A QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS REVIEW PROTOCOL FOR STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (SEA) IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

摘要

The need for empirical research and systematic performance evaluation of SEA, to advance theoretical understandings as well as practice, has been widely expressed. To promote such research any performance evaluation has to ensure that it is conceptually justified, methodologically sound, practically viable and tailored to the local context. This paper describes a SEA quality and effectiveness review protocol for application within the South African context. Based on international perspectives and debates it provides a description of the conceptual thinking underpinning the structure of the protocol in terms of its approach and framework as well as methodological justification on how the review areas and indicators were designed. Finally a critical evaluation of its application to selected case studies is presented. It concludes that the conceptual framework and methodology could be applied in any context although the contents in terms of review areas and indicators needs to be adapted to accommodate different understandings and perspectives on SEA.