41404 - Strategic Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment Modulübersicht

Module Number: 41404
Module Title:Strategic Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment
  Strategische Umweltprüfung und Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung
Department: Faculty 2 - Environment and Natural Sciences
Responsible Staff Member:
  • Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c. (NMU, UA) Schmidt, Michael
Language of Teaching / Examination:English
Duration:1 semester
Frequency of Offer: Every winter semester
Credits: 6
Learning Outcome:Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
After completing the module, the students will be able:
  • to compare the origins and development of EIA in the USA, Europe and worldwide;
  • to critically review the EIA process, explaining its various steps;
  • to select appropriate impact identification and prediction methods for the use within the EIA process.
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
After completing the module, the students will be able:
  • to understand the key principles, procedure and application of SEA;
  • to discuss SEA as a policy instrument and a way to improve strategic actions;
  • to explore benefits and barriers to a successful SEA;
  • to highlight the links and differences between SEA and Project EIA;
  • to understand the importance of strategic objectives and their alternatives at SEA level.
Contents:The contents of lectures will be discussed in more detail and applied to different case studies during seminars. While the lecture provides theoretical background, the seminars utilise a more practice-oriented approach. Students will apply various methods explained during the lectures with the help of relevant case studies.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
  • The history and development of EIA in the USA and the European Union
  • The legal context of EIA (NEPA and the European Union EIA Directive)
  • The EIA process – screening, scoping, environmental baseline, impact assessment, environmental impact statement (EIS) and its review, public participation, decision making and monitoring
  • Methods used for identification of impacts and assessing their significance (checklists, matrices, networks, map overlays etc.)
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
  • Basic concept and understanding of SEA, its benefits and importance for transition towards sustainability
  • The objectives and implementation of the EC's SEA Directive 2001/42/EC
  • The differences and similarities between EIA and SEA
  • The SEA procedure and its integration into the process of planning
Recommended Prerequisites:None
Mandatory Prerequisites:None
Forms of Teaching and Proportion:
  • Lecture / 2 Hours per Week per Semester
  • Seminar / 2 Hours per Week per Semester
  • Self organised studies / 120 Hours
Teaching Materials and Literature:Lecture notes and presentations shown during seminars will be available for downloading from the BTU Moodle learning portal. For students interested in more in-depth study of lecture topics, optional advanced readings will be regularly uploaded to the BTU elearning portal Moodle.

Recommended Journals:
  • Environmental Impact Assessment Review published by Elsevier
  • Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal published by the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA)
Both journals are electronically available to all BTU students at the following web pages:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01959255
  • https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tiap20
N.B.: to get full access for articles, these web pages have to be accessed from within BTU network or with the help of a VPN-Client.

Environmental Impact Assessment – recommended readings:
  • Canter LW (1996) Environmental Impact Assessment. Second Edition. McGraw-Hill Inc. Series in Water Resources & Environmental Engineering.
  • Glasson J, Therivel R, Chadwick A (2005) Introduction to environmental impact assessment: 3rd Edition. Routledge, London
  • Morris P, Therivel R (eds.) (2001) Methods of Environmental Impact Assessment (2nd edition). Spon Press, London
  • Petts J (ed.) (1999) Handbook of Environmental Impact Assessment. Volume 1. Environmental Impact Assessment: Process, Methods and Potential. Volume 2. Environmental Impact Assessment in Practice: Impact and Limitations. Blackwell Science Ltd., Oxford.
  • Schmidt M et al. (Eds.) (2008) Standards and Thresholds for Impact Assessment. Environmental Protection in the European Union, Volume 3. Springer, Heidelberg.
  • Wathern P (Ed.) (1998) Environmental Impact Assessment: Theory and Practice. Routledge, London.
  • Wood C (2003) Environmental Impact Assessment. A Comparative Review: Second Edition. Pearson Education Limited, Harlow.

Strategic Environmental Assessment - recommended readings:

  • Dalal-Clayton B, Sadler B (2005) Strategic environmental assessment: A sourcebook and reference guide to international experience. Earthscan, London.
  • Fischer TB (2002) Strategic Environmental Assessment in Transport and Land Use Planning. Earthscan, London.
  • Fischer TB (2007) Theory and Practice of Strategic Environmental Assessment: Towards a More Systematic Approach. Earthscan, London.
  • Gühnemann A (2000) Methods for Strategic Environmental Assessment of Transport Infrastructure Plans. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden.
  • Jones C et al. (eds) Strategic Environmental Assessment and Land Use Planning – an international evaluation. Earthscan, London.
  • Marsden S (2008) Strategic Environmental Assessment in International and European Law: A Practitioner’s Guide. Earthscan, London.
  • Partidario MR and Clark R (Eds.) (2000) Perspectives on Strategic Environmental Assessment. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton.
  • Schmidt M, João E and Albrecht E (Eds.) (2005) Implementing Strategic Environmental Assessment. Environmental Protection in the European Union, Volume 2. Springer, Heidelberg.
  • Therivel R (2004) Strategic Environmental Assessment in Action. Earthscan, London.
  • Therivel R, Partidario MR (eds.) (1996) The Practice of Strategic Environmental Assessment, Earthscan, London.
  • Therivel R, Wilson E, Thompson S, Heaney D and Pritchard D (1992) Strategic Environmental Assessment. Earthscan, London.
Module Examination:Continuous Assessment (MCA)
Assessment Mode for Module Examination:
  • Oral performance verification (duration 10 minutes, maximum 15 points)
  • Presentation (duration 10 minutes, maximum 15 points)
To pass the module students need to gain a minimum of 12 points (the sum of points for the above mentioned module components).
Evaluation of Module Examination:Performance Verification – graded
Limited Number of Participants:None
Part of the Study Programme:
  • Abschluss im Ausland / Environmental and Resource Management / keine PO
  • Master (research-oriented) / Environmental and Resource Management / PO 2011
  • Master (research-oriented) - Double Degree / Environmental and Resource Management / PO 2021
  • Master (research-oriented) / Environmental and Resource Management / PO 2021
  • Abschluss im Ausland / Umweltingenieurwesen / keine PO
Remarks:

Registering for Examination of  the module SEA/EIA is mandatory! No registration means no final grade in the end.

Module Components:
  • 2403121 LE Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment
  • 2403122 SE Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment
Components to be offered in the Current Semester:
  • no assignment