OSCE works with energy ministry to introduce strategic environmental assessment in Kazakhstan

ASTANA, 6 April 2017 – An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on introducing the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in Kazakhstan began today in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The SEA is a step-by-step procedure developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to analyse and communicate environmental and health considerations related to development strategies, plans and programmes prepared by governments. These findings are to be fully taken into consideration before projects are implemented.
Some 50 parliamentarians, representatives of several ministries, diplomatic representations and NGOs as well as international and national experts took part in the event. They discussed the SEA’s legal application as well as its practical use in the urban, transport and energy sectors. The participants also reviewed the national legislative framework and possible ways to align it with the SEA provisions.
The Chairman of the Committee of Ecology and Environmental Management in Kazakhstan’s Mazhilis (lower house of parliament), Gleb Shchegelsky, said: “The Strategic Environmental Assessment is an instrument for building a "green economy" that takes account of climate change and cares for environmental as well as human wellbeing. Therefore we emphasize the importance of today’s event as a discussion of the issues and perspectives of development of the “green economy” taking the SEA into account.”
Ambassador György Szabó, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, stressed that the SEA helps the government to better account for environmental and health considerations in its development strategies. “These elements are crucial in determining whether a project is indeed sustainable and in the best interests of the public.”
The event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in partnership with the energy ministry, the UNECE, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union and the Coalition for Green Economy and G-Global Development. It is part of the Office’s long-term effort to promote green growth and sustainable development and environmental security in the host country.