Implementation Report on
environmental roadmaps 2015
Table of Content
Purpose of this Report / Introduction
1.Environmental governance
2.Air quality
3.Water quality and resources management (except drinking water)
4.Waste Management
5.Nature protection
6.Industrial pollution and industrial hazards
7.Chemicals management
8.Climate action
9.Forestry
Abbreviations
AA / Association Agreement between the EU and GeorgiaAPA / Agency for Protected Areas
CBD / Convention on Biological Diversity
CITES / Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species
CoM / Covenant of Majors
CoP / Conference of the Parties
DCFTA / Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (i.e. Chapter 13 of the AA)
EIA / Environmental Impact Assessment
EIEC / Environmental Information and Education Centre
EIMS / Environmental Information Management System
EL / Environmental Liability
EMBLAS / Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea
ENVSEC / Environment and Security Initiative
ESD / Education for Sustainable Development
EU / European Union
EUD / European Delegation
GEF / Global Environment Facility
GFCM / General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean
GHG / Greenhouse Gases
GIZ / Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
GMO / Genetically Modified Organisms
INDC / Intended Nationally Determined Contribution
LEDS / Low Emission Development Strategy
LEP / Law on Environmental Protection
LMO / Living Modified Organisms
MoA / Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia
MAP / Major Accident Prevention
MEA / Multilateral Environmental Agreement
MoEdu / Ministry of Education of Georgia
MENRP / Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia
MoF / Ministry of Finance of Georgia
MLF / Multi-Lateral Fund
MLHSA / Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia
MSFD / Marine Strategy Framework Directive
NACRES / Centre for Biodiversity Research & Conservation
NAMA / National Appropriate Mitigation Actions
NAP / National Adaptation Plan
NEAP / National Environmental Action Plan
NIP / National Implementation Plan
NTFP / non-timber forest product
ODS / Ozone Depleting Substances
PA / Protected Area
PIC / Prior Informed Consent Procedure
PM / Prime Minister (of Georgia)
POPs / Persistent Organic Pollutants
RBMP / River Basin Management Plan
RIA / Regulatory Impact Assessment
RM / Roadmaps (2015)
SEA / Strategic Environmental Assessment
SEAP / Sustainable Energy Action Plans
SPA / Special Protection Area (for wild birds)
UNDP / United Nations Development Programme
UNEP / United Nations Environmental
UNFCCC / United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
WB / World Bank
WC / Waste Code
Purpose of this Report / Introduction
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia (MENRP), in co-operation with an EU funded project, has developed in May 2015 nine roadmaps for the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement (AA) in the fields of environment and climate action. These roadmaps enable the Ministry to implement legal approximation, policy making and similar activities in line with the specific requirements of the environment and climate action chapters of the AA and their Annexes as well as all relevant provisions of the DCFTA part.
The roadmaps address implementation activities which go beyond policy and legislation making only in those cases where they are explicitly required by the AA or DCFTA (such as data collection for inventories, preparatory field work or awareness raising measures). In addition, the roadmaps also cover some actions, which are not directly required by the AA, but will be very useful for the implementation of the agreement.
The roadmaps are considered a dynamic planning tool. Therefore the original roadmaps of 2015 have been updated in June 2016 according to progress on activities made since 2015 and to include new activities.
Apart from that update, a regular review on achievements reached on all activities listed in the roadmaps shall be made in regular intervals. It had been agreed between MENRP and the EU Delegation in Georgia (EUD) to do a first assessment of implementation of roadmap activities one year after the development of the nine original roadmaps.
The present implementation report shall provide decision makers in the MENRP and donors an overview on achievements as well as implementation problems and needs for intervention such as request for additional donor support or adaptation and re-design of activities planned.
The report addresses sector by sector all activities which, according to the roadmaps 2015
a)were supposed to be started by the time of this report (June 2016),
b)have actually started in advance of the schedule provided for originally, or
c)are done in addition to originally planned activities.
It must be stressed that the report cannot include any detailed quality assessment of a given deliverable. For instance, to which extent legislation adopted complies with AA requirements or general Rule of Law standards and is applicable in practice would require a careful review of (final) provisions. However, several pieces of legislation are still in the drafting process (e.g. Water Law, Biodiversity Law, Seveso Law, Forest Law, numerous by-laws) and constantly modified. In addition, most of this draft legislation (especially by-laws) is not available in English language and not translated by donors because of ongoing amendments in the drafting process. This is why only where (draft) laws have been made available some remarks will be made on particular issues of concern with regard to quality aspects.
Activities
The title and numbering of the activities in columns 1 and 2 follows their indication in the updated roadmaps in order to align the status / achievement of each planned activity smoothly.
Activities which have been completed in the reporting period (and which were part of the original roadmaps of 2015) are indicated in the beginning of each sectoral roadmap with a letter and a number (e.g. G1 stands for completed activity 1 of governance roadmap 2015, W 1 for completed activity 1 ofwaste roadmap 2015 and so on).
Overall deadline
The overall deadline expresses the date when an activity is supposed to be fully implemented. The deadline most often derives from the AA / DCFTA or from national legislation. In some cases there are only deadlines set by the 2015 roadmaps (RM) which have no binding character.
In case of different deadlines from national legislation and AA the stricter deadline prevails for the assessment of achievements.
As for legislative and similar tasks the deadline of an activity is usually set by the date when a legal act or plan is adopted by the competent law law/policy maker (the Parliament, Cabinet of Ministers or MENRP).
Starting date
The starting date expresses the time when the implementation of an activity was actually started.
Implementation Status
The column on the status of implementation is considered to be the most relevant part of the tables. It shows to which extent an activity has been implemented with reference to the timeline and indicators of achievement set in the roadmaps. In order to make the status of implementation visible at one glance, the information given in this column is highlighted by the use of colours in addition to a brief narrative status description.
Generally, four different stages for the implementation status of an activity can be distinguished:
An activity is in the process of implementation in line with the interim indicators of the RM and the overall deadline.If the activity has been fully implemented, meaning that its intended deliverable has been adopted / approved this is signalled in the box with an additional .
An activity is in implementation process with a slight delaybut the overall deadline is likely to be achieved.An activity is in implementation process with a delay making itunlikely to achieve full implementation in time (as set by overall deadline)
An activity has not started yet or was terminated / suspended.
Comments
In this column additional useful information on the status of implementation is provided per activity.
Main findings and recommendations
At the end of each table the main findings are summarized and some recommendations given, such as how to proceed or how to address particular areas of concern from the perspective of the authors of this report.
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1.Environmentalgovernance
The field of “Environmental governance” includes those aspects that concern virtually all environmental sectors, i.e. are “horizontally” applicable. In this field a total of 8 activities had been identified in the roadmap of 2015 of which 7 were started or supposed to be started by the time of this report.
No. / Activity / overall deadline / starting date / Implementation Status / CommentsG 1 / finalize seven sectorial EIA scoping and reporting guidelines / 01.09.2017 (AA) / 2013 / Completed, but electronic publication has been stopped for the time being / Final sectoral guidelines on scoping and EIA reports were posted at the Ministry's web-site at the end of 2015 – but not any more due to change of website! The guidelines may need an update to align them to new EIA legislation and then promote their use.
1.1 / develop a new Law on "EIA and SEA" (including necessary amendments to affected legislation) / 01.09.2017 (AA) / 2014 / Current draft is still in review process by international expert; minor adjustments to be done in 2016 / The current draft has been revised numerous times. According to the MENRP future additional changes to the draft will be minor. The law is expected to be adopted by parliament in early 2017.
1.2 / develop relevant guidelines to the Law on EIA and SEA / 01.09.2017 (AA) / 2015 / Guideline development is slightly behind schedule / The original idea of drafting by-laws has been given up in favour of guidelines for proper EIA and SEA implementation
1.3 / Develop methodology on cumulative EIA for hydropower projects / 01.09.2017 (AA) / 2014 / Project is in line with planned schedule / Briefing document/concept on cumulative EIA for hydropower projects has been developed. Currently staff of the MENRP and NEA are undertaking cumulative impact assessment of hydropower projects in the pilot area of the Rioni River basin.
1.4 / Set-up and enlarge environmental information management system (EIMS) / 01.09.2016 (AA) / 2014 / A comprehensive EIMS has not been established yet; information on emissions into air from stationary sources is available through <emoe.gov.ge> / The set-up of a comprehensive EIMS has not started and is substantially behind schedule. However, air department as “pilot project” set up an e-data system recently through MoFinance platform
1.5 / develop NEAP 3 (2017 - 2021) including preparatory phase / End of 2016 (LEP) / 2014 / NEAP 3 development shall start in August 2016 (best case scenario, assuming that ToR for EU support are published in July) / UNDP elaborated rules, guidelines, methodology & indicators for NEAP 3 during preparatory stage, but drafting of NEAP 3 is a bit behind schedule and rather unlikely to be completed in time. As requested EU support is under way, this activity is marked in slight green colour.
1.6 / amend existing decree on ensuring proactively electronic publication of environmental information / 01.09.2016 (AA) / 2016 / Draft proposal for amendment is under preparation and expected to be adopted in time / The amendment will contribute to more clarity on this issue
1.7 / draft law on environmental liability (EL) / 01.09.2017 (AA) / 01/2016 / Concept and draft law on EL are under preparation with a slight delay from original project plans / The law will address all cases of severe damage of biodiversity, soil and water caused by incidents / accidents
1.8 / draft by-law / guidance on damage assessment and calculation related to environmental liability / 01.09.2017 (AA) / 05/2016 / Under preparation with a slight delay from original project plans / To which extent aspects are being addressed in by-law(s) and/or guidelines is still open and will be decided in time
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Main findingson environmental governance activities
As outlined in the table above, the majority of the 8 activities in the area of “environmental governance” are on track, most of them with a small time delay which should not put into question their completion in time. One of the main activities, namely the development of a new Law on EIA and SEA is in its final stage but, given the forthcoming parliamentary elections, it is still unclear, when the law will be adopted. Nevertheless, the expectation is that the law will be adopted in time as foreseen by the AA.
Two activities, though, are behind schedule and unlikely to be completed in time. Request for donor support to develop NEAP 3 is under way so that this activity may start in autumn 2016 and NEAP 3 should be ready in spring 2017 at the latest. The situation with regard to the setting up and enlargement of an EIMS for which the AA sets a deadline of September 2016 is still unclear. The EIMS as such is not in place and the EIEC which was supposed to lead this activity according to roadmap 2015 is not involved in it. However, note that the air protection service (department) started with its own electronic information system based on the e-platform provided by the Ministry of Finance. This can be considered a promising step towards a comprehensive EIMS.
Recommendations
- For the establishment of a comprehensive EIMS, it is recommended that the MENRP supports similar initiatives taken by the air protection service also in the waste, water and industry sectors in order to achieve the required EIMS and clarify who updates and manages the system once established.
- The EIA scoping and reporting guidelines (activity G 1), which were completed in 2015 but have been taken from the Ministries website should also be published again in order to contribute to the sound implementation of the new EIA legislation to be adopted.
- In order to establish an EL system in line with AA requirements, the existing system of “calculating environmental damage” (Decree 54/2014) which is in fact a determination of a second fine in addition to the fine under the administrative violations code, needs to be abolished. Generally, the system for the determination of fines for environmental violations needs to be repealed completely in order to achieve dissuasive, adequate, realistic and enforceable sanctions which do also not hamper implementation of an EL system. It is recommended to ask an EU Member State for potential support insofar.
2.Air quality
Of the 14 activities identified in the 2015 Roadmap only 3 activities were supposed to be started by the time of this report; all other activities were planned to commence with at a later stage. Activity2.3 below was not foreseen in the Roadmap 2015.
No. / Activity / overall deadline / starting date / Implementation Status / CommentsA 1 / amend by-law N 124 on petrol quality standards / no deadline / 2015 / Amendments on petrol quality standards in by-law N 124 were adopted by government in May 2015
/ European standards for petrol are established in amended by-law, which entered into force in January 2016
2.1 / draft by-law "on Air Quality Standards" / 01.09.2023 (AA) / first half of 2016 / Ongoing activity with minor deviation from original schedule / Currently, the Air Protection Service is in process of drafting the by-law without support. Small support has been requested from EU in order to achieve high quality by-law “on Air Quality Standards”.
2.2 / draft by-law "on quality standards of heavy fuel oil and gas oil” (determine also sampling procedure, analytic methods and their implementation) / legislation adopted: 01.09.2016 (AA)
sampling system / analysis implemented: 01.09.2021 (AA) / second half of 2015 / First draft was presented to relevant stakeholders for comments (spring 2016) / Final draft by-law will be submitted to the Government in nearest future so it shall be adopted and published in time (September 2016).
2.3 / Set-up and enlarge environmental information management system (EIMS) with respect to air emissions from stationary sources / no deadline, but please also see activity 1.4 / 2016 / Ongoing activity
Number of stationary sources registered in EIMS by June 2016 is 1,600 / The setting up of the EIMS is supposed to be done by the EIEC (see activity 1.4) and is delayed – the Air Protection Service started with their input to anelectronic information systemwell in time.
Main findings on air quality activities
Three planned activitiesin the area of air quality were conducted in the reporting period with no or minor delay from original plan. The by-law on quality standards of heavy fuel oil and gas oil which is required to be adopted by September 2016 is in the final review process and its timely adoption is expected by the air protection service.
In addition to three activities planned for the reporting period, the air service started on own initiative (and without donor support) to establish an e-based system on information on air pollution from stationary sources. The system is based on the e-government platform established by the Ministry of Finance of Georgia. This activity may serve as model for other environmental areas as well.
Recommendations
Ongoing activities should be further implemented according to schedule. In this regard, it is recommended that the EU (or another donor) provides small technical support in order to complete the Air-quality standards by-law in compliance with EU standards. Such support only requireslimited international expertise.
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3.Water quality and resources management (except drinking water)
Of the 27 activities identified in the 2015 Roadmap on water management, 20 activities were supposed to be started by the time of this report. However, activity on flood risk management plans (3.20) was found to be more reasonable to be started at a later stage for better planning purposes. Therefore this action takes a number of 3.23 in an updated Roadmap and its implementation status is not included in the table below. All other activities were planned to commence with at a later stage.
No. / Activity / overall deadline / starting date / Implementation Status / Comments3.1 / finalize the draft law on "Water Resources Management" / 01.09.2018 (AA) / 2012 / Draft law is in place, both public discussion and inter-ministerial consultations were conducted / The draft law was uploaded in the electronic system of the government in November 2015 and comments were addressed. There is a suggestion from the government administration to conduct RIA for the draft law.
Donor support will be needed for this task. Still it is unclear when RIA will be started, how long it will take and when the law will be adopted.
The law includes all relevant aspects for approximation to WFD but needs by-laws to make them implementable.
3.2 / draft by-law on “Regulations on identification and delineation of river basins” / 01.09.2018 (AA) / 2014 / Draft by law is in place and is available at the ministry web-site for comments / Adoption of the by law depends on the adoption of the law. Therefore, public hearings and other consultations will take place as soon as the law is adopted.
3.3 / draft by-law "On rules for identification and delineation of water bodies" / 01.09.2018 (AA) / 2014 / Draft by law is in place and is available at the ministry web-site for comments / Adoption of the by law depends on the adoption of the law. Therefore, public hearings and other consultations will take place as soon as the law is adopted.