Monitoring and adaptive management

• Author: Directorate-General for Environment (European Commission)
• Pages: 126-133

126 Guidance on Wind Energy Developments and EU Nature Legislation

7. MONITORING AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT

7.1 Monitoring

7.1.1 Introduction

Monitoring is essential to ensure that: (i) the scientific basis underpinning the conclusions of an appropriate

assessment remain valid in the long term; and (ii) any measures to avoid and/or reduce significant effects

remain effective. Before a project can be allowed to proceed, a n appropriate assessment must conclude

beyond reasonable scientific doubt that an adverse effect on site integrity can be ruled out. However, it must

be acknowledged that scientific knowledge and the facts at any given time have a limited ‘shelf life’. There

remains uncertainty about: (i) cumulative effects (see Chapter 3.4); (ii) the effects of climate change on

biodiversity and ecosystem function; and (iii) other potential changes in the environment. Given this

uncertainty, monitoring is an essential tool in ensuring that any significant effects can be identified in a timely

manner and managed accordingly. Unexpected effects may arise for several reasons. For example, they may

be identified after an assessment has concluded that there is no significant effect, because new scientific

evidence has emerged. Or the conservation status and/or environmental conditions may have changed such

that an effect that was previously not considered to be significant becomes so.

Monitoring requirements and standards exist in some Member States. T hese requirements and standards are

mandatory as part of an EIA and considered examples of good practice for other countries to follow (Brownlie

& Treweek, 2018; IFC, 2012).

Box 7-1 The EIA Directive (2014/52/EU)

“Member States should ensure that mitigation and compensation measures are implemented, and that appropriate

procedures are determined regarding the monitoring of significant adverse effects on the environment resulting from the

construction and operation of a project, i

nter alia, to identify unforeseen significant adverse effects, in order to be able to

undertake appropriate remedial action. Such monitoring should not duplicate or add to monitoring required pursuant to

Union legislation other than this Directive and to national legislation.” (Paragraph 35)

The need for monitoring and adaptive management in the context of biodiversity and infrastructure

development is outlined by many international organisations. Only on the basis of scientifically sound

monitoring data can the design and implementation of plans or projects, including measures to avoid or reduce

significant effects, be adapted over time to ensure their long-term validity, so called ‘adaptive management’.

Box 7-2 Examples outlining the need for monitoring and adaptive management

Given the complexity in predicting project impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services over the long term, the client

should adopt adaptive management in which the implementation of m

itigation and management measures are responsive

to changing conditions and the results of monitoring throughout the project’s lifecycle.

See: IFC ‘Guidance Note 6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources’.

A func

tion of monitoring, in the context of management planning, is to measure the effectiveness of management. It is

essential to know, and to be able to demonstrate to others, that the objectives are being achieved. Thus, monitoring must

be recognised as an in

tegral component of management and planning. It should be designed to identify and manage

change in ecological character of the site.

See: Ramsar ‘Handbook 18: Managing wetlands’.

The collection of monitoring data on both identified negative effects and the effectiveness of mitigation

measures serves broader societal needs. Monitoring and gathering of data can provide the necessary

knowledge to resolve the uncertainties encountered in deploying wind energy developments that are low in

ecological risk.

here is often no standardi

project’s appropriate assessment and/or EIA?

management of the project’s