The one-day seminar held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 9 February 2017 was the first out of two subregional meetings aimed at supporting the implementation of the United Nations for Europe Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention) in Central Asia through the update and further development of the Guidelines. The aims of the meeting were to:

• raise awareness of the national officials about the transboundary EIA procedure under the Espoo Convention; discuss inconsistencies between the EIA under the Convention and the environmental assessment based on the OVOS/ecological expertise systems; identify benefits of applying EIA in the Central Asian region; and share good practice examples of practical application of the Convention in the pan-European region;
• provide guidance to the international consultant on priorities and options to amend the Guidelines, based on the results of an initial desk review on the matter;
• provide overview of and discuss legislative and institutional changes that occurred in the national systems of the five countries since 2005;
• discuss examples of a subregional cooperation on EIA during the past 10 years and the use of the 2005 Guidelines.

The seminar was designed for the members of Central Asian (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) governmental officials from relevant Environmental Ministries and national experts of the countries. It was facilitated by UNECE consultants to the Secretariat of the Espoo Convention. The workshop was organized by the UNECE Secretariat to the Espoo Convention with support of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) and financial assistance by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN).

Based on the guidance of the Central Asian countries expressed at this subregional working group meeting, a concept note for the revisions of the Guidelines, as well as a first draft of the revised Guidelines for online consultations by countries will be prepared for the review of the national governmental officials. The second draft Guidelines will be prepared by and presented at the second subregional working group meeting scheduled to take place on 5 April 2017, in Bishkek.

About the Guidelines

The Guidelines on EIA in a transboundary context for Central Asia were developed in 2005 by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan with the aim to promote and facilitate the implementation of the Espoo Convention in the Central Asian subregion. The Meeting of the Parties (MOP) took note of the Guidelines at their fourth session in 2008.

The activities of the update and further development of the Guidelines were requested by the Central Asian countries at the sixth session of the MOP to the Convention (Geneva, Switzerland, 2-5 June 2014) and included in the workplan 2014-2017 under the Espoo Convention.