Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context

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The Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context is a UNECE convention signed in Espoo, Finland, in 1991 that entered into force in 1997. The Convention sets out the obligations of Parties -- that is States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention -- to carry out an environmental impact assessment of certain activities at an early stage of planning. It also lays down the general obligation of States to notify and consult each other on all major projects under consideration that are likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact across boundaries.

The Convention involves a Party (or Parties) of origin (States where an activity is planned) and an affected Party (or Parties) (States whose territory may be significantly adversely affected by the activity). The Convention's main procedural steps are:

application of the Convention by the Party of origin (Art. 2.2, 2.5/App. I+III)
notification of the affeceted Party by the Party of origin (Art. 3.1)
confirmation of participation by the affected Party (Art. 3.3)
transmittal of information from the affected Party to the Party of origin (Art. 3.6)
public participation in tha affected Party (Art. 3.8)
preparation of EIA documentation (Art. 4/App. II)
distribution of the EIA documentation for the purpose of participation of authorities and public of the affected Party (Art. 4.2)
consultation between the concerned Parties (Art. 5)
final decision by the Party of origin(Art. 6.1)
transmittal of final decision documentation to the affected Party(Art. 6.2)
post-project analysis (Art. 7.1/App. V)

The Convention has been amended twice, though neither amendment is expected to enter into force for some time. The first amendment was adopted in Sofia in 2001; once in force it will open the Convention to accession upon approval by United Nations Member States that are not members of the UNECE. The second amendment was adopted in Cavtat, Croatia, in 2004; once in force it will: allow, as appropriate, affected Parties to participate in scoping; require reviews of compliance; revise the Convention's Appendix I (list of activities); and make other minor changes. ^[1]

The Convention was also instrumental in the creation of Strategic Environmental Assessment and has been supplemented by a Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment. ^[2]