33. We recognize the importance of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in the region, which offers a way to assess the impact of plans and programmes on a broad scale and facilitates timely environmental assessment of specific actions that have been addressed at the programmatic level. We invite all countries in the region to consider adopting, if they have not already done so, domestic procedures for the preparation of environmental assessment documents that can address plans and programmes.

34. In this regard, we, the Ministers and Heads of delegation of States adopting and signing the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, welcome it. This Protocol underlines the crosssectoral approach by integrating environmental, including health, considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans, programmes, and, to the extent appropriate, policies and legislation and thus further contributes to sustainable development. We invite all interested UNECE States to sign this Protocol and to work actively for its ratification and implementation. We recognize the close cooperation between the governing bodies of the Espoo and Aarhus Conventions and the active participation of the health sector and NGOs in the negotiations of the Protocol on SEA, and we encourage these organizations to support its imple mentation. We also invite all interested UNECE States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Espoo Convention to do so at the earliest opportunity.

Declaration by the Ministers of Environment of the UNECE region

ENG