§4.4 Consultation and dialogue in strategic planning

Recognising the benefits of dialogue and consultation, more and more planners are now adopting a more interactive and transparent planning process. This approach encourages early consultation with environmental authorities and stakeholders as an important element in ensuring that acceptable and sustainable solutions are found. Consultation during strategic planning is equally important in reaching a common understanding of the issues at stake. It also encourages greater cooperation in the search for solutions (i.e. possible alternatives or mitigation measures) to the ecological effects identified in the plan assessment. Consultation and dialogue with nature authorities from the outset is essential in order to identify possible risks and conflicts with sensitive areas and species, to better understand the vulnerability of habitats and species to the planned developments and to scope and carry out an appropriate assessment. Consultation with other authorities, NGOs, stakeholder groups and the public is also required under the SEA Directive (see box on p. 47 on public participation under the EIA and SEA Directives). Participation is important in the definition phase of the plan and during the interactive and iterative process of working out realistic alternative solutions for problematic areas. In this respect, it is important to identify stakeholders and involve them in the consultations as this ensures that the strategic planning process takes into account all the relevant knowledge and information about any potential conflicts. Developers and competent authorities should engage closely at the earliest possible stage if it is anticipated that an Article 6(4) derogation will be considered. This might be in the early stages of developing a proposal, or otherwise as soon as it becomes clear that a derogation may be needed. They should also ensure that the conditions for derogation are fully explored and documented, since this will help avoid delays to the decision-making process and ensure a transparent and robust decision.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07