Strategic Environmental Analysis: objectives, experiences, web-site, training modules and available documentation 

[Background] [Objectives] [Experiences] [The Sean Website] [Training Modules] [Available Documentation]

BACKGROUND

Are you interested to address questions such as:

• What are the insights and interests of different actors about management of natural resources?

• What level of land degradation is acceptable and can be considered as reversible?

• How can we address root causes of environmental degradation?

• Are there any win-win opportunities for economic and environmental improvement?

• How can environmental priorities be integrated with economic, social and gender priorities?

In many places the absence of a clear vision on sustainable development has led to confusion, lack of co-ordination and the setting of incorrect development priorities. This is especially so when many activities have been undertaken by different actors. Less than successful experiences with national environmental planning have made clear that analysis and planning must take place at sub-national level and actively involve the population. There is a need to pay more attention to root causes rather than symptoms and to make use of existing opportunities, ongoing changes and the promising initiatives being taken at various levels.

SEAN has been designed to meet above needs. It is a comprehensive and practical methodology with the long-term objective of including environmental issues in development planning. Concrete short-term objectives are:

• to analyse the environmental context of human development, its potentials and constraints,
• to integrate environmental key issues with economic, social and institutional aspects of sustainable development,
• to provide inputs for planning sustainable development policies and strategic action plans during the early stages of decision making.

SEAN generates concrete products, such as a vision, strategic goals and concrete plans. It achieves these results by initiating and supporting a participatory process of mutual learning and by generating insights and creating transparency on the complex interrelations between the environmental context and other dimensions of land use. In several cases new networks and stakeholder platforms were established.

SEAN provides guidance to environmental planning and to upgrade existing analysis or planning processes and their resulting strategies and plans. The SEAN methodology consists of 10 analytical steps which help users make strategic choices. SEAN is different from problem analysis or needs assessment, as it helps to address root causes and use opportunities for change. The analytical steps are applied during a process including phases of preparation, scoping, field work, planning and follow-up. Guidelines for monitoring have been worked out as well, based on SEAN outputs.

1. Insight in environmental functions and stakeholders
2. Analysis of past and present trends
3. Analysis of the consequences of trends on people
4. Insight in norms and thresholds
5. Environmental problem definition
6. Analysis of environmental problems: root causes and key actors
7. Identification of opportunities for positive change
8. Analysis of opportunities: conditions and required actions
9. Planning a vision and strategy
10. Environmental monitoring

Since its initial development in 1996, SEAN has been applied by SNV in a number of countries and regions (e.g. Albania, Benin, Honduras, Nicaragua, Niger, Zimbabwe). Applications have also been funded and/or co-ordinated by DGIS, HIVOS, WWF, IUCN and Cordaid. Each application has been different: in most cases a selection of analytical steps has been applied and a selection of tools to involve stakeholders and organisations. While in one case the process took more than a year, in most cases it takes a few months. In some cases the process is limited to a ‘scoping workshop’ to define strategic priorities based on existing information. This shows the flexibility of using SEAN for different purposes.

SEAN is used for strategic planning, to carry out an environmental or integrated analysis for developing an area based vision and strategic plan. It provides a logical structure to the design phase. To improve integration other (economic, social, gender) analyses have been carried out alongside SEAN. SEAN has been successfully applied for strategic planning at meso-scale (sub-national level: municipalities or Districts), particularly to support ongoing decentralisation processes. SEAN was used to support governmental and non-governmental organisations to make their own strategic choices. Monitoring of indicators for sustainable development is a logical follow-up activity of any SEAN.

The potential users of SEAN are planners and decision-makers, both within Governmental or non-governmental organisations, projects or donor agencies. SEAN applications also demonstrated its educational and awareness raising value, due to its transparent, practical and participatory character. Its focus at the linkages between different sectors and disciplines challenges participants to adjust their own views and opinions.

With financial support by DGIS, a web-site on SEAN has been established since 1999:

What can this web-site offer you?

• A brief overview and introduction of the SEAN objectives, the 10 analytical steps and the process phases;
• An updated overview of past and recent SEAN experiences and applications;
• An introduction to the SEAN platform, which is a core group of partners to organise discussions on SEAN applications and related issues;
• The SEAN Newsletter, to which you can subscribe yourself;
• Hyperlinks to relevant web-sites, such as on environmental assessment methods;
• Information about publications, such as the new SEAN Toolbox, and ways to order it.

An on-line conference was organised in 2000 on SEAN and related tools. The conference has been successful in sharing SEAN experiences, generating some lessons and proposing improvements for application of SEAN. The results of this conference can be observed on the web-site (www.seanplatform.org/conference). The SEAN web-site is also linked to the SNV and DGIS web-sites.

AIDEnvironment has the Secretariat for the SEAN Platform, with Mr. Jan Joost Kessler as the main contact person (secr@aidenvironment.org or kessler@aidenvironment.org).

Address: Donker Curtiusstraat 7-523, 1051 JL Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Phone: ++ 31 (0) 20 6868111

AIDEnvironment and SNV have developed several training modules on ‘environment and development’. Such training has been organised both in the Netherlands and in developing countries, for SNV and other organisations, individuals or groups, and in different languages. There are 5 core modules for a training on ‘environment and development’ with a focus on SEAN. All modules have general introductions and practical assignments for participants. The first module includes a general introduction to SEAN, and aims to help practitioners in deciding how to use SEAN and / or other environmental assessment tools for one’s own needs. For any more information on training modules and modalities, please contact the SEAN Secretariat or SNV.

• Environmental assessment methods and SEAN
• Basic ecological concepts and principles of sustainable development
• Strategic Environmental Analysis: analytical steps and process
• Strategic planning approaches and tools
• Environmental monitoring and environmental quality assessment of projects

• Integrated assessment and planning
• Institutional aspects of environmental management
• Natural resource management tools and principles
• Integrating gender and environment
• Approaches to economy and environment

If you are interested to use SEAN, you are advised to get hold of one of the available documents, in English, French or Spanish.

The following documents on SEAN and on environmental monitoring are available, and can be ordered from SNV as indicated. Apart from that, there are several reports and documents that can serve as examples of the outputs of a SEAN process, in English, French and Spanish. Contact the SEAN Secretariat or the web-site.

To decide how to use SEAN in your own situation, contact someone who knows SEAN, or follow an introduction course.

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