European Commission Directorate General for Inte : Empowering the civil society in Kazakhstan in the improvement of chemical safety

• Methodology of independent evaluation of the Aarhus Convention implementation has been developed, and the first report produced. Participation of activists from Kazakhstan at the Meeting of the Parties in the Netherlands. All delegates were informed about the situation, and the Compliance Committee started to investigate the complaint submitted by civil society.

• Participation in Working groups at the parliament for legislative amendments towards a 'green economy'. Several sets of recommendations have been developed, but only minor part adopted by the parliament. The biggest success is introduction of obligatory public hearings in decision making on environmental issues.

• In cooperation with the Resource Centre of the Ministry of Energy, a pilot version on the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) was developed together with the rankings of the largest polluters.

• Cooperation with the UN Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and waste - some of our findings were included in his report.

• With the objective to check functionality of legislation, a first in Kazakhstan 'public environmental expertise' was conducted - a tool that should enable the civil society to carry out independent assessment of an industrial project prior to its permission.

• On-line map of the environmental hot spots of Mangystau Region was launched, covering 26 issues.

• In Pavlodar, city with the most polluted air in Kazakhstan, a public campaign against construction of the waste incinerator was launched. More than 100 000 people signed the petition, 800 came to the public hearing, and the project was cancelled.

• Public Consultation Centre was opened in Aktau to disseminate information on the environment and encourage citizens to deal with local issues.

• Chemical analysis of the camel milk in Mangystau was carried out to demonstrate the impact of environmental pollution on foodstuff and human health.

• Within the Small Grants Programme, six local communities received financial and technical support to deal with environmental cases.

• Several local issues were successfully resolved. Aktau municipal landfill, operating without a permit and polluting environment, was closed down. The municipality of Kuryk reconstructed sewer which polluted a school yard for years. Regional Tourism Department has fenced off Saura canyon to protect fragile nature. The achieved victories were widely published to promote practical use of the citizens' rights and to encourage local communities to strive for better environment.