Environmental protection laws in Kyrgyzstan

Written by Sandeep Nehra

Environmental protection

Environmental security is a priority for national security. The Kyrgyz Republic has signed several international conventions on environmental protection, of which ratified the following:

• Convention on Biological Diversity (1996)

• Convention on the Trans boundary Air Pollution on Long-range (2001)

• Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Kyoto Protocol (2000)

• Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (2000)

The activities of foreign investors in Kyrgyzstan must meet the following basic environmental laws:

• About the mountainous areas of the Kyrgyz Republic

• Environmental Protection

• On Specially Protected Natural Areas

Two new law establishing rules for environmental review:

• Law “On Environmental Protection”

Its main objective is the formation of policy and regulation of legal relations in the field of environment and natural resources. Section 4 describes the ecological requirements for economic and other activities, including the rules of the State Ecological Expertise (SEE)

• Law “On ecological expertise” in order to regulate the legal relations in the environmental assessment and prevention of negative environmental impacts from economic activities.

State Environmental Review (SER) is carried out in accordance with the following documents:

• Draft regulations, regulatory, technical, instructional methodology, and other documents regulating economic activity

• Feasibility studies and construction projects, reconstruction, expansion, modernization, implementation of which may have an impact on the environment

Objectives SEE:

• To prevent the impact of possible negative consequences of the implementation of the proposed administrative, economic and other activities on public health and the environment

• Conformity Assessment of the proposed administrative, economic, investment and other activities related to pre-decision on their implementation, as well as in the process of building and implementing the requirements of environmental legislation

GEE – a two-step process:

• The first stage – analysis of the project-level feasibility study by the Ministry of Environment and shows the overall conclusion

• The second phase – a detailed analysis at the project level to provide detailed information in accordance with the requirements of section “Environmental Protection”

In preparing the draft SER to be guided by the following documents:

• Instructions on how to conduct the state ecological expertise of pre-, project and other materials and documents in the Kyrgyz Republic.

• Instructions on how to conduct impact assessments of proposed activities on the environment (EIA) in the Kyrgyz Republic.

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