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The
Protocol is an initiative of the Second meeting of
the Parties to the Convention, which in February 2001
created an Ad hoc Working Group to develop the Protocol.
That group completed its work in January 2003 with
finalization of the draft Protocol text.
The Protocol was adopted and be opened for signature
at the Ministerial Environment for Europe Conference
in Kiev, Ukraine, on 21 May 2003.
Although negotiated under UNECE, the Protocol will
be open to all UN members.
What
it requires:
The Protocol, once in force, will require its Parties
to evaluate the environmental consequences of their
official draft plans and programmes.
The Protocol also addresses policies and legislation,
though the application of SEA to these is not mandatory.
SEA is undertaken much earlier in the decision-making
process than EIA, and it is therefore seen as a key
tool for sustainable development.
SEA allows the identification and prevention of
possible environmental impact right from the start
in decision-making developing a more sustainable
transport policy rather than just minimizing the environmental
impact of building a road, for example and it enables
environmental objectives to be considered on a par
with socio-economic ones, bringing sustainable development
closer.
Public
participation:
The Protocol provides for extensive public participation
in government decision-making in numerous development
sectors, from land-use planning to transport and from
agriculture to industry, covering everything from
oil refineries to ski-lifts.
The public will not only have the right to know
about plans and programmes, but also the right to
comment, have their comments taken into account, and
be told of the final decision and why it was taken.
The participation of the public in strategic decision-making
builds on the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment
in a Transboundary Context (the Espoo Convention)
and the Convention on Access to Information, Public
Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice
in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention).
Health:
Besides considering the typical environmental effects
of plans and programmes, the Protocol places a special
emphasis on the consideration of human health, going
beyond existing legislation in the region.
This reflects the involvement of the World Health
Organization in the negotiations as well as the political
commitments made at the 1999 London Ministerial Conference
on Environment and Health.
*The
Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment - Download
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