ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the use of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) as a tool for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and draws on international experience to outline some of the issues that need to be addressed to make this application effective. Firstly, it makes the case for biodiversity as a cross-cutting issue, which should always be included in strategic assessment and decision-making because it is fundamental to the sustained provision of ecosystem services. Drawing on practical cases, this chapter sets out to establish whether SEA can be successful in promoting biodiversity as a fundamental objective of decision-making and planning and whether it does in fact deliver better outcomes for biodiversity. The chapter then reviews some of the requirements for effective SEA with respect to biodiversity. It presents some examples from South Africa, where outputs of systematic biodiversity conservation planning have been used to support a strategic planning approach. The chapter goes on to consider the roles of some of the different stakeholders in the process and presents some examples of effective stakeholder participation in India to ensure that local community needs for biodiversity are recognized and provided for. Finally, the role of SEA as a tool for engaging government and business partners is considered.
