Abstract
This chapter reviews the potential application of Impact Assessment (IA) in the European Commission in relation to issues of land use. Drawing on qualitative research conducted with EC policy-makers, conclusions are drawn concerning the probable role and application of SENSOR’s Sustainability Impact Assessment Tool (SIAT) in the course of the EC Impact Assessment procedure.
A participatory approach is integral to the IA process, with national level stakeholders consulted throughout at EC level. In the current procedures, opportunities for consultation within the short time span of an IA tend only to reach lobby groups and activists, and citizens who are affected by the policy are unlikely to contribute directly as individuals to the debate. There are opportunities to engage local stakeholders as part of the operation of the tools themselves, but this is likely to be restricted to medium-term strategic development of the tools, as the time required may be outside the timescale normal for operational IA.
Although some IAs have been carried out to a short timescale and have consequently been brief and descriptive, there is evidence of an increasing importance being given to IAs during the policy-making process, and it is concluded that flexible tools are needed that can exist in different forms: 1. a superficial level which doesn’t require reprogramming and works for a wide range of policies and could be used immediately by trained desk officers. 2. an intermediate level which requires several weeks’ work to programme and run the tool for a particular policy area 3. a strategic level where the tool is being developed and programmed for one or more policy areas and used over successive years to contribute at particular points in the development of specific policies. This third level of complexity to include updating and reprogramming the source models might be necessary to deal with a completely new policy area, or one that has not yet been modelled adequately, and this would require a longer term expert study.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arbter K (2003) SEA and SIA — two participative assessment tools for sustainability. Proceedings of the EASY ECO 2 conference, May 15–17 2003, Vienna. 175–181
Backlund AK, Martinson L (2005). Initial organizational map of possible users of the SEAMLESS-IF and user requirements. PD7.2.1 (section A) and PD1.2.2 (Section B)
Bohman M, Cooper J, Mullarkey D, Normile MA, Skully D, Vogel S, Young E (1999) The use and abuse of multifunctionality, Economic Research Service/USDA, November 1999
Cashmore M (2007) The contribution of environmental assessment to sustainable development: toward a richer conceptual understanding. In: George, C and Kirkpatrick, C (eds.) Impact Assessment and Sustainable Development: European practice and experience. Cheltenham: Elgar: 106–130
Commission of the European Communities (2001) “A Sustainable Europe for a Better World: A European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development”. COM (2001)264 final
Commission of the European Communities (2002a) Action Plan: “Simplifying and improving the regulatory environment. COM (2002) 278 Final
Commission of the European Communities (2002b) Communication from the Commission on Impact Assessment. COM (2002) 276 Final
Commission of the European Communities (2002c) Towards a reinforced culture of consultation and dialogue — General principles and minimum standards for consultation of interested parties by the Commission. COM (2002) 704
Commission of the European Communities (2003) A handbook for Impact Assessment in the Commission. How to do impact assessment http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/docs/imp_ass_how_to_en.pdf Accessed September 2007
Commission of the European Communities (2004) Commission report on Impact Assessment: Next steps-In support of competitiveness and sustainable development SEC(2004)1377
Commission of the European Communities (2005) Impact Assessment Guidelines. SEC(2005) 791.With annexes: http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/docs_en.htm. Accessed September 2007
de Ridder W (2005) Sustainability A-test inception report. Progress to date and future tasks. EC internal report 55000001/2005
European Commission Secretariat General (2004) Evaluation of Approaches to Integrating Sustainability into Community Policies. Final Summary report. COWI, ECA, Scott Wilson
European Landscape Convention (2000) http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/176.htm Accessed November 2007
Helming K, Tscherning K, König B, Sieber S, Wiggering H, Kuhlman T, Wascher D, Perez-Soba M, Smeets P, Tabbush P, Dilly O, Hüttl R, Bach H Ex ante impact assessment of land use change in European regions — the SENSOR approach. In: Helming K, Tabbush P, Perez-Soba M (Eds). Sustainability impact assessment of land use changes. Springer, 77–105
Hertin J, Jordan A, Nilsson M, Nykvist B, Russel D, Turnpenny J (2007) The practice of policy assessment in Europe: an institutional and political analysis. MATISSE working paper 6. http://www.matisse-project.net/projectcomm/uploads/tx_article/Working_Paper_6.pdf Accessed November 2007
Ling C, Handley J, Rodwell J (2007) Restructuring the post-industrial landscape: a multifunctional approach. Landscape Research, 32, 285–307
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.aspx Accessed November 2007
Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (2003) Improved pan-European indicators for sustainable forest management as adopted by the MCPFE expert-level meeting 7–8 October 2002, Vienna, Austria
Morris J, Camilleri M, Moncada S (2008) Key sustainability issues in European sensitive areas — a participatory approach. In: Helming K, Tabbush P, Perez-Soba M (Eds). Sustainability impact assessment of land use changes. Springer, 449–468
Ness B, Urbel-Piirsalu E, Anderberg S, Olsson L (2007) Categorising tools for sustainability assessment. Ecological Economics 60. 498–508.
Owens S, Rayner T, Bina O (2004) New agendas for appraisal: reflections on theory, practice and research. Environment and Planning A 36, 1943–1959.
Pope J, Annandale D, Morrison-Saunders A (2004) Conceptualising sustainability assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 24. 595–616
Potschin M, Haines-Young R (2008) Sustainability Impact Assessment: Limits, Thresholds and the Sustainibility Choice Space in the European Commission. In: Helming K, Tabbush P, Perez-(Eds). Sustainability impact assessment of land use changes. Springer, 425–450
Scrase I, Sheate W (2003). Integration and integrated approaches to assessment: what do they mean for the environment? Journal of Environmental. Policy and Planning 4(1) 275–294
The Evaluation Partnership (2006) Evaluation of the Commission’s Impact Assessment System: http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/docs/key_docs/tep_eias_final_report.pdf Accessed November 2007
Thiel A, König B (2008) An institutional analysis of land use modelling in the European Commission. In: Helming K, Tabbush P, Perez-(Eds). Sustainability impact assessment of land use changes. Springer, 55–75
Tscherning K et al (2008) Ex-ante Impact Assessment (IA) in the Europian Commission — an overview. In: Helming K, Tabbush P, Perez-(Eds). Sustainability impact assessment of land use changes. Springer, 17–33
Vanclay F (2005) Principles for social impact assessment: A critical comparison between international and US documents. Environmental Assessment Review 26, 3–14
Wiek A, Binder C (2005). Solution spaces for decision-making — a sustainability assessment tool for city-regions. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 25, 589–60
Wilkinson D, Ferguson M, Bowyer C, Brown J, Ladefoged A, Monkhouse C, Zdanowicz A (2004). Sustainable Development in the European Commission’s Integrated Impact Assessments for 2003. Institute for European Environmental Policy. http://www.ieep.eu/publications/pdfs/2004/sustainabledevelopmentineucommission.pdf (Accessed November 2007)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tabbush, P., Frederiksen, P., Edwards, D. (2008). Impact Assessment in the European Commission in relation to Multifunctional Land Use. In: Helming, K., Pérez-Soba, M., Tabbush, P. (eds) Sustainability Impact Assessment of Land Use Changes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78648-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78648-1_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-78647-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-78648-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)