Policy Trends of Strategic Environmental Assessment in Asia - Literature review Example

Review of Academic Papers & Professional Literature Name Institutional Affiliation Date Introduction Victor & Agamuthu (2014)’s article is useful in unfolding SEA implementation is Asia. The article provides an overview about SEA in Asia where it is applied as a system meant to incorporate environmental considerations into plans, programmes and policies. The article analyses the application of SEA in the Asian countries, the challenges behind implementation and the developments made so far in realizing SEA. It, further, unfolds that the trends of SEA in Asia are supposed to be re-examined in terms of their role and effectiveness in order to customize it to the local Asian conditions without mimicking the application of SEA in Europe. The presence of SEA in Asia is felt across different countries such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam where legislations have been taken into consideration to support it (Victor & Agamuthu, 2014). However, the challenge towards realizing SEA public participation is felt in some counties like Indonesia and Vietnam due to their strong and long-standing culture. In countries such as Pakistan and Japan, SEA is implemented voluntarily through public participations whereas in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Philippines, there is a lot of resistance to adopt SEA. The main reason for challenges in application of SEA in Asian countries can largely be attributed to the culture of high political nature when it comes to policy planning. According to research conducted by Victor & Agamuthu (2014), the prospects of SEA in Asia are based in the development of international cooperation within the region, capacity building, and establishing the structural policy instruments such as engaging the stakeholders. In practical terms, SEA is complex, challenging and dynamic and requires a legislative framework, political will and transparent engagement of stakeholders in order to thrive within the culture of Asia countries. Overview of SEA in Asia as Expressed by Different Authors In some Asian countries, SEA has been translated into legislation. Research goes ahead to indicate that SEA is still at the exploratory stages in some countries and its level of implementation ranges from institutional, legislative, and capacity building (Victor & Agamuthu, 2014). Taiwan In Taiwan, SEA has been transposed into national legislation in the SEA manual, EIA Act and SEA PPP list (Yu, 2004). The main challenge towards implementation of SEA in Taiwan includes the lack of a comprehensive priority and scope of processes on matters related to the environment. The next challenge is related to insufficiency of a competent capacity for implementation of SEA due to restricted knowledge and training for planning agencies. Further, the percentage of public participation for SEA implementation is negligible (Yu, 2004). Yu (2004) goes ahead to assert that, as compared to other Asian countries, Taiwan indicated late adoption of SEA framework. However, it is making progress in experimentation areas such as health impact assessment(HIA) and Delphi-indicators, construction guidelines for its golf courses, and protection of its national water resources (Lien & Jung-Hsun, 2007). Other progress made in Taiwan includes the adoption of sustainability ideas within its SEA framework through its sustainable development indicators. However, Taiwan registers absenteeism in terms of application of SEA through the practice of public participation (Yu, 2004). Philippines Philippines has implemented, in an ad-hoc way, development of infrastructure programmes such as energy and transportation, but has not transposed its requirements for SEA (Yu, 2004). It has, further, included some SEA elements in its legislation such as Clean Water Act, Solid Waste Management Act, Clean Air Act, Local Government Code, and Indigenous People’s Right Act. The main challenge experienced by Philippines in implementing SEA requirements include the reactive approach used by SEA and the fact that it does not use the existing SEA elements that are already established in the legal framework (Yu, 2004). The implementation trends indicate its hesitation towards evolvement from EIA to SEA, especially as evident in its legislations mechanisms. However, the notable progress towards SEA implementation in Phillipines is the inclusion of some SEA elements in its formulation of Acts such as Bohol Environment Code, Palawan Sustainable Development Act, and National Integrated Protected Area ManagementSystem Act (Victor & Agamuthu, 2014). China In China, the requirements of SEA are well transposed into the framework of national planning via regional EIA practices (Victor & Agamuthu, 2014). Further, its EIA Law requires the application of SEA in implementation of strategic plans at sector levels, provincial and national planning (Wang, Liu, Xu, & Bai, 2012). The main problem of SEA implementation in China is restrictive public participation, secretive nature of its strategies and policies, and its bureaucratic politics between agencies of different sectors concerned. SEA implementation trends in China indicate that it is still battling with its political dynamism (Victor & Agamuthu, 2014). However, what shows the notable developments in SEA implementation in China include the fact that it is making effort in distributing the SEA procedures, principles, environmental indicators, technical guidelines and various sectors concerned with SEA planning (Lam, Chen & Wu, 2009). Further, the country is establishing an online database of its SEA professional who are responsible for implementation of SEA within the agencies of different sectors. Bangladesh The SEA requirements have not been transposed into national legislations in Bangladesh but EIA has been introduced through the Environmental Conservation Act and National Environmental Policy, and also through regional water projects (Victor & Agamuthu, 2014). The main challenge for SEA implementation in this country is insufficient and comprehensive system for environmental assessment and which does not depend on international donor requirements (Lam, Chen & Wu, 2009). Further, the decision making system in Bangladesh lacks a lot of transparency and the public is not involved in environmental decision making process because it has not been made compulsory. Therefore, SEA implementation trends indicate that Bangladesh is combating the challenges related to poor governance as a result of antagonistic politics, bureaucratic procrastination and invasive corruption. However, the notable progress in SEA implementation is that its sectoral policies foster for implementation or incorporation of some environmental considerations and growth of some ministerial policies. There is need for a more robust development in institutional framework and environmental legislations that include compulsory public participation (Victor & Agamuthu, 2014). SEA Challenges, Prospects and Progress Different researchers have put forward the challenges attached to SEA implementation in the Asian countries, and this cuts across the application of policy instruments and stakeholder engagement (Lam, Chen & Wu, 2009) and (Victor & Agamuthu, 2014). The existence of meta-policy structures in Asia have made it hard to integrate strategic decision making. Public participation should be encouraged and provided for in the existing legislation in all the Asian countries and the methodological frameworks available should be utilized. Therefore, this research indicates that SEA trends in are at the development stage or on an evolutionary path and depend on the cultural dimensions of each country as outlined in PDI model by Hofstede. SEA Policy Implications in Asia Different articles reveal that Asia is at the crossroads on matters to do with implementation of SEA guidelines. This trend is manifest in the way some countries have integrated and developed SEA into its legislative frameworks, for instance, South Korea and Hong Kong, whereas other countries such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have just ignored SEA in both implementation and integration. Further, other emerging group such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are considering and experimenting SEA. However, all these countries are faced with the challenge of stakeholder engagement and public participation in decision making and formulation of policies. What is more, there is a lot of bureaucracy that is perceived to hinder positive development towards SEA implementation. Conclusion A lot of literature, as expressed in different articles, contributes towards the explanation for trend in SEA application within the Asian countries as seen in formulation of SEA policies and legislations in Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, South Korea and China. The literatures go ahead to illustrate some of the main challenges impended in the practical realization of SEA, and includes factors such as the culture of power distance as witnessed in Vietnam, Indonesia and China. Other key policy requirements by SEA are supported by SEA Governance Centre (SGC) in terms of provision of technical assistance, resources and SEA implementation standards. What the articles note is that, SEA framework is complex and is easy to implement if supported by additional country legislations. The argument put forward by some SEA resisting countries is that, it does not take into consideration the existing policies that are similar to it and therefore, applying SEA appears entirely overriding the existing policies. Besides, the framework for SEA is wide and appears unstructured into portions that can fit in different urgencies in any jurisdiction. Therefore, the strong point brought out by the different articles analyzed in this research is that, SEA implementation trends in Asia are at crossroads. This implies that we have those supporting it fully, those evaluating or experimenting its application, and those who have simply resisted it from the beginning. References Top of Form VICTOR, D., & AGAMUTHU, P. (2014). Policy trends of strategic environmental assessment in Asia. Environmental Science and Policy. 41, 63-76. Bottom of Form Top of Form YU, Y. (2004). Development and implementation of Strategic Environmental Assessment in Taiwan. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. 24, 337-350. Top of Form LIEN, JUNG-HSUN, & N/A. (2007). Integrating Strategic Environmental Assessment into Transport Planning. Griffith University. Griffith School of Environment. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20070813.155624. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form LAM, K.-C., CHEN, Y. D., & WU, J. (2009). STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN CHINA. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management. 11, 369-385. Top of Form WANG, H., LIU, J., XU, H., & BAI, H. (2012). Studies on Strategic Environmental Assessment in China - Implementation and Effectiveness. ADVANCED MATERIALS RESEARCH -ZUG-. 518/523, 1202-1205. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More