New approach SEA for the hydropower sector

22 May 2019

Paris, 14-16 May - The NCEA attended the World Hydropower congress to raise awareness on the added value of  Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in the Hydropower sector. In cooperation with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) we prepared an Advocacy Paper on tailor made SEA and hydropower-by-design. Good news: various finance institutions and countries are interested in this approach and want to test in in practice, starting already in the coming months. 

The approach

A tailor made SEA approach is to support government authorities with strategic planning of the hydropower sector. In general, the SEA supports river basin plans or national energy plans. This specific SEA approach makes use of SEA good practice principles and a method developed by TNC known as hydropower by design which develops and compares a number of different hydropower options in a river basin.