EUROPEAN ECO FORUM NEWSLETTER

No 39

JANUARY 2009

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In this issue:

1. KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN AND UZBEKISTAN UNDER THE SECOND CYCLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

2. UPCOMING UNECE STEERING COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

3. COMMENTS INVITED BY THE EBRD ON THE DRAFT RULES OF PROCEDURES FOR THE PROJECT COMPLAINT MECHANISM

4. 25th SESSION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL / GLOBAL MINISTERIAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM OF UNEP

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1. KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN AND UZBEKISTAN UNDER THE SECOND CYCLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

Environmental Performance Reviews (EPRs) for countries in transition were initiated by environment ministers at the Second Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” held in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1993. As a result, the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy decided to make the EPRs a part of its regular programme. The first cycle of reviews began in 1994 and was carried out until 2004 in 23 countries of the UNECE region. Studies are carried out by international teams of experts from the region working closely with national experts from the reviewed country, which come from governmental authorities, international organizations and NGOs.

In the second cycle of EPRs, the review of Kazakhstan has been finalized and the work continues on reviews for Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

The 2nd EPR of Kazakhstan was launched in October 2008. It stresses that with respect to the environment, despite certain promising developments, Kazakhstan still has a long way to go. The budget devoted by the Government on environmental spending (0.5% of the overall government budget) is too low for a country where environmental challenges are both considerable and diverse. Greenhouse gas emissions per GDP that rank among the highest in the world, the situation around the Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash, the drastic reduction of Caspian Sea sturgeon population, land degradation and desertification, the accumulation of untreated industrial waste, radioactive contamination, industrial pollution (especially from mining and heavy industries), and insufficient infrastructure for water and solid waste are among the major problems that Kazakhstan is facing.

On 26 January 2009, the Ad hoc Expert Group on Environmental Performance will examine the draft second EPR report of Kyrgyzstan at its meeting in Geneva. The main EPR mission to Bishkek took place from 26 May to 5 June 2008. The secretariat with a team of ten international experts from Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Norway and Switzerland investigated on issues jointly selected with the country, in particular policymaking, planning, implementation and financing for environmental protection, water resource management, land protection, biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of forests.

The work on the second review of Uzbekistan was initiated in June 2008. The structure of the report has been submitted to Uzbekistan for comments. The work on the second EPR of Uzbekistan will continue in 2009.

The second EPR of Kazakhstan is available at

http://www.unece.org/env/epr/epr_studies/kazakhstan%20II.pdf(in English)

http://www.unece.org/env/epr/epr_studies/kazakhstan%20II%20r.pdf(in Russian)

The draft of the second EPR of Kyrgyzstan is available in English at:

http://www.unece.org/env/epr/epr_studies/kyrgyzstanII.pdf

More information on EPRs is available at http://unece.org/env/epr/  

2. UPCOMING UNECE STEERING COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The UNECE Steering Committee on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) will have its fourth meeting in Geneva on 19–20 February 2009.

The UNECE Steering Committee on ESD established by the High-level Meeting of Environment and Education Ministries ( Vilnius, 17–18 March 2005) will discuss progress made by member States in implementation of the UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development. The Strategy has now entered its second phase of implementation (2008-2010) with the two identified priorities: (a) the development of competences in ESD and (b) the development of national action plans for ESD.

The Steering Committee will address progress made by the Expert Group for Indicators for Education for Sustainable Development. The Expert Group has finalized its work on indicators and the supporting tools for reviewing the progress in implementing the Strategy and has prepared a comprehensive guidance for reporting.

Addressing sustainable consumption through education for sustainable development will be discussed at a special session during the meeting. In particular, the Steering Committee will address the work undertaken by the Task Force on Education for Sustainable Consumption established under the Marrakech process. This Task Force, with support from the UNEP, is developing of a set of recommendations and guidelines “Here and Now: education for sustainable consumption”.

The Steering Committee will also address contribution of the UNECE region to the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development to be held in Bonn, Germany, from 31 March to 2 April 2009.

The documents of the fourth meeting are available at http://www.unece.org/env/esd/SC.Meet.htm

3. COMMENTS INVITED BY THE EBRD ON THE DRAFT RULES OF PROCEDURES FOR THE PROJECT COMPLAINT MECHANISM

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has published the draft Rules of Procedures for the proposed Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) which will replace the current Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM). The Bank invites the public, NGOs and other civil society organisations, its clients, partners and all other interested stakeholders to comment on the draft Rules of Procedure.

The full text of the draft Rules of Procedures for the PCM is available at www.ebrd.com/about/integrity/irm/dproc.pdf Comments can be provided until 13 February 2009 via e-mail to  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  and This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

All public comments received during the consultation period will be considered by the EBRD as part of the decision-making process to approve the new Rules of Procedures for the PCM. However, the Bank will not respond to individual comments or communications received. Following the consultation period, a report summarising all the comments and management responses will be prepared and published on the Bank's website alongside the new Rules of Procedure once approved by the Board in April 2009. 

More information about the review process of the current IRM can be found at

www.ebrd.com/about/integrity/irm/review

For more information contact:

Olga Filippova

NGO Relations Coordinator

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   

4. 25th SESSION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL / GLOBAL MINISTERIAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM OF UNEP

The twenty-fifth session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 16 to 20 February 2009. The session will hold consultations at ministerial level on emerging policy issues under the themes of Globalization and the Environment, and International Environmental Governance.

The Council/Forum will consider, inter alia, the following issues:

-Strengthening the scientific base and strengthening the financing of the UNEP

- Chemicals management, including mercury and waste management

- Small island developing States

- Support to Africa in environmental management and protection

- South-South cooperation in achieving sustainable development

- Updated water policy and strategy of the UNEP

- Review of the long-term strategy on engagement and involvement of young people in environmental issues

- Programmes for the development and periodic review of environmental law (Montevideo Programmes III and IV).

The Council/Forum will consider, with a view to their adoption, the Draft guidelines for the development of national legislation on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters and the Draft guidelines for the development of national legislation on liability, response action and compensation for damage caused by activities dangerous to the environment.

Pre-session events include the tenth Global Civil Society Forum (14 -15 February 2009) and the Forum of the Network of Women Ministers for the Environment (15 February 2009).

The documents of the 25th session are available at http://www.unep.org/GC/GC25/working-docs.asp