Research Fellow Nivedita S and Research Associate Manisha Regalla participated in the Eleventh Meeting of the Working Group on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). They participated remotely in this three-day hybrid meeting which was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 19 to 21 December 2022.

Matters discussed included (i) a study by ÖKOBÜRO and Resource & Analysis Center “Society and Environment” (RACSE) entitled “Assessment And Participation Requirements For The Lifetime Extension Of Nuclear Power Plants”; (ii) the draft guidance on assessing health impacts in strategic environmental assessment expected to be finalised in 2023; and (iii) the work being done to identify synergies and possible cooperation activities in marine regions (in particular, regional seas frameworks that include provisions on environmental assessments). The meeting also discussed the next Meeting of the Parties in 2023 and the 1^st Amendment to the Espoo Convention – where the hope is that it will be ratified by then to allow for the Convention’s global opening i.e. to be acceded to by non-UNECE members. The meeting brought together representatives from state parties to these treaties and representatives from intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations and academia.