Presentation Transcript

1. EIA & SEA in CARLegislation & practical experience

   Oleg Pechenyuk,“Independent Ecological Impact Assessment” Public Association, Kyrgyzstan
2. UNECE Agreements
3. Bilateral agreements on cooperation in environment protection Between the Government of Kazakhstan and the Government of Kyrgyzstan Between the Government of Kazakhstan and the Government of Uzbekistan Between the Government of Uzbekistan and the Government of Kyrgyzstan Cooperation on conduction of joint environmental impact assessments for facilities with potential trans-boundary impact;
4. Inter-Parliament Assembly of CIS member-states The Inter-Parliament Assembly of CIS member-states held in Saint-Petersburg 16 May, 2011 adopted via Regulation #36-7 “Model law on strategic environmental impact assessment”. Article 11 prescribes to adjust national legislations to the existing law: “Legislative and other regulatory and legal acts of the state legal entities are developed and (or) adjusted to the existing law within six months after its entry into force”.
5. Basic regulatory and legal acts for EIA and SEA
6. By-laws Kazakhstan Instruction on assessment of impact by planned commercial and other activity on the environment upon developing pre-planned, planned, pre-project and project documentation; Instruction on qualification requirements to licensable activities on nature-protection projecting, regulatory actions and environmental assessment-related works; State service standard “Determination of state environmental impact assessment for Category I facilities” State service standard “Determination of state environmental impact assessment for Category II, III and IV facilities” Rules of state environmental impact assessment conduction
7. By-laws Tajikistan Procedure on environmental impact assessment; Procedure on state environmental assessment conduction; Instruction on composition, procedure on development, coordination and approval of design and estimate documentation for construction of enterprises, buildings and constructions of sections of EIA, environment protection and design and estimate documentations; Uzbekistan Regulations on state environmental impact assessment in Uzbekistan

8. The Republic of Kazakhstan

9. Environmental impact assessment The procedure within which possible consequences of commercial and other activity for environment and human health are assessed, preventive measures in relation to unfavorable consequences are developed (liquidation, degradation, damage and depletion of natural ecological systems and natural resources),environmental enhancement taking into account requirements of Kazakhstan’s ecology-focused legislation (Article 35 of Ecological Code of Kazakhstan); EIA is conducted aiming to identify ecological and other consequences of options of managerial and commercial decision-making, development of recommendations on environmental enhancement, prevention of liquidation, degradation, damage and depletion of natural ecological systems and natural resources (Instruction on impact assessment of the planned and other activity on environment upon developing pre-planned, planned, pre-project and project documentation).
10. Latest changes 1. Requirements on completion of EIA to the existing facilities (Article 36, 44) has been excluded; 2. EIA stages have been changed (stages on territory assessment, post-project analysis have been omitted) (Article 37); 3. Obtaining of license for EIA developers is necessary only for facilities of category I (Article 38); 4. Liability of developer and purchaser for reliable and comprehensive information has been described; 5. GHG have been deleted from impact assessment (Article 39); 6. New notion on “non-classifiable facilities” is formed – activities non-related to hazard classes as per sanitary classification of industrial facilities (Article 40); 7. Declaration of intentions has been excluded from EIA documentation (Article 41).
11. SEA elements in Environmental Code of Kazakhstan: Article 32, Item 2 “Results of impact assessment are an integral part of pre-planned, planned, pre-project and project documentation”’ Article 47, Item 1 – state environmental impact assessment facilities consist of: Drafts of government-funded, sector-based and regional programs with supportive materials on environmental impact assessment; Drafts of regulatory and legal acts of Kazakhstan, technical standard documents and instructive-methodical documents execution of which may result in negative effects on environment; Designs of master construction (development) plan of cities and territories including territories of special economical zones and territories with special security arrangements on commercial activity management;
12. SEA elements in Environmental Code of Kazakhstan: Article 47, Item 3 - Drafts of regulatory and legal acts of Kazakhstan, technical standard documents and instructive-methodical documents execution of which may result in negative effects on environment developed by central government agencies belong to Category I. Drafts of regulatory and legal acts of Kazakhstan, technical standard documents and instructive-methodical documents developed by the local self-government bodies belong to Category II.

13. The Kyrgyz Republic

14. Regulatory and legal acts The KR Law on “Environmental assessment”, Article 10 Availability of impact assessment on environment composed of all types and stages of project documentation development is compulsory and serves as a basis for decision-making by specially authorized government agency on environmental assessment
15. In connection with introduction of the KR Law on “Regulatory and legal acts” in 2009 instructions, regulations and rules non-approved by Laws or Regulations deemed non-effective; The KR Law on “Basis of technical regulation in the Kyrgyz Republic” adopted in 2004 specifies that compulsory requirements to products and/or related processes are accepted only in the form of technical regulations.

16. The Republic of Tajikistan

17. Peculiarities of EIA conduction “Planning of new facilities and activities that may impact the environment is performed on the basis of documentation on environmental impact assessment exposed to the state environmental assessment on a compulsory basis” (Part 1, Article 26 of the TJ Law on “Environmental assessment”); It should be noted that in the general scheme of EIA process indicated in Procedure on environmental impact assessment (approved by the TJ Government Regulation dated 03.10.2006) state environmental assessment is included to the general scheme and indicated as one of the stages of EIA process; One of the important aspects can be availability of regulations indicating to necessity to develop TOR and coordinate it with specially authorized government agencies as well as regulations that provide enabling of the public to familiarize with draft TOR and submit their proposals and comments.
18. Trans-boundary EIA Article 7 of the TJ Law on “Environmental assessment” feasibility studies and projects of commercial activity that can negatively impact the environment of neighbor countries or for implementation of which the use of natural resources common with the neighbor countries is needed or the ones that affect interests of the neighbor countries determined by the international legal acts recognized by the Republic of Tajikistan are regarded as state environmental assessment facilities.
19. Trans-boundary EIA Section III of Procedure also indicates that EIA materials of projects with possible trans-boundary impact as well as the other complex projects undergo compulsory quality control conducted by organizations or experts having at least 3-year experience within the UNECE Convention on environmental impact assessment in the trans-boundary context
20. SEA Procedure on environmental impact assessment indicates that if concepts, perspective (master) plans and programs on the country’s social and economical development are exposed to environmental assessment, EIA is implemented as strategic environmental assessment.

21. The Republic of Turkmenistan

22. Environmental assessment is of the government form only. Article 16 of the Law on “Nature protection” contains commitments on EIA conduction.

23. The Republic of Uzbekistan

24. The Law on “Environmental assessment” Article15. Purchaser submits the following in order to conduct state environmental assessment: By projected facilities – materials on environmental impact assessment that contain draft statement on environmental impact, statement on ecological after-effects and in cases envisaged by the legislation – statement on environmental impact; By the existing facilities – draft environmental regulations, statement on environmental impact developed upon identification of the fact of the facility’s impact on the environment and health of citizens. Purchaser has a right for additional submission of materials on ecological audit.
25. Article24. Ecological audit Ecological audit is an independent environmental assessment of the functioning enterprises and other facilities negatively impacting the environment status conducted by ecological auditors (firms) as per procedure and conditions specified by the legislation.
26. Common problems Problems of conceptual aspect that allows interpreting notions, situations, problems, images, events at the discretion of Purchaser or Government Agency: “ecosystem”, “rational water use”, “best available technologies”. Absence of norms precisely regulating the procedure on EIA conduction, its certain stages and primarily, corresponding periods of performance of certain actions does not enable fully assessing of implementation effectiveness; In practice an approach still remains that is more focused on ensuring of final result – preparation of EIA materials than compliance with procedure on preparation of these materials.
27. Common problems The legislations of the countries have no clear and applicable recommendations or guidelines on trans-boundary EIA and SEA conduction; There is no difference between initiatives of strategic and project level (single procedure of environmental assessment has been fixed). In the national legislations strategic documents are declaratively referred to environmental assessment facilities. Financial burden

28. Recommendations

29. EIA Creation of a precise mechanism is needed at the national level that would guarantee that activities with possible essential trans-boundary impact at the early stage will be under the focus of the competent body that would possess opportunities required for decision-making on which of these activities the notification has to be submitted as well as in accordance to the Convention requirements, could ensure timely notification of the affected party and other procedures provided by requirements of the international agreements.
30. It is necessary to identify a precise set of criteria used for decision-making on reasonability of submission of notification to the affected party.
31. Recommendations on SEA To develop national mechanisms on environmental assessment of strategic documents; To identify borders of responsibility and competencies of various participants of SEA process; To assess ecosystem services. Incorporation of cost of ecosystem services into prime cost of goods and services; To control execution, increase of administrative, criminal and civil legal liability for execution of decisions made; To introduce real mechanisms of inter-agency and inter-sectoral interaction; To strengthen capacity of major interest groups. To optimize the system of professional development of specialists in various areas of nature conservation and management activity.

32. Thank you for attention!