On 17 February 2022 a meeting was held in the premises of the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism (MESPU), with participation of the PPF, Head of Division for Management of EU Pre Accession Funds, General Director of Directorate for Ecology and focal point of the Waste Management Division, where it was requested to include the preparation of the SEA in PPF portfolio and to prepare it concurrently with the National Waste Management Plan (NWMP) of Montenegro, which is currently under preparation.
With the Administrative Order No: 14, the Contracting Authority approved the nomination of the Preparation of Strategic Environmental Assessment for the National Waste Management Plan to be added on the list of projects which are supported under the PPF Contract.
| National Waste Management Plan |
The objective for preparation of the National Waste Management Plan for Montenegro for the period of 2022-2026 is to support the national and local state administration and institutions for implementation and monitoring of waste management policy in order to comply with EU environmental acquis.
Expected output is the National Waste Management Plan in line with the EU requirements for the period 2022-2026 with financing plan based on the DSIPs and detailed Action plan (activities, deadlines and responsible institutions);
| Objective of the Assignment |
The global objective of the assignment is to ensure, economically and socially sound and viable development of Montenegro in a long-term perspective with special focus on waste management with a view of promoting sustainable development.
The main objective is to provide a high level of protection of the environment, incorporating environmental considerations in the development (preparation and adoption) of plans and programs. These should be a systematic decision support process of evaluating the environmental consequences, on but not limited to land degradation, air quality, surface and ground water quality, in order to ensure they are fully included and appropriately addressed at the earliest appropriate stage of decision-making on par with economic and social considerations. Details on SEA are defined under the Directive 2001/42/EC. As a consequence, a SEA process is mandatory for waste management plans.
Further objective is to ensure that environmental and public health issues are fully taken into consideration in the course of development of the Plan, to provide for sustainable development, public participation as well as to enhance the level of protection of human health and the environment.
The purpose is to ensure the planned activities is conducted in way to prevent or reduce the negative impacts of certain strategies before their adoption, to ensure rational use of natural resources and minimize the risk to human health, environment and material assets.
The specific objective of this Assignment is the preparation of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the National Waste Management Plan of Montenegro in compliance and in line with national legislation and applicable international standard sand best practices and EU directives.
| Results |
The SEA study will deliver the following results:
- An environmental assessment of the NWMP, taking into account the environment- and climate change-related risks, constraints and opportunities, and its consistency with partner governments and EU’s environmental and climate change policies and objectives;
- Recommendations for the formulation of the support programme/project (including on performance indicators, use of technical assistance and other aid delivery methods) and for the enhancement of the environmental and climate change performance of the sector strategic document.
1.1.1 Identification of key issues
The duration of the SEA study is forecasted as 7 months. Since the NWMP has to incorporate its recommendations before its finalization the study shall be initiated in the second half of March. We propose a kick-off meeting after the arrival of the Inception Report of the Study for NWMP to be organized by the MESPU with participation of the stakeholders (including the Consultant for the NWMP Study). We plan to be complete the SEA in October 2022, provided that the draft NWMP is shared with PPF latest at the first week of the June. The coordination of MESPU between the NWMP and SEA is vital for timely completion.
| Stakeholder consultations |
It considered as a good practice to involve the decision-makers and stakeholders in the SEA process as much as possible. The objectives, information needs and uncertainties should be discussed with stakeholders. Active involvement and timely response of the stakeholders is very important for the entire process and the final output.
SEA requires accession to several documents, data and information. Such access is assumed to be facilitated closely by the MESPU and will be free of charge.
| Coordination with the NWMP |
We propose that relevant documents of the NWMP study and SEA shall be shared with each other by the MESPU as soon as possible after submission (even if in draft form) and monthly coordination meetings shall be held, chaired by MESPU with participation of NWMP Team and SEA team (other relevant stakeholders may also be invited by the Chair when necessary.)
Description of the activities to be undertaken
The SEA shall identify, describe and assess:
› The likely significant effects on the environment of implementing the NWMP.
› The most important environmental, natural resource-related and climate change-related constraints bearing on the performance of the sector;
› The opportunities for the NWMP to contribute to enhancing the state of the environment, building climate resilience of the sector and the population, and promoting low carbon development and the transition to the green economy.
The SEA study will be a participatory process and include wide consultation to relevant project partners and stakeholders to define and address their key concerns. The consultations shall be implemented by several means, visits, bilateral and multilateral meetings, workshops and hearings as per relevant legislation. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) shall be implemented in three phases, as per the international legislation and best practices:
1 Screening,
2 Scoping,
3 Reporting.
Screening Screening stage shall include the identification the need for conducting the SEA process.
Scoping Scoping activities will include:
- Overview of the sector strategic document and its policy, institutional and legal framework
- Description of key stakeholders, their interests and concerns
- Description of key aspects to be addressed in the SEA
- Description of the scope of the environmental baseline to be prepared in the SEA study
- Recommendations on specific impact identification and evaluation methodologies to be used in the SEA study
- Indication of time frames needed to carry out the SEA study
| Preparation of the SEA Report |
- Environmental baseline study (including all relevant data on climate change, air quality, (hydro)geology, water, soil, biodiversity, cultural heritage, demography, human health, economy and social environment)
- Identification and evaluation of environment-related risks, constraints and opportunities
- Identification and evaluation of impacts (to human health and environment and compliance with international commitments and treaties)
- Identification and evaluation of impacts in terms of vulnerability to climate risks
- Analysis of performance indicators
- Appraisal of the capacities to address environmental and climate-related challenges (climate resilience, mitigation and adoption)
- Stakeholder engagement (meetings, workshops and public hearings).
- Conclusions and recommendations
1.2 Meeting and workshops
The PPF shall plan and conduct sufficient number of meetings with the stakeholders to provide the necessary engagement and appropriate level of involvement and necessary input into the SEA process.
| Stakeholder workshops |
At least two workshops should be conducted, one for presenting and discussing the scoping report and second for the draft SEA report.
| Public consultation |
As per the requirements of the national Law on SEA, the consultant shall conduct public hearing as part of the public disclosure of the SEA report and public consultation.