Descrizione 1
Francesca Giaime, Stefano Pranzo, Valentina Sini
The indicator provides an overview of current regional planning activities relating to seven types of plans and the status of the associated Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) processes.
As of 31 December 2023, 129 plans out of 147 planned have been completed, achieving 88% coverage. In the same period, the total number of complete and in-force plans with SEA amounts to 103, representing 70% of all planned complete plans (147) and 80% of currently completed ones (129).
The indicator provides information on the current regional planning framework for seven types of plans established by national legislative provisions. The selection of the plan types monitored is based on their strategic nature in implementing environmental and territorial development policies. Moreover, these are plans whose implementation may have significant environmental impacts, and therefore must be subject to SEA under Legislative Decree 152/2006, as amended.
To provide meaningful knowledge on the status of regional planning processes and the associated SEA procedures. This makes it possible to have an up-to-date picture of planning actions that provide integrated responses to environmental and territorial pressures. It also contributes to “external consistency analyses” of SEA processes. Furthermore, it enables verification of how sustainable development guidelines are being implemented through the integration of SEA into specific plans.
Legislative Decree 152/2006 and subsequent amendments.
Regional laws relating to SEA.
Legislative Decree 152/2006 and amendments govern the application of SEA to plans and programmes that may have significant effects on the environment and cultural heritage.
The regional plans considered fall within sectors that must be systematically subjected to SEA. These plans are established by sector-specific national legislative provisions, as listed in Table A.
The plans listed in Table A must therefore be drafted and subjected to SEA.
Descrizione 2
ISPRA, Environmental Data Yearbook, various years
Official websites of MASE, MiC, the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, ARPA/APPA
http://www.leggiditaliaprofessionale.it
http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/
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Qualificazione dati
Research of information related to planning processes and the corresponding SEA (Strategic Environmental Assessment) through major search engines, and in particular via the websites of:
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MASE (Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security)
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MiC (Ministry of Culture)
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Regions
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Autonomous Provinces
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ARPA/APPA (Regional/Autonomous Environmental Protection Agencies)
Regional/Autonomous Provinces
2010-2023
Qualificazione indicatore
Processing and systematization into tables and maps of the data and information collected regarding certain types of regional plans and the related SEA processes carried out in accordance with Legislative Decree 152/06, as amended, or other regulatory frameworks (EU Directive 2001/42/EC, related regional laws, etc.).
- Total and per-plan-type summation of complete and in-force plans (tables and geographic representation)
- Total and per-type summation of plans completed in the reference year (table)
- Total and per-type summation of plans updated and/or amended in the reference year (table)
- Percentage ratio (total and by plan type) between the sum of complete and in-force plans and the maximum possible number of such plans (table)
- Total and per-plan-type summation of ongoing SEA processes (table)
- Total and per-plan-type summation of SEA processes concluded in the reference year (table)
- Total and per-type summation of complete and in-force plans with SEA (table and geographic representation)
- Overall, per-type, and per-region/autonomous province percentage ratio between the number of complete and in-force plans with SEA and the maximum possible number of such plans (table)
- Percentage ratio (total and per-type) between complete and in-force plans with SEA and all complete and in-force plans (table)
In general, in 2023, there is a high number of complete plans: 129 out of the 147 planned (88%).
Specifically, energy plans, waste management plans, and water protection plans are fully covered (21 out of 21), while the level of completion is lower for the other types (14–20 out of 21).
Compared to the previous year, the situation remains stable: in 2023, only one plan was completed and only three were amended and/or updated (Table 1).
Similarly, the number of complete plans with SEA shows no significant variation: SEA plans increased by just one unit compared to the previous year, reaching 103.
The highest number of complete SEA processes is confirmed for waste management plans (20) and energy plans (18), as well as air quality remediation plans (18); whereas the response for other plan types remains lower (7–16).
As of 31 December 2023, there are still 45 SEA processes in progress, indicating intense planning activity, both for new and updated plans (Table 2).
Planning and programming activities are by nature subject to periodic update/revision processes, also considering the evolution of regulations. The Strategic Environmental Assessment accompanies these processes.
Over the years, a progressive alignment with current legislation has been observed which, once consolidated, is expected to reach the maximum value of 147 complete planning processes with SEA.
The trend is positive for both planning and SEA processes: between 2010 and 2023, planning increased by 35.8%, reaching 88% coverage, while SEA increased more than fourfold (Figure 2).
Dati
Tabella 1: Pianificazione regionale vigente (31 dicembre 2023)
Elaborazione ISPRA su dati di regioni e province autonome
Tabella 2: Processi di pianificazione regionale con VAS (31 dicembre 2023)
Elaborazione ISPRA su dati di regioni e province autonome
Figura 1a: Distribuzione geografica dei piani completi con eventuale processo di VAS (31 dicembre 2023)
ISPRA
Figura 1b: Distribuzione geografica dei piani completi con eventuale processo di VAS (31 dicembre 2023)
ISPRA
Distribuzione geografica dei piani completi con eventuale processo di VAS (31 dicembre 2023)
ISPRA
Figura 2: Serie storica VAS regionali_2010-2023
ISPRA
Tabella A: disposizioni legislative nazionali istitutive dei piani regionali
Table 1 shows the status of planning, whether completed or not. Main partial sectoral plans are also included.
A plan is considered complete when all component plans or partial sections are present, except in cases where the in-force planning tools are not updated to current legislation. Only complete plans are counted in the totals, not the partial instruments. In those regions where the territorial and landscape plans are merged into one instrument, they are counted separately as two plans: one territorial and one landscape plan.
As shown in Table 1 and Figures 1a and 1b, 11 regions have all examined plans both complete and in force: Piedmont, Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzo, Apulia, and Calabria. In 2023, only one new plan was completed and only three were amended or updated. The total number of plans in force rises to 129, i.e., 88% of the 147 planned.
Regarding SEA-related planning processes (Table 2), as of 2023, there are 103 complete plans with SEA (their type and geographical distribution are shown in Figures 1a and 1b) and 45 SEA processes underway.
In 2023, four SEA processes were concluded: three for transport plans and one for a waste management plan.
The total number of complete and in-force plans with SEA currently represents 70% of all planned complete plans (147) and 80% of currently in-force plans (129). Among these, waste management plans stand out (20 out of 21, approx. 95%), while landscape plans have only 7 (about 33%).
From a regional perspective, Piedmont, Lombardy, the Province of Trento, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Apulia show the highest number of complete plans with SEA compared to those planned (86–100%), whereas Basilicata and the Province of Bolzano have the lowest (29% and 14%, respectively).
Table 2 considers the various situations observed in SEA-related planning processes, including partial plans and special cases.
The SEA processes mentioned are implemented pursuant to Legislative Decree 152/06 and amendments, or other regulatory references (EU Directive 2001/42/EC, related regional laws, etc.).
The expression “new plan elaboration” is used both in cases of partial updates of an already approved plan (extension, integration, adjustment, amendment, etc.) and when the planning process significantly changes its objectives and specific contents — for example, to comply with a radically new regulatory framework, a shift in political priorities, or due to the long-standing absence of updates requiring a full planning restart.
As in the previous edition, procedures initiated over eight years ago (noted in footnotes) and for which no further updates can be found online are considered suspended.
As for the phases of SEA-related planning processes, the various situations have been categorized into three groups:
For monitoring, the year of the most recent available information is indicated in parentheses.
For partial plans, the specific sectors they refer to are indicated in parentheses.
Processes involving screening for full or partial SEA applicability of the plan content are also included among SEA-related planning processes.