Projects

8000. Tunesia EIA EU twinning project

From 2012 until 2014 the NCEA participated in an EU twinning project that provided support to the Ministry of Environment of Tunesia, and institutions under its supervision, in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development. The project was led by the French Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Other partners in the project were the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and DLG. The NCEA's involvement focussed on strengening the EIA system of Tunesia.

Significant details

The objectives of this EU twinning project were:

  1. Harmonisation of Tunisian legislation on the protection of the environment and promotion sustainable development with that of the European Union.
  2. Review and strengthening of the integration strategy of sustainable development in administrative governance.
  3. Strengthening of the operational response capacity of the beneficiary institutions, including review of development strategies and intervention tools.
  4. Strengthening of managerial and organizational capacities.

The NCEA contributed mainly to the 4th objective. Efforts concentrated on optimizing the interventions of the environmental administration in the area of environmental impact assessment (EIA). We analysed the existing EIA situation, including available assessment tools (guides and scorecards, standard terms of reference, etc) and the capacities of the governmental staff responsible for EIAs in selected sectors. We then advised on areas for strengthening EIA, and provided training to EIA related staff, as well as practitioner exchange.

The contributions of the NCEA to the project were:

  • Analysis of implementation of EIA to projects in the areas of urban and industrial development and tourism in Tunisia.
  • (Documented) recommendations for improvement of EIA.
  • Facilitation of discussion on revision and improvement of the terms of reference for the EIAs for selected project types.
  • Facilitation and content for worksessions on the differences and similarities between the Tunisian EIA system and the system in the Netherlands;
  • Joint site visits to relevant project areas;
  • Presentation of methods to quantify impacts (including noise, air quality and water quality) of an activity;
  • Training sessions for staff working in the EIA process in Tunisia.

Parties involved

Members of the working group

Technical secretary: Bobbi Schijf

Further details

Country: Tunisia


Last modified: 26 Apr 2021