SEA Guidance Annex 14

Checklist questions for assessing significance of impacts

Annex 14 provides a structured checklist to help SEA practitioners and decision makers assess how significant the impacts of a proposed policy, plan, or program (PPP) might be. The questions prompt a closer look at environmental pressures, economic costs and benefits, social equity and community well-being, as well as the legal, institutional, and international implications of the PPP.

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What’s Inside This Annex

Likely Impacts

What are the likely impacts (negative and positive) of the policy option on the environment and social conditions (ESC)?

What are the costs and financial benefits regarding natural resources, the environment, and social conditions?

Economic Gains & Production

Are the production processes environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable?

What are the costs of the economic gains in terms of damage to environment and natural resources or negative impact on social conditions?

Do the economic gains promote further damage to the environment or deterioration of social conditions?

People, Resources, & Institutions

Will the PPP require the movement of people that will cause concentration in other areas and need for other facilities such as waste management facilities?

Will the PPP cause the relocation of human and financial resources away from environmental management or the provision of social services?

Does the PPP affect the roles and mandates of environmental or social sector institutions?

Legal, Transboundary, & Social Considerations

What are the transboundary environmental and social implications?

Which multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)/protocols will be affected by the PPP?

Will the PPP affect national or international heritage sites?

Will the PPP affect gender balance in terms of access, ownership, and control over natural resources and benefits realized from them?

Download the Complete Checklist

Download the full PDF annex for a complete list of questions for assessing significance of impacts.

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SEA Guidance Annex 14