Approach to Appraisal • Describing the impacts • Using ASTs • Identifying the impacts • Valuing the impacts • Obtaining a new value

Appraisal of options using ASTs

ASTs are tabular summaries of the main economic, environmental and social impacts of a proposed option, whether relating to a policy/programme, strategy or scheme. An AST is produced for each alternative option and sets out, simply and concisely, the key consequences of the different options for tackling a particular problem or achieving a specific objective.

The concept of an AST originated as a means of improving the approach taken to assessing the impacts of road construction schemes (namely New Approach to Appraisal (NATA)), in response to criticism that environmental and social issues were not adequately taken into account. Since then, more recent guidance developed by Defra, the Environment Agency and other governmental organisations have taken this concept on board, in particular in relation to water resource management, as a means of:

• Recording impact information in a consistent manner;
• Ensuring that a comprehensive range of impacts is considered within the assessment;
• Deciding which impacts are most important to the end decision and demonstrating how this was reached; and
• Providing a means for others to audit the assessment and accompanying decision making process.

The aim of the AST is to ensure transparency, i.e. to provide a structure in which all of the reasons for choosing a preferred option are set out in a clear and intelligible manner. In this way, the decision making process transforms from a black box to a more auditable process. The use of ASTs means that all impacts can be taken into account in the decision-making process, regardless of whether or not they have been presented in monetary terms.

In the present appraisal context, many assessments are based on the principle of Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA). Monetary valuations are provided for all impacts where this is feasible and robust. However, where monetary valuations are not appropriate, qualitative and quantitative descriptions of impacts are required. An AST (notionally) allows all of these ways of describing impacts to be brought together in order to give a fair and unbiased overall description, without giving prominence to any one type of impact or to the benefits expressed in monetary terms compared to those which cannot be expressed in this way.

Hence, the key components of an AST have to at least include cells for recording the following types of information:

• A description of the option being assessed and the area affected by it;
• A qualitative description of the effects of the option for a prescribed set of impact categories and sub-categories;
• A quantitative description in physical or natural units of measure of the effects of the option under each sub-category;
• The results of monetary valuation exercises, as appropriate, for each sub-category; and
• Any assumptions specific to the impact assessments or comments on their robustness and validity.

An AST for use when assessing different saltmarsh management techniques needs to be tailored so that appraisal is proportionate to the decision that is being made. Different types of decision are likely to require very different levels of appraisal (see figure below), and hence an appropriate AST, and can be summarised as:

• Management decisions: appraisal based on groups of functions and services.
• Restoration: appraisal based on more detailed consideration of key functions and services.
• Managed realignment: appraisal based on detailed consideration of key functions and services with monetary valuation of key impacts (as appropriate).
• Compensatory habitat: appraisal based on detailed consideration of key functions and services, with monetary valuation of key impacts (as appropriate).

Overview of the level of detail needed for the appraisal of different management options

The first step in development of the AST involves defining the impact types and categories that would form the framework for the appraisal process and tailoring these to the level of detail required for a decision to be made. The list of impact types and categories should be as comprehensive as possible, but should stay within the remit of saltmarsh functions and services and, most importantly, should be manageable not only for practitioners but also for stakeholders. In short, the list of impacts considered should strike a balance between completeness and workability. This means that a specific AST is likely to be required for each different decision, although the resulting ASTs will be very similar, with only the level of detail differing.

Example ASTs for different management options

Downloadable ASTs for specific management options are provided below (note that the same AST is used for decisions on managed realignment and compensatory habitat).

View AST form for management decisions (download form)

View AST form for Restoration works (download form)

View AST form for Managed realignment and Compensatory Habitat (download form)

Also see http://www.defra.gov.uk/environ/fcd/
pubs/pagn/fcdpag3/section3.pdf for details of cost-benefit analysis (i.e. Defra Flood and Coastal Defence: Project Appraisal Guidance 3).