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As a voluntary exercise, the Environmental Performance Review (EPR) is undertaken only at the request of the country itself.
It starts with an agreement on the structure of the report between UNECE and high officials of the candidate country. The assessing team is made up of experts from all over the ECE region, and is flexible to meet the needs of the reviewed country. This team meets with national experts to discuss the problems encountered in the areas of environmental management and integration of environmental considerations in related economic sectors in their country. The team’s final report contains recommendations for further improvement, taking into consideration the country’s progress in the current transition period. Peer review of the report and its recommendations is carried out by the UNECE’s intergovernmental Committee on Environmental Policy.
The structure of the EPR process consists of:
Preparation The process begins when a country requests UNECE to
undertake a review. The decision to proceed with a specific country is taken by the UNECE intergovernmental
Committee on Environmental Policy (CEP). Guidance is provided by the ad hoc ECE Expert Group on Environmental
Performance (EPR Expert Group).
During a preparatory mission to the country, UNECE
consults with the country to be reviewed on the structure
of the review. The Secretariat subsequently assembles
a review team, which typically includes experts from
North America, Western Europe, and countries-in-transition
as well as expert staff of UNECE, the United Nations
Environment Programme and the World Health Organization’s
European Centre for Environment and Health.
Mission Review Once preparation is completed, the expert team travels
to the country under review and meets with representatives
of the government at national and local levels, non-governmental
organizations and the private sector. The focus of
discussion is on the evaluation of environmental performance.
Participation of reviewing country experts in the
teams themselves also brings invaluable experience.
At the end of the Review Mission, the international
team prepares a series of chapters that are edited
and compiled into a draft Environmental Performance
Review report. Chapters contain both descriptive text
and a series of recommendations on ways to improve
problem areas.
The final draft is submitted to the Ad Hoc Expert
Group on Environmental Performance.
Expert Review The second review is the Expert Review, carried out
by the hoc Expert Group on Environmental Performance.
Unlike the teams of experts assembled for the Mission
Review, the members of the Expert Group are appointed
by the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy.
During the Expert Review, the members of the Expert
Group review the draft Environmental Performance Review
report, with particular attention given to conclusions
and recommendations. Experts from the review country
(national experts) are invited to participate in this
meeting and to interact with the Expert Group.
At the end of this Review, the report is amended,
as decided by the Expert Group, in consultation with
the national experts. This amended Environmental Performance
Review report is then forwarded to Governments in
the Committee on Environmental Policy.
Peer Review The third review is the Peer Review, carried out by
the member States in the UNECE Committee on Environmental
Policy. It is called a Peer Review because it is a
review of one country by other countries, that is,
a review among equals. During the Peer Review, countries
focus on some of the major policy issues that have
arisen during the Environmental Performance Review.
At the conclusion of the Peer Review, the Committee
on Environmental Policy adopts the Environmental Performance
Review report, with amendments, if any. The report
will then be finalized and submitted for publication.
Publication Publication of the completed report is the last step
of the review process. Updated facts and figures are
requested from the reviewed country. The Secretariat
incorporates these changes, together with possible
changes in line with the conclusions of the Committee
on Environmental Policy.
The reports are aimed first at decision-makers, but
they are also directed to a wider audience (general
public, NGOs, industry, government at different levels)
in the country under review and in other interested
countries.
Follow-up The first round of Environmental Performance Reviews
has been completed among countries-in-transition.
The Programme is now focussing on Second Reviews,
which will assess progress since the first Review
and assess a limited set of new issues of importance
to the country.
In addition, the Committee on Environmental Policy,
at its tenth session, requested relevant member States
to present voluntary interim reports to the Committee
at its annual sessions within three years of the conclusion
of their first EPR Reviews, taking into account that,
until the reporting schedule can be made current,
some countries may report more than three years after
their first Review but prior to their second Review.
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