Statement by Ms. Danuta Hübner,
United Nations Under-Secretary-General,
Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission
for Europe
at the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on
Environmental Impact
Assessment
in a Transboundary Context
Sofia, Bulgaria,
26-27 February 2001
Distinguished Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased and honoured to address this gathering of the Parties to the Convention on
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in a Transboundary Context. With this second
meeting, you are marking the tenth anniversary of the Convention, which was adopted and
signed in Espoo, Finland, on 25 February 1991. I wish to congratulate you on 10 years of
fruitful cooperation. This anniversary will undoubtedly provide an opportunity to reflect
on the achievements of the past 10 years and to move the Convention forward. It is
important to note in this connection that, since your previous meeting about two years
ago, the number of Parties to the Convention has gone up to 33.
Your broad and high-level participation underscores the significance of this meeting
and of the decisions that are before you. Let me also thank Ms. Evdokia Maneva,
Bulgaria’s Minister for Environment and Water, for her statement and the excellent
arrangements made to host this event.
You may be aware that the ECE’s activities in the field of the environment are
based on three strategic pillars:
- first, participation in two major international cooperative processes: the regional
promotion of Agenda 21 and the "Environment for Europe" ministerial conferences,
the fifth of which will be held in Kiev, Ukraine, in May 2003;
- second, the review of environmental performance in central and eastern Europe. So far
reviews have been carried out in 14 countries; and
- third, international legislation. To date five international environmental Conventions,
including the EIA Convention, have been drawn up under the auspices of the ECE.
ECE attaches great importance to the EIA Convention as a legally binding instrument to
tackle the problem of transboundary pollution in Europe. EIA is a cross-sectoral
instrument that takes an integrated approach to protecting our environment. An approach
that goes against the traditional, sectoral approach and that requires a comprehensive
assessment of the impacts of an activity on the environment. What makes this instrument so
valuable is that it does not only look at the impacts of an activity but also requires an
environmental analysis of the alternatives. EIA was also one of the first instruments to
allow the public to participate in decision-making procedures and to ensure that decision
makers were aware of the environmental consequences of their decisions.
As I hinted earlier, these past 10 years have been eventful ones for the Convention. At
the time of its adoption, it was the first multilateral treaty to specify the procedural
rights and duties of Parties with regard to the transboundary impacts of proposed
activities. In this context I consider that the time is ripe to analyse the experience
that countries have gained in the implementation of the Convention and in particular to
study the latest developments in EIA. Such a study might help to ensure that the
Convention moves with the times and continues to be a "modern" legal instrument
to protect our environment.
The EIA Convention was also one of the first treaties to contain provisions on public
participation. Already in 1991 it provided for the public of the affected country to make
comments or raise objections. In this sense it paved the way for another ECE Convention on
the issue: the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in
Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. I am convinced that this
new Convention will help further strengthen public participation in general and the
relevant provisions of the EIA Convention in particular. Both Conventions will reinforce
each other. For the environment and the inhabitants of the ECE region it is a win-win
situation.
Finally, the EIA Convention has influenced and will continue to influence other
international instruments. For example, the ECE Conventions on the Transboundary Effects
on Industrial Accidents and on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes both make reference to EIA in a transboundary context, as do some
other conventions, such as the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of
the Baltic Sea Area. In this context I have noted with interest the item in your work plan
on strengthening cooperation with other ECE conventions. Such cooperation is undoubtedly
the way forward. The experience gained during the ten years of implementation of the EIA
Convention can help the other conventions together and individually.
The EIA Convention, like any convention, needs to have a work plan which creates a
framework for concrete action to underpin its application. It would be useful if the
Parties could go beyond their mere legal obligations and take action to maximize the
effectiveness of the Convention so that the best possible practical results are achieved.
The work plan which you are about to adopt is therefore essential. It is indeed ambitious
and I attach great importance to the start of the negotiations of a new protocol on
strategic environmental assessment and the establishment of a system of compliance. It is
also encouraging to see progress on such items as the review of the implementation of the
Convention, guidelines on good practice, public participation, amendments to the
Convention and the database. The work plan reflects the political will of ECE Governments
to take an active and forward-looking approach to these issues and I hope that we are all
ready to take on responsibilities to make this Convention even more effective.
I also hope that the negotiations of the protocol on strategic environmental assessment
will proceed smoothly so that it is ready for adoption and signature at the Kiev
Ministerial Conference. These negotiations are, I believe, one of the major new
developments under the EIA Convention. Such a protocol would further underline the
cross-sectoral approach of the Convention by integrating environmental and health
considerations into strategic decision-making and thus contribute to sustainable
development. By doing so, the protocol would fill an obvious gap in the present
environmental framework. I therefore encourage strong cooperation between this Convention
and the Aarhus Convention to ensure that the relevant principles and provisions of the
latter are reflected in the new protocol as well.
I would also like to stress the importance of the proposal by the Government of
Bulgaria to amend the Convention in order to clarify that civil society and, in
particular, non-governmental organizations may participate in the procedures under the
Convention, and to allow States outside the ECE region to become a Party to the
Convention. The adoption of this proposal would ensure that the Convention keeps abreast
with recent developments in international environmental law.
However, as you are well aware, progress often comes at a price. In particular the
decisions that you are about to take on the setting-up of a compliance-review system and
the start of negotiations of a protocol on strategic environmental assessment will put an
additional strain on the already stretched resources of the Convention’s secretariat.
I am consequently relieved to note that the Parties in their decision II/13 on the budget
are promising to strengthen the secretariat with extra resources. With these
extra-budgetary resources, the Economic Commission for Europe will be able to better carry
out the additional tasks requested from it.
I am pleased to see that many representatives of non-governmental organizations are
present at this meeting, and I want to make it clear to them that our intention is to
further involve civil society in the work under the Convention. We invite you to
participate actively in the negotiations of the new protocol on strategic environmental
assessment. It is important that citizens feel that they a say in what is happening around
them. This is particularly essential in the field of environment.
Finally, I believe that if we are to further strengthen the implementation of the
Convention it is also important that non-Parties participate fully in the activities under
the work plan. It is my hope that for non-Parties such participation will be the first
step toward ratification, so that the number of Parties will continue to rise and
cooperation on EIA continue to broaden.
I wish you success in your deliberation. Thank you.