Strategic Land Policy and Legislation Branch
SEEA Guidelines and Methods
What is a Socio-Economic and Environmental Assessment?
A Socio-Economic and Environmental Assessment (SEEA) provides planners, stakeholders and decision-makers with:
- Background information on the socio-economic and environmental context of an area and its communities, as well as an inventory of lands and resources.
- A description of the key socio-economic and environmental parameters that may be affected by a land use plan or initiative.
- An assessment of the expected socio-economic and environmental implications of the land use plan or initiative under consideration, relative to a base case.
Separate socioeconomic assessment (SEA) and environmental risk assessment (ERA) reports are usually produced first, then summarised and integrated in an SEEA report.
SEEA Guidelines
The SEEA guidelines (PDF 458KB) provide a framework for analysis and presentation. They are applicable to large-scale strategic Land and Resource Management Plans (LRMPs), to smaller Sustainable Resource Management Plans (SRMPs), and to other processes requiring socio-economic and environmental assessment.
The general approach is that a base case scenario is compared with alternative land use scenarios. Economic, social, and environmental implications are considered, and trade-offs and synergies are identified. To deal with the large number of complex and inter-related issues, the approach allows for the inclusion of quantifiable outcomes and for qualitative analysis of outcomes that are not quantifiable. Components of cost-benefit analysis and economic impact analysis provide the main analytical tools in the framework.
SEA Report
The SEA report considers the following categories of implications:
- Economic Development - by sector, such as forestry, mining, oil and gas, tourism, recreation, agriculture, trapping, and botanical forest products.
- Social Implications - expected impacts on community populations, jobs and incomes, and other aspects of wellbeing
- Specific Aboriginal Implications - the implications for First Nations’ unique social, cultural and economic values.
- Provincial Government Finances – revenue and expenditure implications
- Net Economic Value – or economic rent, a measure of overall implications for provincial wellbeing
ERA Report
Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) is an assessment of the interactions between land use and resource management scenarios and environmental values. Current conditions are compared against historic “natural” range of variation and predicted future ranges in differing management scenarios. An overview of ERA methodology is provided in two documents:
Timber Supply Analysis
Timber supply analysis is one of the main inputs for both the SEA and ERA components of the SEEA. The timber supply methods used in the context of land use planning are discussed in:
Further Development of SEEA Methods
Our intention is to further develop our SEEA methods and indicators as we acquire new understandings and experience, and as new needs are identified by land use decision-makers and planners. The following reports are provided here for information and discussion purposes:
Major Policies Influencing SEEA Analysis
British Columbia government policies which have a major influence on land use planning and related SEEAs include:
Links to other relevant policies and legislation can be found at:
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