TY - GEN
T1 - The Role of Indicators in Strategic Environmental Assessment
T2 - Experience from Chinese Practice
AU - Gao, Jingjing
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - The application of indicators in technical-based environmental assessment is assumed to provide precise and simpler information. However, after decades of development, SEA is now taking on a global turning from being a technical-based activity to being a more deliberative and value-included political tool. At this turning point, whether indicators as a typical quantitative and calculation-based tool should be applied in the same way in SEA as EIA is one of the concerns that initiated this research. Taking this point of departure, the thesis looks into the on-going changes and implementation of Chinese SEA Technical Guidelines since 2009. It examines the application of indicators in SEA from a science-policy perspective, and from a more practical perspective investigates how indicators can make a difference to the SEA process. The results show a top-down intention of putting more specific guidelines in using indicators and an indirect bottom-up effect by a higher indicators aggregation in China’s practice. The application of indicators in China is very scientifically and technically based with weak recognition of the political and value-laden elements. Indicators are used mainly in internal communication within the SEA team rather than externally with stakeholders, and they are used more in one-way communication for providing information than in two-way communication for involvement or participation. Using indicators has more influence on planning and decision making through the SEA structure by improving SEA procedure than through SEA actors by engaging publics and politicians.
AB - The application of indicators in technical-based environmental assessment is assumed to provide precise and simpler information. However, after decades of development, SEA is now taking on a global turning from being a technical-based activity to being a more deliberative and value-included political tool. At this turning point, whether indicators as a typical quantitative and calculation-based tool should be applied in the same way in SEA as EIA is one of the concerns that initiated this research. Taking this point of departure, the thesis looks into the on-going changes and implementation of Chinese SEA Technical Guidelines since 2009. It examines the application of indicators in SEA from a science-policy perspective, and from a more practical perspective investigates how indicators can make a difference to the SEA process. The results show a top-down intention of putting more specific guidelines in using indicators and an indirect bottom-up effect by a higher indicators aggregation in China’s practice. The application of indicators in China is very scientifically and technically based with weak recognition of the political and value-laden elements. Indicators are used mainly in internal communication within the SEA team rather than externally with stakeholders, and they are used more in one-way communication for providing information than in two-way communication for involvement or participation. Using indicators has more influence on planning and decision making through the SEA structure by improving SEA procedure than through SEA actors by engaging publics and politicians.
M3 - PhD thesis
SN - 978-87-91404-41-2
PB - Institut for Samfundsudvikling og Planlægning, Aalborg Universitet
ER -