Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a systematic and anticipatory process, undertaken to analyze the environmental effects of proposed plans, programmes and other strategic initiatives and to integrate the findings into decision-making. The UNECE Protocol on SEA to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in a Transboundary Context was adopted in Kyiv in 2003. It entered into force in 2010 and by the end of April 2015 had 26 Parties, including the European Union as a regional organization. The Protocol requires Parties to integrate SEA into their development plans and programmes at the earliest stages — so helping to lay the groundwork for sustainable development.