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BTU
The paper presents the use of indicators in a site-specific assessment method for strategic environmental assessment in regional land use planning (here: SEA-REP). It is explained with the example of the state of environment indicator ‘LUCCA 4—Urban Areas at Risk of Flooding’, how SEA as a decision-aiding instrument can contribute to the prevention of conflicts with policy for adaptation to climate change.
The method begins with the determination of impact factors for SEA. In the presented study, the physical impact factors of land consumption, land use change, and directed flooding were recognised. A core problem during the selection of indicators for land uses for the adaptation to climate change (here: LUCCA) and the derivation of assessment thresholds was a lack of region-wide policy objectives for the protection of land and resources. Therefore, in a second step, regional environmental orientation objectives were derived from national and EU environmental policy. A standard method for the selection of LUCCA indicators and the derivation of assessment thresholds for conflict analysis is described. Three classes of conflict classification for regional plan designations on the individual site are proposed. It is recommended that future adaptation measures of regional land use planning should be designations of specific land uses as priority areas for urban areas prone to flood risk.
Most semi-arid regions face strong population growth. For example, with the actual growth rate in Jordan, population doubles every 25 years. Many countries in the desert belt experienced rapid modernisation during the last 50 years. Taking Jordan again as an example, modern western life styles are spreading quickly. They co-exist with traditional herding and farming in the rural areas, but urbanization is rapidly expanding.
According to the definition of sustainability, the achievements of past civilizations, e.g. the floodwater farming near the site of Umm el-Jimal, were sustainable since they did not rely on non-renewable resources. But they did not allow continuous settlement from antiquity until today. It is often assumed that breaks in settlement history were due to over-exploitation of the environment, e.g. overgrazing and soil erosion.
The overview of developments in the desert makes clear that Progressive Development is already implemented is many areas, although it is not acknowledged as such and a coordinating master plan is missing. International plans would be very desirable, since water is a transboundary issue. For example, exploitation of the Disi aquifer led to conflict between Jordan and Saudi Arabia [1]. Jordan, Syria, Israel and Palestine share the Yarmouk River as the primary freshwater resource, which is a very sensitive political issue.
It is a deeply entrenched belief that historic land use led to land degradation in the desert belts. Supposedly, overgrazing and farming caused erosion, and irrigation led to salinization. Considering the gaps in settlement history, mismanagement is considered a prime reason for abandonment [1–3]. If this is so, Progressive Development might be doomed to fail, because the soils are already degraded and will inevitably degrade further. Climate variations, however, can also lead to degradation, and might have caused the fluctuations of settlement history. The correct assessment of the past will be most important for evaluating the impact of Progressive Development. This and the geographic law of soil zonality allow predicting how soils and the environment will develop under irrigation and permanent vegetation.
Large-scale irrigation projects are theoretically beneficial; however there are examples of outstanding failures which partly led to ecological catastrophes. We think that irrigation per se does not necessarily lead to land degradation. Even in the famous case of the Mesopotamian plains, the idea that ancient Sumerian irrigation caused irreversible salinization [1] is far less evident than often assumed in the public discussion[2].
Discussion and Conclusion
(2010)
The current discussion of “sustainability” focuses on aspects of conserving the environmental status quo. However, the environmental history of the desert belts is characterized by strong environmental fluctuations, and modern technology started to irreversibly change societies living in arid regions, initiating a growth which long since crossed the limits that could be supported by renewable resources. Due to these conditions, it seems unlikely that “sustainability” in the conservative meaning of preserving the status quo will be feasible in the desert belts. In fact, Progressive Development is already implemented, though not recognised as such and without coordinating master plans.
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is recognised by a vast number of countries worldwide as an important instrument for integrating environmental concerns into development strategies – policies, plans and programmes [1]. SEA is a planning and decision-aiding tool that informs decision-makers about potential effects of development strategies on the environment. In the EU it is legally defined by the EC SEA Directive.
Im Rahmen der Strategischen Unweltpruefung (SUP) ist, soweit erforderlich, eine grenzueberschreitende Beteiligung durchzufuehren. Bei dieser sind unterschiedliche administrative, rechtliche, planerische und kulturelle Rahmenbedingungen der beteiligten Staaten zu beruecksichtigen. Sie bedarf daher einer gruendlichen Vorbereitung sowie der Entwicklung geeigneter Verfahren, fuer die bisher kaum auf Beispiele und Erfahrungen zurueckgegriffen werden kann. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde im INTERREG-Ill-A-Projekt "transSEA" am Beispiel der grenzueberschreitenden Beteiligung in der Regionalplanung zwischen Sachsen, Polen und Tschechien ein Verfahrensvorschlag entwickelt, der in diesem Beitrag vorgestellt wird.
Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Neugestaltung der Umweltprüfung von EU-Vorhaben im Bereich der Gesetzgebung, der Gesetzgebungsvorbereitung durch Grün- und Weißbücher und von Programmen mit dem Ziel, einen Vorschlag für eine transparentere Umweltprüfung zu machen.
The paper deals with the methodological application of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in German regional land use planning (SEA-REP) with emphasis on quantitative indicators and assessment thresholds for impact assessment and the comparison of alternatives. A future key role of regional planning in cooperation with sector planning such as agriculture and forestry under climate change is determined. It is investigated, how SEA-REP as decision-aiding instrument can contribute to
an adaptation of the regions to climate change with the objective to mitigate negative impacts on the environment and societies by creating a framework for systematic implementation of quantitative indicators and assessment values. A core problem during the selection of indicators for land uses for the adaptation to climate change (here: called LUCCA) as part of SEA-REP and the derivation of
assessment thresholds is a lack of region-wide objectives for the protection of land and resources. At the same time climate change is so far not sufficient considered in regional land use planning. It is investigated how regional planning could integrate site-specific designations and objectives for an adaptation to impacts caused by climate change. The proposed SEA-REP indicator system integrates mitigation and adaptation measures for environmental and social impacts of climate change, which are evaluated by indicators and assessment thresholds for LUCCA. These involve designations of specific land uses and priority areas for climate protection and human recreation, ecological wildlife networks, flooded sites, areas affected by sea level rise, areas for water storage and carbon storage as-well-as alternative land cultivation. The overall objective of the research focuses on a proposal of regional environmental and social orientation objectives, indicators and the derivation of assessment thresholds for an adaptation of German regional land uses to climate change.
The book is based on the results of the investigations of the authors in the semi-arid and arid regions (ASAR) of the globe. These investigations brought to the conclusion that the warming climate will cause the drying up of the water resources in these regions. In this case the principles of Sustainable Development will not be able to avert forthcoming catastrophes. These conclusions brought to the compilation of the policy of "Progressive Development", emphasising investment in the development of new water resources and changing the natural environments while advancing the local populations on the dimension of knowledge by education.