How well is environmental assessment working   in Russia : a pilot study to assess the capacity of   Russia's system

Chiribuca, Dan; Amelina, Maria; Knack, Stephen

How well is environmental assessment working in Russia : a pilot study to assess the capacity of Russia's system

Chiribuca, Dan | Amelina, Maria | Knack, Stephen

While substantial knowledge exists about Russia's environmental assessment (EA) legislation and regulation, only very little is known about the on-the-ground implementation capacity and effectiveness of Russia's EA system. One of the objectives of this study is to improve our knowledge in this area through a systematic assessment. A second objective is to propose a framework for undertaking such assessment. Report findings include the following: Russia's legal framework for EA is quite advanced but lacks specific guidelines and differentiation between projects with significant or less significant environmental impact. A second key finding is the lack of integration of Russia's two EA subsystems, the upfront environmental impact assessment (EIA) to be prepared by the proponent, and the subsequent State Environment Review (SER) to be conducted only by the authorized federal agency (MNR and its federal offices in the regions). This hampers the effectiveness of EA implementation. Typical consequences are EIA reports that do not focus on the core environmental issues or do not meet the expectations of the SER because the SER is not required to, and normally does not review the terms of reference for the EIA. In practice, the EIA process has only limited impact on actual project decision making, except in selected cases of highly visible and internationally financed projects. A third finding is the declining institutional capacity which has been brought about by the ongoing restructuring, the lack or misleading guidance from the center, and the shrinking of Russia's environmental management system, including the SER. The quality of environmental data on which EA relies and the follow up to ensure implementation of SER conclusions has been weakened.

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