Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in a Transboundary Context

Information Exchange

  Help topics

biodiversity issues climate change cultural heritage cumulative & indirect effects geology health issues public participation review scoping screening sectoral impacts significance of effects policies and legislation - see SEA Manual For help with SEA, see the SEA Manual

Hint: Use your web browser's Find function (Ctrl+F) to search for information by other keywords, e.g. for a particular country (e.g. France) or type of activity (e.g. railway).

Disclaimer: The following informal guidance is provided for information only and does not constitute formal legal or other professional advice. The authors assume no liability for actions undertaken in reliance on the information contained in this guidance.

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  Where can I get help on biodiversity issues?

The following three references are very similar:

• Decision VI/7 of the 6th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity  (regarding incorporation of biodiversity into EIA & SEA) (342 kB) - Convention on Biological Diversity
• Resolution VIII.9 of the 8th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
  to the Convention on Wetlands, 'Guidelines for incorporating biodiversity-related issues into environmental impact assessment legislation and/or processes and in strategic environmental assessment' adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and their relevance to the Ramsar Convention - English, français, español - Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
• Resolution 7.2 of the Conference of the Parties at its Seventh Meeting, 'Impact Assessment and migratory species' - English , français , español  - Convention on Migratory Species

Additionally:

• A Guide on Biodiversity and Environmental Assessment (April 1996), Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
• Biodiversity in Impact Assessment (English , French , Spanish ) - Best Practice Principles by the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA)

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  Where can I get help on climate change issues?

• Incorporating Climate Change Considerations in Environmental Assessment: General Guidance for Practitioners (November 2003), Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

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  Where can I get help on cultural heritage?

• Guidance for the Environmental Assessment of the impacts of certain plans, programmes or projects upon the heritage value of historical areas, in order to contribute to their long-term sustainability - from the SUIT project (guidance previously available at http://www.lema.ulg.ac.be/research/suit/)
• Reference Guide: Assessing Environmental Effects on Physical and Cultural Heritage Resources (April 1996), Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

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  Where can I get help on cumulative and indirect effects?

• Reference Guide: Addressing Cumulative Environmental Effects (November 1994), Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
• Cumulative Effects Assessment Practitioners Guide (February 1999), Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
• Addressing Cumulative Environmental Effects under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (March 1999), Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
• Guidelines on the Assessment of Indirect and Cumulative Impacts as well as Impact interactions, European Commission (DG Environment)
• Study on the Assessment of Indirect and Cumulative Impacts as well as Impact interactions, European Commission (DG Environment)

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  Where can I get help on geological issues?

• Advice Document to the European Commission on EIA Implementation and Practice , May 2003, European Federation of Geologists

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  Where can I get help on health issues?

Introductory information on health in the Convention and Protocol available here.

Additional resources:

• Final report of (IMP)3 - "IMProving the IMPlementation of Environmental IMPact Assessment" on Health Aspects in EIA  (2MB)
• European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies: HIA
• Health Impact Assessment Centres: see the EIA & SEA links page.
• The Merseyside Guidelines for Health Impact Assessment (2001)
• Guide pour l'analyse du volet sanitaire des études d'impact (2000) - Institut de Veille Sanitaire (France)
• THE PEP: the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (UNECE & WHO/Europe).
• WHO - World Health Organization - Health Impact Assessment

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  Where can I get help on public participation?

Introductory information on public participation in the Convention and Protocol is available here.

Guidance on public participation in transboundary EIA, adopted by the Parties to the Convention (June 2004) - available here.

Other resources include:

• Public Participation - Best Practice Principles  by the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA)
• A One Stop Participation Guide: A Handbook for Public Participation in Environmental
  Assessment In Southern Africa; other products of the Calabash project (with Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment)
• Two NGOs, Environmental Experts Association of Romania and Institute for Ecological Modernisation of Bulgaria, have produced a brochure regarding public participation in transboundary EIA: Methods and Tools for Practical Application of the Espoo Convention in Romania and Bulgaria  (cover ).
• Proceedings of International Workshop on Public Participation and Health Aspects in Strategic Environmental Assessment  (Convened to support the development of the UN/ECE Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Espoo Convention), published by the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (the REC) and edited by Jiri Dusik (1.3 MByte PDF file) 147 pages, November 2001, ISBN 963 8454 99 7
• UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention), and its clearing house.
• Handbook of Good practices in Public Participation at the Local Level arising from an Aarhus Convention workshop in Newcastle Upon Tyne (United Kingdom), 6-7 December 1999 (Article 7 case studies include examples for public participation in SEA)

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  Where can I get help on reviewing?

• EIA Review Check List, 2001, European Commission (DG Environment)

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  Where can I get help on scoping?

• EIA - guidance on scoping, 2001, by European Commission (DG Environment)
• Establishing the Scope of the Environmental Assessment (September 1998), Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

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  Where can I get help on screening?

• EIA - guidance on screening, 2001, by European Commission (DG Environment)

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  Where can I get help on sectoral impacts?

• The Convention has developed, as a result of an informal study undertaken in 1995, sectoral checklists for transboundary EIA, available here. (More recent and complete checklists are provided in the World Bank Environmental Assessment Sourcebook.)

For highways and dams (EIA):

• Application of EIA: Highways and Dams  (14MB), UNECE, 1987, Environmental Series No. 1 (ECE/ENV/50)

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  Where can I get help on significance?

• Reference Guide: Determining Whether A Project is Likely to Cause Significant Adverse Environmental Effects (November 1994), Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
• Specific Methodologies and Criteria to Determine the Significance of Adverse Transboundary Impact (1995 report, CEP/WG.3/R.6), UNECE