Tonganibeia, Kautoa2013-04-182008https://hdl.handle.net/10182/5380The aim of this study is to develop an appropriate Strategic Environmental Assessment Framework to provide effective and systematic mechanisms with underlying principles and processes of formal SEA that are workable within the context of Kiribati. The study is based on a review of the relevant literature followed by an evaluation of the current institutional arrangements for environmental assessment in Kiribati. Since SEA is a tool to aid national planning and decision-making to enhance environmental protection and to promote the country's national sustainable development goals, this evaluation exercise is extended to include to examine the relationship between current national planning framework and the practice of environmental assessment. The main finding of this study is that the current institutional arrangements for environmental assessments in Kiribati are incapacitated by lack of recognition of basic principles of EIA, and a lack of recognition for EIA as an important and mandatory tool for development planning. The establishment of the proposed SEA Framework can address these concerns and to integrate environmental assessment processes into the national planning framework so that they complement each other. SEA has been increasingly considered internationally as an important tool to provide a more integrated approach to achieve sustainable development through a high level of environmental protection and integration of environmental considerations into the planning and decision-making process. This is the way forward for Kiribati to address the lack of an integrated approach to both environmental assessment and national planning processes focussed on a sustainable development agenda.enKiribatiplanningStrategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)environmental assessmentsustainable developmentThesisDigital thesis can be viewed by current staff and students of Lincoln University only. If you are the author of this item, please contact us if you wish to discuss making the full text publicly available.Q112878495