Transparency International advises Armenia`s Ministry of Envrionment  to improve environmental protection guidelines 

ArmInfo. Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center has submitted comments on the  draft decree of the Minister of Environment "On Approval of the Guidelines for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)", recommending its revision.

According to a message received by ArmInfo from Transparency  International, the purpose of the guidelines should be to provide a  step-by-step and publicly accessible procedure for implementing EIA  and EIA as a guide and tool for their initiators.

"From this point of view, it is important to make the documents as  practical and accessible as possible, avoiding unnecessary  theoretical material, ambiguous and incomplete provisions. The draft  guidelines have been developed in a different style and spirit. The  procedure and sequence for conducting SEA and EIA are not clear," the  Anti-Corruption Center noted.

The Organization also drew attention to the issue of insufficient  public awareness and participation.

"It is necessary to include procedures that will ensure active  participation of citizens from the early stages of the process. At  the same time, these procedures must comply with the obligations  assumed under the Aarhus Convention (Convention of the United Nations  Economic Commission for Europe - ed.) ), even if they somewhat repeat  the decision of the Government of Armenia of December 28, 2023, which  describes in detail the procedure for notifying all beneficiaries,"  Transparency International explained.

As practical tips for raising public awareness, the NGO suggests  avoiding holding hearings on holidays, using e-mail for  notifications, or organizing online hearings for regional  representatives.

Another important element, according to Transparency International,  is monitoring. As noted by the Anti- Corruption Center, the  methodological guidelines should outline the tools and general  requirements for monitoring the implementation of SEA and EIA, as  well as the general monitoring standards provided for by  international obligations. 

Finally, Transparency International emphasizes the need to revise the  existing SEA and EIA guidelines developed by the Ministry of  Environment of Armenia to comply with the requirements of the RA Law  "On Environmental Impact" and international documents, including the  United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on the  Availability of Environmental Information, "On Access to Information,  Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in  Environmental Matters" (Aarhus, 1998), the Convention on  Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context  (abbreviated Espoo Convention, 1991) and the Protocol on Strategic  Environmental Assessment attached thereto (Kyiv, 2003).