Transport infrastructure SEA in The Netherlands between procedure, process and content

Experience with the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment directive is emerging. In the Netherlands it has been applied to large transport since 2005. In 2006, an evaluation of the organization of this process was done. Key lesson: infrastructure developers undertaking an environmental assessment should keep an eye on procedure, interactive process as well as content, since these three variables should co-evolve in interaction. One of these variables may change and the others may have to be adjusted. If the developer is caught off guard the overall process may become inefficient, and the transport problem may not be adequately addressed. This is a matter of general management, not just management of the SEA.