S TRATEGIC E NVIRONMENTAL A SSESSMENT

1. STRATEGICENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT CAPACITY BUILDING IN IRAN IAIA Conference on International Experience and Perspectives in SEA Prague 27 September 2005

2. Contents • Iran at a glance • Environmental challenges • Environmental administration • Current EIA practice • From EIA to SEA • UNDP / Government SEA capacity building project: • Objectives and intended outputs; • Achievements so far; • Lessons learned.

3. Iran: Basic Facts • Area: 1,648000 sq km 60% drylands • Population: 68.2 million • Pop. Growth rate: 1.3%/yr • Climate: diverse • Max temp.:51° C • Min temp:- 37° C • Precipitation: • 50 to 2000 mm/y • 250 mm/y, avg. • Avg. alt.: 1200 m

4. Iran: State of Development (2003)

5. Iran: State of Development (2003)

6. Iran: State of Development (2003)

7. Environmental Challenges • Cities are growing bigger (66% living in cities); • Water is getting scarce and more polluted; • Forests are disappearing (40% decrease in 4 decades); • Soil is degraded and eroded (25 ton/ha/yr); • Biodiversity is threatened; • 40,000 ton of municipal wastes per day; • Energy is subsidised and wasted; • Others.

8. Environmental Administration • Department of the Environment (DoE): • Under the Presidential Office. • Central outfit with some 30 provincial offices. • In charge of protected areas, wildlife, marine environment, pollution control, EIA, etc. • Environmental High Council (EHC): • In charge of environmental coordination. • Chaired by the President; attended to by 10 ministers. • National Committee on Sustainable Development (NCSD): • Hosted in DoE and chaired by DoE Head. • Representatives of ministries, NGOs, etc. • Reporting to the EHC.

9. Environmental Legislation • Environmental Rehabilitation Law –1973; • Water Distribution Law – 1975; • Constitution Law – 1979; • Air [and Noise] Pollution Law – 1994; • Environmental Assessment Decree – 1994; • Solid Wastes Management Law – 2004; • International MEAs ratified by Iran (UNCCD, UNFCCC, UNCBD, Vienna Convention, Basel Convention, POPs, …); • Others.

10. EIA Legislation • 1975: First regulation on environmental aspects of development projects – mainly industries (EIA Office established within DoE). • 1994: EIA Decree enacted by EHC. • 1994: Clause 82 of the Law of 2nd FYDP. • 1997: Formal EIA process enforced, EIA Office within DoE entrusted with the authority to review EIA reports, EIA Committee established. • 1998: Article 105 of the Law of 3rd FYDP. • 2001: EIA Guidelines prepared with UNDP for certain activities subject to EIA.

11. Petrochemical units Oil refineries Power plants (> 100 mgw) Steel mills Dams (> 15 m high) Tailing dams Man-made lakes (> 400 ha) Irrigation/drainage schemes (> 5000 ha) Industrial estates (>100 ha) Airports (runway > 2km long) Gypsum and lime kilns Agro-industries (> 5000 ha) Municipal waste landfills Waste recovery plants Large forestry schemes Oil and gas pipelines Underground gas storage facilities Railroad plans Highway plans Eco-tourism plans Coastline installations (many) Cement kilns Activities subject to EIA

12. From EIA to SEA: Why SEA? • EIA Cap. Build. Project found EIA not sufficient to ensure sustainable development. • SEA considered as a more holistic approach that: • goes beyond individual projects, addresses broader policies and development decisions; • addresses the cumulative impacts of multiple projects; • creates a better sense of ownership on the part of decision-makers; and • provides a broader set of alternatives and development options.

13. SEA CB Initiative: Background • UNDP was approached on SEA by Government in 2003; • Joint UNDP / DoE Project inked, 2004; • Stakeholders identified and Project Steering Committee established, 2004; • National Project Director appointed and project office set up within DoE, 2004.

14. SEA CB Initiative: Objectives • Overall objective: Contribute to the integration of environmental concerns in developmental decision-making system for the benefit of the poor. • Intended Outcome: A comprehensive approach to environmentally sustainable development integrated in national development planning and linked to poverty reduction.

15. SEA CB Initiative: Approach • Participatory; • Nationally-owned; • Uses international expertise and experience; • Creates a national regulatory system for SEA implementation; • Develops legal, institutional and technical capacities for SEA.

16. SEA CB Initiative: Outputs • Human capacity: • Team building, • Coordination, • Training; • Institutional capacity: • Institutional framework, • Linked to the NCSD, • Linked to MDGs; • Legal/regulatory capacity; • Public awareness: websites, publications, national and international seminars/workshops, newsletters, etc.

17. SEA CB Initiative: Activities • Establish and run project office; • Establish Steering Committee; • Create a multi-agency “Core Group” of national professionals; • Provide training to the Core Group • Carry out/draft by the Core Group: • SEA needs assessment practices in selected sectors (energy, transportation, water); • National SEA system, • SEA framework legislation, • SEA technical guidelines, • On-the-ground case studies.

18. SEA Initiative: Core Group Mechanism • Participatory, multi-stakeholders; • Bottom-up; • Promotes SEA concept in sectors; • To create links with five-year development planning system; • To develop SEA capacity within sectors; • To promote inter-sectoral coordination.

19. Department of Env.: EIA Bureau, Natural Environment’ NCSD, Legal Dept., Management and Planning Org.; Min. of Foreign Affairs; Min. of Agriculture; Min. of Oil; Min. of Transportation; Min. of Urban Dev.; Min. of Energy and Water; Forest & Ranges; Min. of Industries; NGOs; Private sector; Academia; UNDP; Core Group Members

20. Activities: Training First (5-day) workshop conducted by International Coordinator on: • SEA concept and functionality; • Other countries’ experiences; • SEA aspects and dimensions: • General, • Legal, and, • Technical.

21. Activities: Needs Assessment • Second (5-day) workshop led by international coordinator on needs assessment in selected sectors and different decision making levels: • Water Resources Development Policy, • Ports Development Plan, • Pars Special Energy Zone Programme; • Needs assessment in 3 dimensions: • Systems, • Institutional, • Individual.

22. Activities: System Design Third (3-day) workshop led by international coordinator on SEA system: • EIA/SEA linkage; • Stakeholder analysis; • Legal aspects of SEA system.

23. Activities: Technical SEA Guidelines Fourth (3-day) workshop to be held in November 2005 on technical SEA guidelines. The workshop is to review and finilise technical guidelines drafted by Core Group under the supervision of the international coordinator.

24. National System: Where to Apply SEA? National and provincial policies, plans and programmes in: • Energy sector; • Urban development; • Water resources development; • Industries and mines; • Tourism; • Agriculture; and • Trade.

25. Achievement • A draft regulatory SEA framework; • Decision-maker sensitisation; • A move from “environmental” to “sustainable-development” mindset; • Involvement of NGOs and private sector, enhanced participation; • Professionals/officials trained on SEA; • A national SEA dialogue among NGOs; • Potential for using SEA approach in planning forums; • Universities prepared to embark on SEA.

26. Lessons Learned • Coordination of regular (fortnightly) Core Group meetings problematic and cumbersome, Core Group members not fully motivated; • Administrative bureaucracy causing delays in timely implementation of workplans; • Insufficient capacity within DoE; • Lack of awareness with authorities.

27. THANK YOU! More info at: http://www.eiairan.org