THE NEW EC AND CA PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY PLATFORM FOR ENVIRONMENT AND WATER COOPERATION IN THE CENTRAL ASIA Regional Tra

1. THE NEW EC AND CA PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY PLATFORM FOR ENVIRONMENT AND WATER COOPERATION IN THE CENTRAL ASIA Regional Training Seminar Almaty, Kazakhstan, April 23-24, 2013. «Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Ecological Assessment» Role of the Public in the Decision Making Process RenatPerelet, Member of the Russian Ecological Academy, Member of the Supreme Ecological Council at the RF Duma, VRF of the Systematic Analysis Institute of the RAS renat@perelet.msk.ru

2. The EEC/UN Convention dedicated to Access to the Information, Public Involvement in the Decision Making Process and to the Justice on the Environmental Issues – Aarhus Convention was adopted in Aarhus, Denmark on June 25, 1998. The Aarhus Convention was signed and ratified by Turkmenistan (1999), Kazakhstan (2000), Tajikistan (2001) and Kyrgyzstan (2001). As opposed to other International Treaties where the member states fulfill their mutual obligations the Aarhus Convention imposes the distinct public obligations on the state.

3. Public Involvement in the Decision Making Process – Four Phases: • Informing the public of the targeted activities (project, strategy, initiative) at the analysis phase of concerns field and requirements assessment; • Defining the opinionsof various interests groups relating to project implementation based on the information fully provided relating to the project and research results, including the public hearing protocols, collection of signatures, questionnairies on the issues related to specific project, verified Minutes of the Meetings, resolutions etc.; • Arrangement and providing a public expertise; • Monitoring the project implementation process.

4. EIA Directives contain the requirement to notify the public and to provide the recommendations to the interested public (i.e. comments will be required) before the consent to launch the works. Usually the methods applied include the billposting, notifications at the places, postal notices to the owners of the adjacent areas and messages in the newspapers.The selected newspapers may be local, regional or may be combined, i.e. any notification in Germany depending on possible consequences may be given in the interregional newspaper; in Ireland a high circulation newspaper within the planned body activities area should be selected while in Italy two newspapers are to be selected as follows: one is regional and one is national daily newspaper with a high circulation.

5. Samples of the Provisions of the Aarhus Convention for the Central Asia • CA Regional Ecological Center (CAREC) was established in accordance with the decision of the 4-th all-European Convention held in Aarhus (Denmark) in 1998. • CAREC started its work in 2001 after ratification by the Republic of Kazakhstan of the Treaty on work conditions for the Center as an independent, noncommercial and nonpolitical organization with International background. • The founders of the CAREC are the following Central Asian states: Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, UN Development Program and European Commission (EC). • Main office of the CAREC is located in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty. The country offices of the CAREC act in five states of the Central Asia.

6. Kazakhstan • Zhayik-Caspian Aarhus center in Atyrau(ZhCAC) was established in September 21, 2009 as a result of signing the Memorandum of Understanding relating to establishment and development of the regional Aarhus Center signed between the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the RK, Akimat of Atyrau Region,OSCE Centerin Astana and the Ecological Gorum of Nongovernmental Organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan. • Mission of the Zhayik-Caspian Aarhus Center is to implement the Aarhus Conventions norms within the Zhayik-Caspian basin area.

7. The Management body of the Zhayik-Caspian Aarhus Center is a Board of Trustees with the membership including the representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the RK,OSCE Center in Astana, Ecological Forum of Nongovernmental Organizations of the RK as well as the representatives of regional Akimats and nongovernmental organizations of Atyrau, Mangistau and West-Kazakhstan Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

8. As per the Strategic Plan approved by the Board of Trustees the Zhayik-Caspian Aarhus Center is focused on the following fields: • · improved access to the ecological information; • · strengthened involvement of the stakeholders in budgeting process associated with the environmental protection issues; • · strengthened involvement of the stakeholders in discussion of the subsoil users’ environmental program; • · strengthened involvement of the stakeholders in decision making process for specific activities; • · providing an informational campaign on access to justice; • · establishment of ecological ideology among young people; • · development of the expert skills of nongovernmental organizations and experts on the issues related to the environment.

9. Practical Work: Website of the Zhayik-Caspian Aarhus Center: www.aarhus-atyrau.kzacts as the source of the ecological information accessible for a wide range of stakeholders. The information is available on the Facebook social network and in the Library. Round table work dedicated to the Drinking Water Budget Programs and Regional Environmental Programs was provided from 2009 to 2011.Extending the work in this field the Zhayik-Caspian Aarhus Center is monitoring and assessing the budget Ak-Bulak Program from March, 2012.

10. In 2010, the Zhayik-Caspian Aarhus Center initiated the discussion of the environmental programs of the companies. This initiative was supported by the following companies: Tengizchevroil LLP, North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC). • Currently the Environmental Action Plans of the companies are available with the ZhCAC library. • The ZhCAC initiated the public hearings dedicated to the environmental programs of the North Caspian Operating Company in 2012.

11. Zhayik-Caspian Aarhus Center cooperates with the local executive bodies, companies and design institutes developing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), on the issues relating to public discussion of the EIA materials, on regular, base. • Consultants meetings with the EIA customers, experts’ consulting, public ecological expertise and public ecological monitoring of the projects are being provided with the support of the Zhayik-Caspian Aarhus Center. • Thus, the public of Atyrau Region, being concerned about construction of the third-generation plant for the TCO has applied to the Zhayik-Caspian Aarhus Center with the request to communicate the information on this project to the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the RK and to the public of Atyrau Region. In turn the ZhCAC has collected all public issues and sent them to the MEP of the RK by ensuring the consideration of the public opinion when issuing the State Ecological Expertise conclusion on this project.

12. A round table work “Access to Justice: Possibilities and Concerns” was conducted with the support of the judiciary and with participation of the Regional Akimat, Ecological supervising agencies, Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, deputies of the regional and city maslikhats, the public and media.

13. Kyrgyzstan The NGO Consulting Council attached to the State Environmental and forestry Agency of the Kyrgyz Republic is functioning since 2006. The main goal of its activities is to develop the cooperation and ensure the interaction between the State Agency and ecological public organizations and NGOs dealing with the environmental issues and to ensure the sustainable development.

14. Fulfillment of the Decree of the President of Kyrgyz Republic dated September 29, 2010, № 212 On Improvement of Interaction between the State Management and the Public. • The public monitoring councils were established at 10 Ministries and Departments of the KR including the Public Monitoring Council at the State Environmental and Forestry Agency.The membership of the Council at the State Agency includes 13 representatives of the civil society, scientific circles, business associations, professional and industrial unions, experts’ society from the fields covered by the State Agency activities.

15. The Central Asian Public Council and the Youth Ecological Network comprised of the public and the NGOs representatives of five Central Asian States (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan) were established at the Interstate Commission for Sustainable Development (ICSD).

16. Turkmenistan The work on implementing the proposals received in the course of the round table work dedicated to fulfillment of the Aarhus Convention in Turkmenistan, Ashgabat on December 19-20, 2000 such as: “to study the health-related environmental impact assessment issues in the course of promoting and implementing the Aarhus Convention”, “to explain the provisions of the Aarhus Conventions among the key people whose activities have an influence on the state’s sustainable development”, was completed.

17. Tajikistan • November 22-23, 2012, The Environmental Committee at the RT Government held the training seminar together with the Work Group implementing the Aarhus Convention in the Republic of Tajikistan, dedicated to the following: Development of the Recommendations on Establishment of the National Plan to Implement the Aarhus Convention in the RT. • The seminar moderator, the Director of the Environmental Group OO is a member of the Work Group on Implementation of the Aarhus Convention in the RT. • The seminar has studied the main issues relating to the Aarhus Convention such as the goals, tasks, key achievements, existing basic documents as well as the main pillars of the Convention in Tajikistan.

18. Experience beyond the CA Region Belarus Republic of Belarus is a party to the Aarhus Conventions (approved by the Presidential Decree dated December 14, 1999, №726). Practice of using the national legislation ensuring the citizens’ rights in the field of environmental protection shows availability of specific collisions between the national legislation of the Republic of Belarus and International right norms. Currently one Aarhus Center of the national level is functioning in Minsk. It was decided together with the Ministry of Nature to establish the first Aarhus Center in Grodno which was opened in November 2012. The main target – sustainable development in the Republic of Belarus of strategic environmental planning and management skills as well as ecological information - is achieved owing to establishment and functioning of the Aarhus Center. The draft of the Law of the Republic of Belarus On Modifications and Amendments to specific laws of the Republic of Belarus on the public involvement in ecologically significant decision making process and access for the public to the ecological information was prepared.

19. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION RenatPerelet renat@perelet.msk.ru Tel. +7-905-713 2783