In today’s context, where public oversight is gaining increasing importance across all spheres in our country, a formal procedure has been established for conducting public hearings as part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process.
In accordance with the requirements of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Public Oversight”, the Center for State Environmental Expertise organizes public hearings to discuss ongoing negative impacts on the environment and public health caused by activities with high and moderate environmental risk.

 Public hearings - Are meetings organized to assess the advisability of planned, ongoing, or implemented economic activities that may have a negative impact on the environment.

In 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, through Resolution No. 541 dated September 7, approved the Regulation “On the Procedure for Conducting Public Hearings on Environmental Impact Assessment Projects”.

This Regulation governs the procedure for conducting public hearings on activities classified as highly hazardous (Category I) and moderately hazardous (Category II) in terms of environmental impact, which are planned or being implemented prior to the state environmental expertise process. Public hearings regarding environmental impact assessment processes are held in accordance with the regulation, which defines both the organization and procedure of such hearings.

Participants in public hearings include:

• Interested parties

• Non-governmental non-profit organizations

• Citizens' self-governing bodies

• Media

Representatives of environmental protection authorities participate in public hearings as observers.

The organizer of public hearings is the district (city) administration.

Stages of Conducting Public Hearings

Stage 1: The project initiator submits an application to the regional environmental protection authorities to conduct public hearings. The application must include a non-technical summary of the project documentation for activities classified as Stage I and Category II in terms of environmental impact.

Stage 2: The regional environmental protection authorities review the application. If public hearings are deemed necessary, they forward the application to the organizer of the public hearings (the district or city khokimiyat) for the organization of the hearings (within 2 working days).

Stage 3: The organizer of the public hearings (district or city administration), in coordination with the project initiator, determines the time and location of the hearings and sends a notification with these details to both the project initiator and the regional environmental protection authorities. Information about the date and venue of the hearings is also published on the organizer’s official website.

Stage 4: The project initiator publishes an announcement about the public hearings in the mass media and may also use other means of public notification at their discretion.

Stage 5: The organizer prepares for the public hearing, records the minutes of the meeting, and provides a copy of the minutes to the project initiator. A copy of the minutes, along with information about the public hearings held, is also sent to the regional environmental protection authority.