The Latest Environmental Assessment Method in Land-use Planning – Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Integration in Decision-making

Abstract

The idea of "sustainable development" becoming widespread has resulted in the desira bility of using previous environmental evaluation of investments and as well as plans. Since the redistribution (subsidies) system of the EU Structural Funds resulted in greater and greater projects and plans, the role of evaluation has increased. For the safekeeping of the natural environment, the European Community introduced the Environmental Impact Assessment (85/337/EC). This assessment "only" concerned to concrete building projects in order to reveal the dangers of investments to the nature. Later on, extending the Assessment and using the practice of some developed countries, the EU introduced the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in its Directive 2001/42/EC.

The SEA is not just an environmental methodology but should be an integrated, iterative element of the plarming and decision-making process in order to achieve the aim of sustain- able development. The article presents the different types of integrating levels and the modes of environmental evaluation on the conceptualisation based. Some basic statements and ex- perience can also available in this paper, showing the latest problems and questions of the introduction of SEA in Hungary.