The national consultation workshop on the draft Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Report was carried out as a part of the SEA pilot on “Strategic Development Plan, Road Map and Long Term Investment Plan for the Solid Waste Management Sector in Armenia” (more details on SEA pilot can be found here http://www.unece.org/environmental-policy/conventions/environmental-assessment/about-us/protocol-on-sea/enveiaabouteap-green/environmental-policytreatiesenvironmental-impact-assessmentabout-usprotocol-on-seaenvseaeapgreensea-pilot-projects/armenia.html). The event is organized by the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia in cooperation with the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) with logistical support provided by the Regional Environmental Centre for Caucasus (REC) in the framework of EaP GREEN programme.

The purpose of the workshop was to present and discuss the draft SEA report, including

• Analysis of environmental and health problems revealed within the assessment, proposed main conclusions, mitigation measures and recommendations towards the waste management planning. Participants of the workshop will be introduced to the steps in SEA process conducted so far, as well as methodological approach applied in SEA pilot. The results of the discussion will be considered in the final version of the SEA report.
• The workshops also raised the awareness on SEA and contribute to enhanced capacities of the key actors in SEA including governmental planning agencies, decision-makers, NGOs and experts.
• The workshop also supported the RA Ministry of Nature Protection, RA Ministry of Territorial Administration in implementation of recommendations towards the “Strategic Development Plan, Road Map and Long Term Investment Plan for the Solid Waste Management Sector in Armenia” formulated by SEA in order to follow requirements of the Law on “Environmental Impact Assessment and Expertise” of Armenia (2014), and the UNECE Protocol on SEA, respectively.