The State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Ecology and Environmental Protection in close cooperation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in August 2018 launched the joint project dedicated to review national environmental assessment framework of Uzbekistan vis-à-vis the requirements of the Espoo Convention and its Protocol on SEA, including identifying existing gaps, areas for potential improvements, and preparing recommendations on how to strengthen the legal framework for EIA and SEA in Uzbekistan. The project is carried out with financial support of the Government of Switzerland, the German Environment Agency (Advisory Assistance Programme) and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan.

To facilitate the process of development of national legislation of Uzbekistan in compliance with the provisions of the Espoo Convention and its Protocol on SEA, on 24 (pm) -25 October 2018 in Tashkent will be held the initial working group meeting on EIA/SEA legal drafting in Uzbekistan.

The meeting will gather up to 20 participants: members of the Parliament, the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Ecology and Environmental Protection and UNECE international experts. The meeting aimed to continue to better awareness on the legal standards and requirements of the Espoo Convention and its Protocol on SEA and to result in specific recommendations for the scope and course of SEA and EIA legislative reforms in Uzbekistan.

This project is funded by the German Federal Environment Ministry's Advisory Assistance Programme (AAP) for environmental protection in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia and other countries neighboring the European Union. It is supervised by the German Environment Agency. The responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors.