Environment Portal (GE0070)

Commitment 5: Activation of an electronic portal for meeting the Environmental Assessment Code requirements

To fulfill the commitment provided for by the OGP Action Plan for 2016-2017 (Commitment #16), Parliament of Georgia on June 1, 2017 adopted an “Environmental Assessment Code” (EAC). The Code regulates the decision-making procedure of a competent body concerning implementation of activities having a serious influence on the environment and human health. In addition, the Code has also introduced tools of making different decisions by competent bodies, which are absolutely new for Georgia. These tools will be activated at a stage-by-stage basis in Georgia.

Since the EAC establishes new decision-making rules, the Ministry’s purpose is to change approaches and practice and find a technical instrument for full-value introduction of new requirements. Accordingly, within the framework of this plan, the government aims at introducing such technical instrument, which will ensure timely and unimpeded access to information and effective participation of society at all the decision-making stages.

Commitment 5: Activation of an electronic portal for meeting the Environmental Assessment Code requirements
Lead Agency LEPL – Environmental Information and Education Center (EIEC), Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.
Other Involved Actors Public Agency Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia
Civil Society /Private Sector/ International organization
Issues to be Addressed Parliament of Georgia, on June 1, 2017, adopted an “Environmental Assessment Code”. The Code regulates the decision-making procedure of a competent body concerning implementation of activities having a serious influence on the environment and human health. In addition, the Code has also introduced tools of making different decisions by competent bodies, which are absolutely new for Georgia. For effective introduction of new regulation, the existing approaches and practice need to be changed.
Main Objective Ensuring public access to environment-related information and decision-making processes.
OGP Principles Transparency Accountability Citizens Participation Technologies and Innovations
 
Milestones to Fulfill the Commitment New or ongoing commitment Start date: End date:
Identification the possibilities of creating a new portal or of using the existing portals. New October 2018 September 2019
Correct identification of the information to be placed and functions; the portal structure development. New October 2018 January 2019
Activation of the portal; functional loading. New January 2019 June 2019
State-by-stage placement of taken decision before activation of the portal New June 2019 September 2019
Indicator The portal has been activated and contains relevant information; information is timely updated.
Risks and Assumptions Looking for donor aid necessary for making and activating the portal and; Change of activities implementation given the hardware and software problems.

Commitment 5: Activation of an Electronic Portal for Meeting the Environmental Assessment Code Requirements

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

“To fulfill the commitment provided for by the OGP Action Plan for 2016-2017 (Commitment #16), Parliament of Georgia on June 1, 2017 adopted an ‘Environmental Assessment Code’ (EAC). The Code regulates the decision-making procedure of a competent body concerning implementation of activities having a serious influence on the environment and human health. In addition, the Code has also introduced tools of making different decisions by competent bodies, which are absolutely new for Georgia. These tools will be activated at a stage-by-stage basis in Georgia.

Since the EAC establishes new decision-making rules, the Ministry’s purpose is to change approaches and practice and find a technical instrument for full-value introduction of new requirements. Accordingly, within the framework of this plan, the government aims at introducing such technical instrument, which will ensure timely and unimpeded access to information and effective participation of society at all the decision-making stages.”

Milestones: 

1. Identification the possibilities of creating a new portal or of using the existing portals
2. Correct identification of the information to be placed and functions; the portal structure development
3. Activation of the portal; functional loading
4. State-by-stage placement of taken decision before activation of the portal 

Start Date: October 2018

End Date: September 2019

Editorial note: For the full text of this commitment, please see https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/georgia-action-plan-2018-2019/.

Context and Objectives

This commitment continues the goals of Commitment 16 from Georgia’s third action plan (2016–2018). [20] The previous commitment called for the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia (MENRP) to adopt the Environmental Assessment Code (EAC). The goal was to bring activities with potential environmental effects under the ministry’s regulation. The previous commitment also aimed to inform citizens about and engage them in the decision-making process for approving these projects. By the end of the third action plan (2018), the ministry had adopted the EAC, but civil society noted several shortcomings in the legal norms around the EAC and its practical implementation. [21]

Building on the activities under the previous commitment and following an Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF) initiative, [22] this current commitment aims to further improve access to information about and civic participation in the environmental assessment process. More specifically, it calls for introducing a new web platform for publishing information on the potential environmental impact of planned projects. The new platform will also provide information about the dates and venues for public hearings. The commitment also plans to provide opportunities for citizens to give feedback for each project proposed and thus simplify public involvement in environmental impact assessment processes. [23]

According to OSGF, [24] information by the MENRP on the environment is currently scattered among its different webpages and the webpage of the Environmental Information and Education Center. Accordingly, the information about construction permits and various project proposals is not easily accessible to citizens or environmental organizations. This often results in a public outcry over disorganized construction and development projects.

Therefore, to meet the requirements of the EAC and to ensure public involvement in environmental assessments and decision making, the new platform will allow citizens to easily learn about the environmental impact of government initiatives and the feedback opportunities at earlier stages.

The commitment includes four milestones, namely identification of the need to create a new webpage versus utilizing existing platforms, development of the platform structure and identification of functions and types of information that will be published, gradual placement of the information, and activation of the portal. The commitment is slightly ambiguous in the sequence of activities, outlining “activation of the portal” in Milestone 3 and “stage-by-stage placement of decisions before activation of the portal” in Milestone 4. The commitment does not provide measurable indicators for each planned activity. However, as the planned activities cumulatively entail a tangible product, they are specific enough to be verified. 

If fully implemented, the commitment could have a positive practical impact on how the ministry publishes information and engages interested groups, civil society organizations, and citizens in the decision-making process. As stated by an OSGF representative, this commitment might not transform the status quo, but it provides a practical solution to the existing problems. For example, if citizens can easily find out about an unfavorable construction initiative in their neighborhood and object officially on time, [25] this engagement will create legal ground for relevant administrative agencies to react accordingly. Such engagement can also provide legal ground for a court appeal.

The implementation of this commitment could also mitigate the associated issues outlined by environmental experts, such as insufficient disclosure of information and frequent change of public hearing dates without prior notice to the stakeholders and interested parties. [26] According to the interviewed expert, [27] the platform could help address the existing deficiency in publicly available information about infrastructure projects and their potential impact on the environment. The platform could also encourage greater civic engagement in the decision-making processes around infrastructure projects. Furthermore, it could serve as a tool for evidence-based decision making for relevant administrative agencies. [28]

Next steps

Once the portal is activated and fully functional, the IRM researcher recommends the government promote its utilization and carry out an awareness-raising campaign to ensure that citizens are familiar with the availability of the web portal and its functionality.

[20] Open Government Partnership, “Georgia National Action Plan 2016–2018,” https://bit.ly/2YRRUN7.

[21] Open Government Partnership, End-of-Term Report 2016-2018, p. 52. https://bit.ly/2SgvPFO

[22] The OSGF-proposed commitment to be considered for the 2018–2019 OGP national action plan.

[23] Anano Tsintsabadze, Participatory Democracy Program Project Coordinator, Open Society Georgia Foundation, interview with the IRM researcher, 15 May 2019.

[24] Tsintsabadze interview, 15 May 2019.

[25] Tsintsabadze interview, 15 May 2019.

[26] Open Government Partnership, IRM: Georgia End-of-Term Report 2016–2018, https://bit.ly/2XN8Oix.

[27] Natia Gobejishvili, Advisor at GIZ South Caucasus (Programme-Integrated Biodiversity Management), phone interview with the IRM researcher, 22 October 2019.

[28] Tsintsabadze interview, 15 May 2019.

5. Activate electronic portal for meeting the environmental assessment code requirements

Theme 1: Improving Public Services

Limited

The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) developed a concept and plan to create a new portal on its existing webpage, mepa.gov.gewith its own address/domain. MEPA finished some of the preparatory work for the internal system and public portal, such as identifying contents and structure and uploading the documents to test in the internal system, However, it is still finalizing the system, which will be available publicly after the end of the action plan period (tentatively by July 2021). [34]