Located at the interface between science, politics and society, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) involves multiple knowledge areas and issues subject to value judgments. This study aims to analyze the interrelation between transdisciplinary profile of SEA, local knowledge (LK), public engagement and effectiveness of assessment. Transdisciplinarity-oriented SEA (SEAt) allows better approach of the context under study, because it integrates concepts and perspectives of agents with different backgrounds, knowledge, experiences and worldviews. The LK acts as a contextual knowledge and it complements the scientific knowledge. SEAt should be guided by a policy of continued involvement between scientists and lay people, through collaborative participation of social actors. Together, these factors lead to greater acceptance of the results by stakeholders, increasing the tool's effectiveness.
Strategic Environmental Assessment; local knowledge; effectiveness; participative processes; transdisciplinarity
