are the fundamental premises underpinning SEA methodologies in South Africa and provide the theoretical base for the development of local SEA processes. The Guidelines also describe the essential elements of an SEA and indicate how these elements can be combined into a SEA process. SEA is context-specific, and this process would need to be refined and adapted to suit the context in which it is applied. Recommendations are provided for integrating the key elements and principles into existing processes for plan and programme formulation, or for developing a separate SEA process, depending on what the context requires.

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