A seminar on introduction of system on environment impact assessment takes place in Tashkent
22/01/2019 18:27
A seminar on introduction of system on environment impact assessment takes place in Tashkent
22/01/2019 18:27
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 22 January 2019, a seminar was held in Tashkent on the path to a modern system of strategic environmental assessment in Uzbekistan.
The event was a logical continuation of the first subregional workshop, which was held in June 2018 within the CAMEF framework and was devoted to the procedure for transboundary environmental impact assessment, in particular, issues of a modern EIA system and the need for its implementation in Uzbekistan on a par with other Central Asian countries.
The seminar was opened by the Deputy Chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Ecology and Environmental Protection Uktam Utaev and Regional Advisor on Environment of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Sarango Radnaargchaa.
- Today, we all understand the inseparable relationship of economic development while ensuring environmental security in the region. The natural changes in the world that have occurred over the past decades make us today to invest huge amounts of money in environmental protection not only to ensure a favorable environment, but also to ensure stable economic growth,” Uktam Utaev said. “Uzbekistan is following the path of greening the economy, at the same time striving to accomplish tasks to accelerate economic and social development in the realities of the urgent need to respond to environmental management issues.
The Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Ecology of the Republic of Uzbekistan stressed that the current law of the Republic of Uzbekistan was adopted on May 25, 2000 (No. 73-II). For 18 years, when conducting state environmental impact assessment, this law was guided by, recognizing its pros and cons. But taking into account the development of the economy and the policies implemented in the country, it became necessary to improve this law in order to harmonize with international, modern requirements and increase the capacity of the national environmental assessment system.
In her speech, Sarango Radnaaragcha said that in 2018 Uzbekistan had shown great interest in developing new legal frameworks with the aim of introducing modern systems of SEA (strategic environmental assessment) and EIA and turned to UNECE for assistance in harmonizing national legislation in accordance with the provisions of the Espoo Convention and the Protocol on SEA.
“UNECE, in close cooperation with the State Committee on Ecology, started a joint project to select the current legislation of Uzbekistan in the field of environmental assessment for compliance with the provisions of the Espoo Convention and the Protocol on SEA with financial support from the Governments of Switzerland and Germany,” the UNECE Regional Adviser on Environment emphasized. - Following the results of a successful seminar held in August 2018 and fruitful discussions at a workshop with the participation of members of the Oliy Majlis and representatives of the committee in October 2018, Uzbekistan requested relevant support from the UNECE in developing a draft amendment to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Environmental Assessment”. At the final seminar, we are pleased to present to your attention the results of the review of the Espoo Convention and the Protocol on SEA.
The main speaker of the seminar was Andrei Andrusevich, international legal consultant. During the event, he presented an overview of the environmental impact assessment system and a review of the system of strategic environmental assessment in the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as a draft Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On State Ecological Expertise”.
“The review contains concrete conclusions and one of the main conclusions is that the environmental assessment system of the planned economic activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan is quite effective,” the expert said. - It is special, I would say, even unique. And it performs its environmental functions. But if we look at it from the point of view of international standards, investors, development banks, etc., it is certainly very different. At the moment, this is a post-Soviet EIA examination system, external investors do not understand it. Therefore, we propose to eliminate the gaps. In particular, there are two main gaps: transparency and public participation, as well as uncertainties in legislation. In practice, the requirements provided to investors are not supported by law, which should be sufficiently detailed and precise. For external investors, it is important to see the compliance of legislation with the practice of requirements. This needs to be modernized so that the system looks more understandable to external investors.
The speaker shared his vision of additional elements of legislative reform, in particular, the role of the system of environmental impact assessment and the development of secondary legislation. In the presentation of the draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Environmental Assessment”, Andrei Andrusevich introduced the participants to the seminar the structure of the document, which includes seven main chapters.
The workshop concluded with a summary of the results and discussion of further activities in support of the development of a modern system of SEA in Uzbekistan.
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