With a strategic environmental assessment, the impact of certain development plans or strategies on the environment is assessed. The results may be used to reduce any possible negative effects on the environment.

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is intended as a part of the development of various types of planning, such as municipal land-use plans as well as national strategies like the Master plan for nature protection and energy utilisation and the Master transport and road plan.

Provisions on SEA are found both in the Act on Environmental Impact Assessment of Projects and Plans and in Article 12 of the Planning Act.

The strategic environmental assessment involves:

• Environmental assessment of the policy or strategy set out in the plan, including a comparison of the environmental impacts of different alternatives.

• Presentation and consultation with the public and relevant institutions regarding the plan and its environmental impact, before the plan and strategy is finalised.

• Consideration of the environmental assessment when finalising and approving the plan.

• A plan for monitoring the environmental impacts during the implementation of the plan.

Roles and responsibilities

Strategic environmental assessments are carried out by a number of different actors, each with different roles:

• The plan's proponent is responsible for both the preparation of the plan and its environmental assessment. For example, a municipal council is responsible for the strategic environmental assessment of its municipal master plan and the committee for the Master Plan for Nature Protection and Energy Utilisation is responsible for the strategic environmental assessment of that plan.

• Public institutions and municipalities provide comments on the plans that are in the process of being developed and their environmental assessment.

• The public can submit suggestions and comments on the published plan and its environmental assessment during the consultation period.

• HMS is responsible for implementing the legislation and regulations on environmental assessment of projects and plans, as well as the laws and regulations on the Planning Act. The Agency:

  • Issues formal opinions on the scoping document submitted by the plan's propenent. The scoping document is prepared at the beginning of the planning process, and outlines how the environmental assessment of the strategic environmental assessment is intended to be carried out.

  • Provides information in Skipulagsgátt, planning portal on the proposed plans and environmental assessments that are under review at each time.

  • Stores and disseminates information on plans that have undergone environmental assessment.

Strategic environmental assessment vs. Environmental impact assessment of projects

Strategic environmental assessment is intended as a precursor to the environmental impact assessment of individual projects.

During strategic environmental assessment, there is an opportunity to evaluate the broader environmental impacts and implications of the proposed policy framework and to evaluate different strategic alternatives, for example regarding different location and routing options.

In the environmental impact assessment of individual projects, a more detailed assessment is conducted on the specific environmental impacts of the project and its implementation.