SEA – Enhancing communication for better environmental decisions Gustavo Vicente a, ⁎ , Maria R. Partidário b,1 a New University of Lisbon, DCEA, FCT-UNL, Quinta da Torre, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal b IST – Technical University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal Received 20 June 2006; accepted 22 June 2006 Available online 22 August 2006 Abstract Over the years SEA has been subjected to several interpretations, often resulting from different views on democratic processes and social considerations in decision-making. More than strictly a technical tool, as in its original form, SEA has the potential to act as a mediating instrument, bridging problem perceptions with technical solutions, steering the assessment to facilitate the integration of environmental values into decision-making processes, influencing decision-makers' capacity of acceptance. This paper explores the potential of SEA to enhance communication between different stakeholders, enabling discussion and agreement independently of different beliefs, convictions, social roles, values, accumulated experiences, individual needs, or any other factors, that express different world visions and determine the context within which decisions are taken. To face up to this challenge the authors suggest the establishment of communication strategies that enhance the role of SEA in the construction of social expectations and platforms of discussion, in the multiple negotiation processes that take place between stakeholders and decision-makers. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Strategic environmental assessment (SEA); Decision-making; Communication 1. Introduction The effectiveness of communication, within technically based instruments that operate at strategic levels of decision-making, such as SEA, is increasingly becoming a priority for impact assessors that deal with a whole range of social aspects, when aiming to address people's Environmental Impact Assessment Review 26 (2006) 696 – 706 www.elsevier.com/locate/eiar ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +351 965778722. E-mail addresses: gv@fct.unl.pt (G. Vicente), mrp@civil.ist.utl.pt (M.R. Partidário). 1 Tel.: +351 218417000; fax: +351 218499242. 0195-9255/$ - see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2006.06.005