Wind energy development is booming worldwide with Germany and the United States being forerunners in installed capacity. Based on a review of relevant laws and regulations, policy, siting, and permitting documents, academic literature, and expert interviews, the paper compares the permit and...

The lack of early integration with the planning and decision-making process has been a major problem in environmental assessment. Traditional project-based environmental impact assessment has inadequate incentives and capacities to incorporate critical environmental impacts at a broader temporal...

In diesem Beitrag wird am Beispiel eines ausgewählten metropolitanen Raums ein wissenschaftlich fundierter und zugleich praxisrelevanter Vorschlag für Indikatoren und Methoden zur Erfassung und Bewertung von Ökosystemleistungen mit Relevanz für die Flächennutzungs- und Landschaftsplanung...

Short M., Jones C., Carter J., Baker M. and Wood C. (2004) Current practice in the strategic environmental assessment of development plans in England, Reg. Studies 38, 177-190. In the UK, strategic environmental assessment has been applied to the full hierarchy of development plans in the form...

In urbanising regions, urban sprawl and infrastructure cause profound alterations of natural habitats. Initial decisions on urban expansion and major infrastructure investments are often made on a strategic level where the long-term development of a region is determined. For these types of...

This paper examines the contribution of SEA in six international electricity sector planning case studies. All cases showed some "best practice" evidence such as participation, alternatives consideration and impact assessment; however, considerable variability was found in the types of...

Emergency plans are exempt from undergoing Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). However, the measures they include to minimise the effects of disasters can have environmental impacts. The study underlying this paper assessed UK emergency plans for their possible environmental impacts,...

The impact of flood events in the UK has drawn attention to limitations associated with traditional flood defence regimes. In recognition of this there has been a significant level of advocacy for a systems based approach which assumes a greater role for spatial planning. This paper considers...

In a context of unregulated practice, strategic environmental assessment (SEA) contribution to environmentally sound decision-making may be difficult to gauge. Recent Brazilian experience, where there is no legal requirement for SEA, was studied by reviewing cases selected by considering...