Jointly organized by the Environmental Protection Bureau and the Law Reform and International Law Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, the workshop on "EU's Experience in Establishment and Implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment System" took place on June 22nd in Macao. This workshop invited two Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) experts from the European Union (EU), in a bid to share EU's invaluable experience in its establishment and implementation of an EIA system. To share and exchange experience on EIA legislation and implementation with regions already having a comprehensive EIA system in place, the EU and the relevant public departments of the Macao SAR co-organized the workshop on "EU's Experience in Establishment and Implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment System". This event was integrated as part of the 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field and took place on June 22nd, in the Lotus Room of the World Trade Center Macau, 5th floor. For the workshop, the organizers invited two EU EIA experts as keynote speakers: Ms. Lubomila Popova, an expert on EU environmental law from the Environment Agency Austria, and Dr. Philippe Bergeron who is an independent consultant. The keynote speeches featured the principles, objectives and components of the EU EIA Directive, and case studies about applying EIA in the construction of environmental infrastructure facilities in the EU. A total of 120 participants from a wide range of sectors - professionals from the Macao SAR Government departments, teachers and students from higher education institutions , to experts in the environmental and legal studies - exchanged ideas and experience during the Q&A session. By organizing this workshop, the Environmental Protection Bureau hopes to promote exchange, capacity building and training in the regulatory and technical aspects of EIA, and increase relevant professional's knowledge and understanding of the EIA system in various regions, for the impetus towards an establishment of an EIA system in Macao. The 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, which incorporates this workshop, has as its main objective the "Consolidation of the Macao Legal System" and will take place until December 2013. The execution of this Programme is coordinated by the Law Reform and International Law Bureau, with the participation of several other MSAR's entities and public departments.
