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Kick-off event: Pilot Strategic Environmental Assessment of the draft Master Plan for the City of Ganja, Azerbaijan

25 July 2022

Within the framework of the European Union-funded “European Union for Environment” (EU4Environment) programme (2019 – 2022), UNECE is assisting Azerbaijan in strengthening its SEA system in line with the requirements of the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context and of the European Union’s Directive on SEA (2001/42/EC).

Since April 2022, to further enhance capacities for practical application of SEA in Azerbaijan, at the request of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (MENR) and the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture (SCUPA), UNECE has supported the preparation of a pilot SEA project for the draft master plan under development for the City of Ganja.  The pilot SEA will be implemented in parallel with the development of the master plan.

The pilot SEA will provide hands-on learning for applying SEA in urban planning (involving analytical and consultative tasks and, as needed, methodological coaching on the preparation and quality control of SEA related reports). It will further build national capacities on SEA procedures and raise the awareness of the SEA in urban planning while demonstrating its sector-specific benefits. This kick-off event will introduce the pilot to stakeholders and the public in Azerbaijan and beyond.

Meeting objectives, expected outputs and outcomes

  • to introduce the pilot SEA project for the master plan for the City of Ganja;
  • to brief on the status of and milestones for the development of this master plan;
  • to outline the benefits and potential main constraints related to the implementation of the pilot SEA project. 

The following outputs/strategic benefits will also be achieved:

  • the event will position the pilot project as the reference case example it is intended to be for the application of SEA to urban planning in Azerbaijan;
  • it will provide visibility to the leadership of the national stakeholders in the implementation of the pilot.

Participants

The meeting will gather up to 30 participants from MENR, SCUPA, a planning team tasked with the development of the master plan of the City of Ganja, Ganja city authorities, environmental NGOs as well as representatives of EBRD Green Cities.