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Inquiry Commission

Article 3 and appendix IV of the Espoo Convention provide an inquiry procedure. Also relevant is paragraph 15 of the appendix to decision III/2 ("Where a matter is being considered under an inquiry procedure under Article 3, paragraph 7, of the Convention, that matter may not be the subject of a submission under this decision.").
The fourth session of the Meeting of the Parties adopted a decision on the inquiry procedure, further to a note by the secretariat on the first inquiry procedure, considered by the Working Group on EIA.

Inquiry procedure
Decision IV/3

ENG FRE RUS

The inquiry procedure has been invoked on one occasion to date, in 2004, regarding the Danube-Black Sea Deep Water Navigation Canal in the Ukrainian Sector of the Danube Delta.

Inquiry Commission (photographs below)

Subject matter

 

Danube-Black Sea Deep Water Navigation Canal in the Ukrainian Sector of the Danube Delta

Date of notification

19 August 2004

Requesting party

Romania
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ref. No. E VI-I/5091)

Other party

Ukraine

Membership of the inquiry commission

President: Prof. Joost Terwindt, Emeritus Professor in Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Netherlands

Romania: Dr. Mircea Staras, Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development, Tulcea, Romania

Ukraine: Dr. Lyudmyla Anishchenko, Ukrainian Research Institute of Ecological Problems, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Status

First (preparatory) meeting, 26 January 2005, Geneva.

Second (preparatory) meeting, 24 February 2005, Geneva.

Meeting, 28 October 2005, Geneva.

Meeting, 16 December 2005, Amsterdam (the Netherlands).

Site visit, 8-13 May 2006, Romania & Ukraine.

Final meeting, 30 (p.m.)-31 May 2006, Geneva.

Transmission of the Inquiry Commission's opinion to the parties to the inquiry procedure and to the secretariat, 10 July 2006, Geneva.

Final opinion

Document Title ENG

Final report (1.7 MB)

ENG
Unanimous conclusion that there will likely be a significant adverse transboundary impact.

See also press releases.

 

Appendices:

Final reports by specialist experts

Report of the Hydro-Morphology Expert, Jos van Gils (2MB) ENG
Report of the Geochemistry Expert, Nico de Rooij ENG
Report of the Fishery Expert, Stefan Schmutz (1.3MB) ENG
Report of the Birdlife Expert, Mark O'Connell (2MB) ENG

Contributions by the Members of the Commission

Dr Mircea Staras

Rom. 1:  Documentation on the likely significant transboundary impact of the Ukrainian Deep-water Navigation Canal Danube-Black Sea in the context of ESPOO Convention, 1991. February, 2005 (1.6MB) ENG
Rom. 2:  Additional information requested for the third meeting of the Inquiry Commission on the likely significant transboundary impact of the Ukrainian Deep-water Navigation Canal Danube-Black Sea in the context of ESPOO Convention, 1991. October, 2005 ENG
Rom. 3:  Comments to Annexes no. 15-28, presented by the Ukrainian expert at the third meeting of the Inquiry Commission on the likely significant transboundary impact of the Ukrainian Deep-Water Navigation Canal Danube-Black Sea in the context of ESPOO Convention, 1991. December 2005 ENG
Rom. 4:  Comments on documentation presented by Ukrainian expert at 4th meeting of the Inquiry Commission (16 Dec. 2005) ENG

Dr Lyudmyla Anischenko

Document Title ENG
Ukr. 1 The assessment of transboundary impact of the navigation route reopening in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, February 2005  
- Report ENG
- Annex 1 ENG
- Annex 2 ENG
- Annex 3 ENG
- Annex 4 ENG
- Annex 5 ENG
- Annex 6 ENG
- Annex 6a (2 MB) ENG
- Annex 6b (2 MB) ENG
- Annex 6c (2 MB) ENG
- Annex 7 ENG
- Annex 8 ENG
- Annex 9 ENG
- Annex 9, original (1.1 MB) ENG
- Annex 10 ENG
- Annex 11 ENG
- Annex 12 ENG
- Annex 13 ENG
- Annex 14 ENG
- Annex 14, revised ENG
Ukr. 2, October 2005  
- Annex 15 ENG
- Annex 16 ENG
- Annex 17 ENG
- Annex 18 ENG
- Annex 19 ENG
- Annex 20 ENG
- Annex 21 ENG
- Annex 22 ENG
- Annex 23 ENG
- Annex 24 ENG
- Annex 25 ENG
- Annex 26 ENG
- Annex 27 (2 MB) ENG
- Annex 28 (2 MB) ENG
Ukr. 3, December 2005  
- Annex 29 ENG
- Annex 30 ENG
- Annex 31 ENG
- Annex 32 ENG
Ukr. 4, April 2006  
- Annex 33 ENG
- Annex 34 ENG
- Annex 35 ENG
- Annex 36 ENG
- Annex 37 ENG
- Annex 38 ENG
- Annex 39 ENG
- Annex 40 ENG
Ukr. 5, May-June 2006  
- Annex 41 ENG
- Annex 42 ENG
- Annex 43 ENG
- Annex 44 ENG
- Annex 45 (1.1 MB) ENG
- Annex 46 ENG
- Annex 47 ENG
Ukr. 6 Report on Scientific Research Work: "Environmental Assessment (EA) within the framework of the project "Creation of the Danube – the Black Sea deep-water navigable passage in the Ukrainian part of the delta. Stage 1". Ministry of Environment Protection of Ukraine. Kharkiv, Ukraine, 2003 ENG

Additional information

Report of the Joint Mission of the Expert Team of the European Commission and International Conventions to the "Bystroe project" in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta (6-8 October 2004)

ENG

 

 
 

Submission of the opinion of the Inquiry Commission, 10 July 2006, Geneva. From left: Deputy
Permanent Representative of Romania, Monika Linn (UNECE), Kaj Barlund (UNECE), UNECE Executive
Secretary Marek Belka, Ambassador of Ukraine and Joost Terwindt (President of the Inquiry Commission).

 
 

Meeting with NGOs in Bucharest, May 2006. From left: Mircea Staras (Romania), Wiek Schrage (UNECE secretariat), Joost Terwindt (President), Liudmila Anishchenko (Ukraine) and interpreter.

 
 

Meeting with NGOs in Bucharest, May 2006.
Both photographs courtesy Eco-Counselling Centre, Galati (Romania).