The objective of the Project is to facilitate integration of ecosystem approach and consideration of ecosystem services into sectoral economic activities (namely, hydropower development and integrated water resources management), stipulated by the horizontal EC Directives and the relevant Conventions, to which the EaP states are parties, for substantiated possibility of implementation of hydropower plans, programs and projects.
The project benefits from support through the EaP Civil Society Forum Re-granting Scheme (EaP CSF Re-granting Scheme) and is funded by the European Union as part of its support to civil society in the region.
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a partner institution, contributing financially to the EaP CSF Re-Granting scheme.
The project was selected for the implementation in the framework of the activity Working Group 3: Environment, Climate Change and Energy Security.
The ecosystem services of rivers in EaP states are often underestimated that leads to their loss in the events of over-regulation of rivers, primarily for hydropower purposes. The situation worsens during the construction of new hydropower plants without proper environmental assessments of the consequences of such constructions. The latter is due to the imperfect legislation of the EaP states in the field of water management, the weak regulatory and methodological tools for evaluating environmental impacts of plans, programs and projects, lack of transparency of decision-making procedures, low level of general public access to environmental information and understanding its role in decision making.
The project aims at identifying the specific features of ecosystem approach to power projects, programs and plans in four Eastern Partnership countries. Identification of key weaknesses in national practices and ways to correct them are the subjects of the proposed activity.
The Project provides for the promotion of the work of Working group 3: Environment, Climate Change and Energy Security in one of the most relevant areas – the introduction of the norms of horizontal environmental legislation in the energy sector. This topic has been in the focus of the national Civil Society Forums for the past few years, and recently it has taken the first position on the relevance of the work of the WG-3.
The Project envisages the full participation of non-governmental environmental and other organizations of civil society in promoting the European integration of the EaP states by strengthening the dialogue between civil society, national governments and the EU.
The Project will contribute to strengthening the role of the CSFs in the development of the Eastern European partnership and European integration processes.
Funded by the European Union
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