1.04 Country and regional programmes: system monitoring

Each country that decides to have an ESIA and SEA system in place should also monitor whether these instruments are properly applied, and thus to keep track of how the national EA system performs. For this purpose of monitoring, a filing system or database is required that allows tracking of specific ESIA/SEA dossiers, and the gathering of performance related information over years and for each sector. Such a database may also be linked to the helpdesk function in cases where the database is (partly) publicly accessible. Support from the NCEA may include: • Advice on the development of an ESIA/SEA database. This primarily focuses on contents. For example, what type of information and documentation needs to be available and to whom? • Organisational advice on structure and set up the database and on whether certain elements could be made more widely available (publicly or for identified groups), for which external expertise may be required. • Assistance on the analysis of monitoring results, which involves drawing conclusions on the performance of the system and subsequent identification of needs for further strengthening.