Simona Kosikova 14 June 2006, Jurmala

1. Strategic Environmental Assessment in Planning of Tourism Development Experience from the Czech Republic Simona Kosikova 14 June 2006, Jurmala

2. Introduction • About the organization • Programmes, Topic Areas, projects • REC office Czech Republic • Overview of EA activities • Purpose and outline of the presentation

3. The REC … • … is a non-partisan, non-advocacy, not-for-profit international organisation Established in 1990 with a mission to assist in solving environmental problems • An organisation bridging borders between countries and stakeholders (NGOs, Governments, Enterprise, Citizens, Media) • The REC is legally based on a charter signed by the governments of 28 countries and the European Commission • International organisation • 180+ staff (some 30 nationalities) • Over 300 running projects • 12 million Euro annual turnover REC Video – Click!

4. The REC Network • Head Office Szentendre, Hungary • 16 COs • 3 FOs • Operations beyond Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

5. Mission in Practice • PROVIDING CONSULTATIVE SUPPORT TO ACTUAL PROBLEM SOLVING RAISING AWARENESS PROVIDING INFORMATION • PROMOTING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION • BUILDING CAPACITY RESEARCHING AND MONITORING ASSESSING THE NEEDS

6. Implementation • REC carries out projects with programmes,topic areas and funds – across the network • Environmental Assessment Topic Area - Overview of SEA activities • 1997–2003 Sofia EIA Initiative (regional capacity development programme on EIA/SEA to facilitate informal discussion among officials from EIA Depts. on various issues related to introduction of SEA development in the region) • Pilot projects (SEA of NDP of Estonia (2003) • Guidance and training manuals (SEA Methodology for Regional Development Concepts, CzR; SEA Training Manual for SEE, part in: Handbook on SEA for EU Cohesion Policy 2007-2013) • Twinning programs

7. REC Czech Republic Key expertise: • Strategic Environmental Assessment • Effective communication and PR in nature protection • Environmental education in nature protection • Project cycle management • Public participation programs

8. Assessments accomplished for concepts of tourism development • SEA of State Policy of Tourism Development 2002-2007 (2002) • SEA of Czech Sectoral Operational Programme for Tourism, 2004-2006 (2002) • SEA of State Policy of Tourism Development 2007-2013 (2006)

9. Purpose of presentation • To share practical experience with undertaking the environmental assessments of strategic concept developed in the Czech Republic, - with special focus on tourism development; - in a view of sustainability appraisal

10. Outline of presentation • SEA system in the Czech Republic • Case example of SEA for Czech Sectoral Operational Programme for Tourism • Key issues of tourism development in the Czech Republic • Challenges in regard to further SEA application • Branding as an example of sustainable business to support tourism development

11. The SEA system in the Czech Republic • Evolution of SEA in the Czech Republic • Transposition and implementation of SEA Directive in the Czech Republic • Key issues and problems

12. Evolution of SEA in the Czech Republic • 70ies – 1992 • Requirements for consideration of environmental issues within land-use planning since mid 70´ (Act on Land-Use Planning) • 1992 – 1996 • Adoption of relevant legislation • Limited practice • 1996 – 2004 • Development of methodological approaches • Growing experience • 2004 – ??? • Transposition of SEA Directive • Practice in accordance with EU

13. SEA Practice (1992 – 2004) I. • Practice started only in mid 1990ies • Act stipulated only very general framework • …which could be implemented through „traditional EIA“ approach or „objective led-appraisal“ • Both approaches used in practice • National level • policies, strategies, plans and programmes (about 25 in total). • Regional level • land-use plans (obligatory) • other regional plans and programmes (waste management plans, reginal development plans etc.) on voluntary base since 2001

14. Transposition of the EC SEA Directive • Preparation started in 2002 (Ministry of Environment) • EC SEA Directive transposed March 2004 through new amendments of the Czech EIA Act (no. 100/2001) • SEA procedure is stipulated in the new Articles 10a to 10j of the newly amended EIA Act. SEA procedure is however significantly different from project level EIA • Concepts – any strategies, policies, plans or programs elaborated by public authorities (at all levels of government) or submitted to them for approval even if their elaboration is not required by laws or administrative decisions

15. Field of application SEA automatically required for: • all concepts in sectors stipulated by the SEA Directive (and also for environment and biodiversity protection) that set framework for permitting of activities that require EIA (Annex 1 of the EIA Act) • all concepts co-financed by EU SEA screening required for: • concepts that affect territory of only one municipality or • modifications of already approved concepts • SEA not required for neighbourhood plans unless specified in screening (e.g. Natura 2000) + defence, emergency plans and budgets

16. Notification about concept • Every institution that intends to elaborate concept has to notify relevant environmental authority (i.e. MoE for national and regional concepts or regional authorities for local concepts) about: • nature of the concept; • affected environment; • possible effects of environment and health (incl. possible transboundary effects) • Notification is sent in printed and electronic form • Relevant env. authority makes it public available and forwards it to possibly concerned authorities (state authorities, regions and municipalities)

17. Screening and scoping • Concerned authorities and the public can submit comments on the notification within 20 days • Relevant env. authority on the basis of obtained comments determines key environmental issues to e addressed: • Results of screening/scoping sent to proponent and concerned authorities + are made publicly accessible

18. SEA Report • Proponent has to appoint an SEA expert(s) within 30 days • SEA expert must have accreditation for EIA/SEA – and is responsible for quality of SEA • Proponent has to cooperate with SEA expert (especially by providing all relevant documents that generated within elaboration of the concept) and has to take due account of inputs from SEA into the concept • requirements SEA Report taken over from the SEA Directive with additional requirement to define env. criteria for evaluation of future projects that implement the concept

19. Public review of concept and SEA • Draft concept and SEA is sent to relevant environmental authority • Relevant environmental authority forwards it to concerned authority and makes it publicly available in locally customary manner and puts in on the Internet • Public hearing needs to be organised once at least 30 days were provided for public to the review the draft concept and its SEA report • Anyone can submit comments up until 5 days after the public hearing

20. SEA standpoint • Relevant environmental authority issues (within 30 days since the date of public hearing) an SEA standpoint to the concept • When doing so it has to take into account all submitted comments • SEA standpoint is sent to proponent, concerned authorities and is made publicly available • Concept cannot be approved without SEA standpoint (even though its is not binding for the final decision-making of the concept)

21. SEA follow-up • Proponent has to ensure monitoring and analysis of actual effects of the concept on environment and health • When proponent finds significant unforeseen effects, it has to: • ensure mitigation and compensation measures • notify relevant environmental authority • decide about modifications of the concept • Relevant state authorities have to monitor the actual effects of the concept on environment and health and can submit request for modification of the concept

22. Main changes in system (after May 2004) • Detail requirements for SEA procedure • Specific requirements for content of SEA Report • Assessment of health impacts • Natura 2000 • Extended field of application (national, regional and local levels) • Authorized SEA/EIA expert has to be member of SEA team • Two levels of SEA authorities: • Ministry of Environment (Department of EIA, SEA and IPPC) • Regional Offices (14) – Departments of Impact Assessment • Development of SEA Information System • Managed by Czech Ecological Institute • Publicly available on Internet • Records of all SEA cases

23. Key issues and problems I. • Significant increase of SEA cases • 1992 – June 2004: 60 – 70 SEAs • June 2004 – August 2005: about 1,4000 screening carried out for local land-use plans and its changes • Institutional problems: • Legal requirements are too detail, specific and too strict • Insufficient capacities (personal and expert) within SEA authorities • Limited methodological support and coordination within SEA authorities • Limited knowledge and information on SEA within proponents

24. Key issues and problems II. • Procedural problems • Long process • Proponents start with SEA too late • Low interest of public • Lack of experience/knowledge • No experience with transboundary assessment • Limited experience with assessment of health impacts • SEA and Natura 2000

25. Planning of Tourism development in the Czech Republic • Policy of tourism development at national level - Ministry for Regional Development vs. Ministry of Environment • Regional development planning • Strategies of tourism development in specific (geographical) areas – local governments

26. Concepts of tourism development • State Policy of Tourism Development 2002-2007 • Czech Sectoral Operational Programme for Tourism, 2004-2006 • State Policy of Tourism Development 2007-2013 • Individual strategies developed by the Ministry of Environment • Sectoral PPP

27. Case example: SEA for Czech Sectoral Operational Programme for Tourism

28. Process management • Ex-post SEA based on intensive consultations with the planning team, Ministry of Regional Development and Ministry of Environment • 4 months, SEA team – 3 experts, total 70 person days • SEA broken down into individual environmental assessment of • current state of the sector • specific objectives of the programming document • proposed activities • implementation plan • monitoring plan

30. Env. assessment of the current state of the sector • Review of env. issues in the analytical part of the programming document (situation analysis and SWOT analysis): • Key environmental problems arising from intensive tourism (individual car transport, impacts in protected areas, etc.) • Key environmental issues affecting attractiveness of destinations (air, noise and water pollution, loss of biodiversity and attractiveness of countryside, etc.)

31. Env. assessment of objectives • Review of env. objectives of the programming document and suggestion of specific env. goals for the programming document: • No env. objective found in the programming document • SEA team developed a set of 10 specific env. goals for tourism (based on National Environmental Policy and environmental criteria for tourism developed by the World Tourism Organisation and the 7th Session of CSD) • SEA team agreed on these objectives with Ministry of Regional Development and Ministry of Environment (to ensure that both authorities support their use to optimise the programming document)

32. Environmental (reference) objectives for Tourism • Support adoption of environmental management systems (ISO 14000, EMAS) in tourism industry, • Regulate number of tourists in areas heavily affected by tourism, • Disperse tourism in time and space, • Support environmentally friendly means of transport in areas attractive for tourisms, including city centers, • Improve local env. quality (e.g. local air quality, water quality, noise levels and attractiveness of urban areas), • Maintain biodiversity and attractiveness of landscape, • Protect local cultural heritage, • Inform visitors about key features of local environment and how to protect it, • Enhance community participation in management of tourist sites.

33. Categories of environmental impacts • Impacts on inhabitants • Impacts on ecosystems, their components and functions • Impacts on man-made systems and on the use of the territory • Large-size impacts on the landscape • Other impacts

34. Environmental assessment of proposed activities • Evaluation of relationship between env. goals for tourism and proposed measures/activities: • modified Leopold Matrix used to evaluate performance of each measure against set of 10 goals – evaluation scale: • -2: very negative impact, • 0: indifferent • +2: very positive impact • Evaluation used to suggest: • reformulations of measures • conditions for their implementation

35. Measures / Activities Relevant Env. Goals Reformulation of measure/activity Conditions for implementation Example of Assessment Matrix

36. Env. assessment of implementation system • EIA Terms of Reference (= draft scope of EIA – key issues and alternatives) recommended for major proposed projects • Environmental (evaluation) scoring sheets suggested for all projects that implement the strategy: • preliminary scoring (to guide design of projects) • formal scoring (to guide selection of projects), • Responsibilities of environmental authorities in review of environmental scoring and selection of individual projects

37. Env. assessment of monitoring plan • Aim: to measure whether the programmeets its specific environmental objectives • Indicators: 10 specific indicators proposed (one indicator per each environmental objective) - to measure whether the programming document meets its specific environmental objectives • Gathering of data: monitoring data obtained through environmental evaluation of each implementation project

38. Key benefits • SEA influenced the entire programming process – from problem analysis to design of monitoring system • Majority of suggestions from SEA fully incorporated into the text of program • SEA improved previously very tense relations between governmental departments • SEA changed attitude of Tourism Department to treatment of environmental issues

39. Key difficulties • Frequent input of SEA team into programming process very demanding for SEA team • Environmental goals and targets for tourism poorly formulated – need to define them within SEA process • Public participation was organised only in the last stage of the SEA process

40. Key environmental issues of tourism development Environmental issues • Fragmentation of landscape, pressure on conquest of soil (greenfields) – entertainment centers, sport facilities (ski lifts), parking (standard regulation tools often little effective) • Pressure on expanding of tourism in nature valuable areas • Biodiversity degradation • … Planning • Understanding what the term „sustainability“ is about • Poor communication, cooperation with stakeholders; low awareness of environmental interrelations • Cooperation among responsible government bodies

41. Challenges for the future SEA – practitioner´s point of view • Enforcement of the outcomes of the SEA reflected in the standpoint of the SEA • System of environmental evaluation • Monitoring of impacts of the implementation of the concept on the environment • Integration of other issues of sustainability in the asessment - balancing the economic, social and environmental concerns within the planning

42. Challenges for the future SEA II • Simplification of relevant legislation • Authorization • Open space for variability • Discussion on scope of application of SEA (especially on local level) • Links between SEA and EIA • Methodological work and training for: • SEA authorities officials • Proponents of concepts • SEA experts • NGOs and general public

43. Challenges for the future SEA III • Support of good practice • General standards for „good“ and „successful“ SEA • Implementation of quality monitoring system • Possibility of legal and institutional changes • Improvement of international cooperation • Experience from „old“ EU member states • Communication within „new“ EU member states • Transfer of lessons learnt to… • Establishment of EIA/SEA Network • Especially for EIA/SEA experts • Sustainability/Integrated Assessment? • Plans/programmes within EU Structural Funds

44. Links • Act on Environmental Impact Assessment + other legal documents (unofficial translations) http://www.env.cz/EIA.Web/en/frame_en.html • Czech SEA Methodology (unofficial translation) http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/EnvironmentalAssessment/SEAActivities.html • SEA Information system (only in Czech) www.ceu.cz/eia/sea

45. Contact:Simona Kosikova, REC Czech Republice-mail:simona.kosikova@reccr.czREC Web page on Environmental assessmentwww.rec.org/EnvironmentalAssessmentThank You for Your Attention

46. Thank You for Your Attention