78 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN POLICY AND SECTOR REFORM
was that many chiefs found themselves accommodating the system in exchange for short-term compensation. The SESA flagged these problems but fell short of suggesting solutions. In addition, land tenure and chiefship are politically sensitive issues in Sierra Leone. In this context, the evaluation of the Sierra Leone SESA pointed to the fact that the SEA had barely touched on the importance of the informal local patrimonial governance system of paramount chiefs. Although sector reform and, particularly, SEA face difficulties in tackling political economy constraints to sustainable and equitable development, it must be acknowledged that this is an area in which policy SEA could be significantly improved. Policy SEA Recommendations The outcomes of SEA are meant to influence policy and sector reform design. This means that SEA recommendations need to be organized in a fashion that facilitates action and implementation. Objectives The objective of the last step in the implementation phase of policy SEA is to make policy, institutional, legal, regulatory, and capacity-building recommendations for overcoming the gaps and the political economy constraints identified during the institutional and capacity assessment. Process to Be Followed and Examples from the Pilots Three of the pilot policy SEAs—the Kenya Forests Act SEA, the SESA for the Sierra Leone Mining Sector Reform, and WAMSSA—used a “policy action matrix” approach to present recommendations and encourage action. Table 3.1 presents a small snapshot taken from the Kenya Forests Act SEA policy action matrix. The Kenya policy action matrix contained the SEA findings and recommendations to support the implementation of the Kenya Forests Act. Priority areas were broken down into issues identified by stakeholders, which were linked with the actions required to ensure that the issues could be addressed. Milestones, along with an indicative list of stakeholders to be involved in the action, were also identified. The use of a transparent consultative process to reach agreement on action points and milestones meant the policy actions listed in the matrix were identified and prioritized by a broad range of forest sector stakeholders. Recommendations of SEA should be shared with stakeholders and validated by them. Dialogue, at this stage, builds consensus on what solutions are achievable, as well as effective and sustainable.