Within the framework of the European Union-funded “European Union for Environment” (EU4Environment) programme (2019 – 2023), UNECE is assisting Armenia 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 Armenia, at the request of the Ministry of Environment and the Urban Development Committee, UNECE has supported the preparation of a pilot SEA project for a draft micro-regional combined spatial plan for the country’s largest region Gegharkunik (the plan is shortly entitled Gegharkunik-2). The pilot SEA will be implemented in parallel with the development of Gegharkunik-2.
The pilot SEA will provide hands-on learning for applying SEA in spatial 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 spatial planning while demonstrating its sector-specific benefits. This training will introduce the pilot SEA, the national and international law requirements concerning the SEA and international best practices to the selected experts in Armenia.
Meeting the objective of the event
- to build capacities on the practical application of SEA in the municipal spatial planning sector (with a specific focus on the scoping phase in SEA)
- to introduce main principles of efficient SEA application to the spatial plans, its benefits, legal requirements, practical steps, and outputs.
The following outputs/strategic benefits will also be achieved:
- the event will further contribute to positioning the pilot project as the reference case example it is intended to be for the application of SEA to spatial planning in Armenia.
Participants
The training will gather up to 10 participants from the Ministry of Environment, Urban Development Committee, a planning team tasked with the development of Gegharkunik-2, national experts.
Practical Information
The training will take place at the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia: Republic Square, Government House 3, Yerevan. The event will allow both participation in person and access via Zoom. Invited participants will receive further details regarding in-person participation and/or connection details in Zoom. Simultaneous interpretation (Armenian and English) will be provided.