Second sub-regional workshop: Sharing experience with introducing SEA and EIA in selected countries of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus

The key aim of the sub-regional workshop is to further enhance participants' knowledge on SEA and their abilities to subsequently conduct SEA training in their respective countries. The event will build on the first sub-regional workshop, organized in Kakheti, Georgia in November 2015.

The workshop will also take stock of the outcomes of the technical assistance on SEA that UNECE has facilitated in countries in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus with funding from the European Union (EU) "Greening Economies in the Eastern Neighbourhood" (EaP GREEN) programme in 2013-2017. The implemented activities have included assistance for the development of legislative and institutional frameworks for SEA; national and sub-national training events, and pilot SEAs.

This concluding workshop will provide a platform for sharing experience regarding the reforms of the national environmental assessment systems that are being finalized by the countries with a view to aligning them with the Espoo Convention and its Protocol on SEA and the relevant European Union legislation on SEA and EIA since 2013.

The participants will also be able to discuss existing challenges related to the application of SEA and outline further actions and steps needed to ensure that SEA procedures are conducted efficiently and in accordance with the internationally agreed legal instruments.

After the event the participants are expected to act as 'pioneers' to further support the development of SEA systems in their countries by supporting the development of SEA practice, and further disseminating information on SEA to the relevant stakeholders and partners.

Up to 24 national experts in total, representing Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine are expected to actively take part in the events which is organized by the UNECE secretariat with the assistance of consultants, with funding from the EU's EaP GREEN programme. The logistical support is provided by the Ukrainian non-governmental organization 'Law-Making and Information Technologies Institute'.