Measuring progress in nature conservation
against the CBD and PEBLDS
Developing environmental impact assessment
procedures for a World Bank project
At present when environment protection is a major problem,
the society has to overcome many difficulties connected with
the exhaustion of the natural resources. In order to satisfy
the growing needs of the population and in the same time to
maintain the ecological equilibrium it is necessary to undertake
some measures that will prevent and minimize the excessive
use of the natural resources and their degradation, as well
as the environment pollution. For this purpose it is necessary
to use the tools of the environmental management that regulates
these actions especially at the stage of planning of the activities.
One of the most widely used tools of planning at decision
taking related to environment is Environmental Assessment,
it having as a goal incorporating environment requirements
in the plans of development activities, that creates preconditions
to minimize potential negative impacts that they may have
on environment.
EA procedures is used widely in all countries as a preventive
tool of environmental policy, however in Moldova it is implemented
difficultly due to the discrepancies between the EA mechanisms
at the international and national levels.
About the necessity of assessment of environment impact,
including transboundary one is spoken in many international
treaties, especially in the Convention on the Transboundary
Effects of Industrial Accidents, Convention of the Protection
and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes
(Water Convention) and especially Convention on Environmental
Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo) that
provides a range of concrete stipulations on procedures and
stages of evaluating transboundary impacts.
Convention on Biological Diversity also relates to Environmental
Assessment, art. 14 provides that "each Contracting
Party, as far as possible and as appropriate, shall introduce
appropriate procedures requiring environmental impact assessment
of its proposed projects that are likely to have significant
adverse effects on biological diversity with a view to avoiding
or minimizing such effects and, where appropriate, allow for
public participation in such procedures".
So, BIOTICA started a new activity. As art. 14 of CBD provides
Impact assessment and Minimizing Adverse Impacts, BIOTICA
was selected as Agency of environmental assessment of businesses
started and credited within the Rural Investments and Services
Project (RISP) financed by World Bank. According to the World
Bank Requirements BIOTICA experts should develop procedures
for the environmental screening of sub/loan applications under
the RISP project through assessing the legal and regulatory
framework, institutions, administrative procedures and enforcement
capacity for environmental management in Moldova and identifying
the possible environmental impacts of these activities to
be financed under the project.
