Frequently Asked Questions

An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is a study conducted ahead of the construction process in order to identify potential issues and enable any necessary mitigation procedures to be put into place. The scope of the ESIA encompasses geophysical, biological, environment and socio-economic factors along the project route. The assessment procedure will include specific surveys, as well as public and stakeholder consultation events.

The Nabucco project falls under the EU Environmental Impact Assessment Directive and Turkish EIA legislation and is thus required to undertake an ESIA. It is a major infrastructure impact and its impact on the environment and communities along its route will be important.

The ESIA procedure ensures that environmental consequences of the project are identified and assessed before consent is given for the project. The public can contribute its views and opinions and all results are taken into account in the authorisation procedure of the project. 

The main ESIA objectives are:

• Minimise Project Footprint (including rights of way, temporary facilities, access roads
• Minimise emissions
• Minimise energy and resource use
• Minimise production of waste
• Maximise re-use of displaced materials
   

The main task of D´Appolonia is to support Nabucco in the completion of an integrated project ESIA, fulfilling the requirements of the International Finance Institutions (IFIs) and complying with national and European legislation.

Under EU law, each country is required to conduct an ESIA for the section of the pipeline corridor that falls within their national boundaries. This also applies to Turkey as an applicant for EU membership.

The ESIA has been initiated in all 5 Nabucco countries and the Scoping stage is already successfully completed in all 5 countries. Currently the preparation of the ESIA documentation is under preparation. In some countries first ESIA permits have been obtained already. The ESIA permitting phase will be completed as soon as possible.

The results of the ESIA will enable the Nabucco team to put any necessary mitigation measures in place, before construction starts on the pipeline, in order to prevent, eliminate or minimise any disruption to either the environment or the local communities.

Nabucco Stakeholders are all organisations and individuals who may be directly or indirectly affected by the Nabucco project as well as those who may have interests in a
project and/or the ability to influence its outcome. Stakeholders may include locally affected communities or individuals and their formal and informal representatives, national or local government authorities, politicians, religious leaders, civil society organizations and groups with special interests, the academic community, or other businesses.
 

The term “stakeholder engagement” describes a broader, more inclusive, and continuous process between a project  and those potentially impacted that encompasses a range of activities and approaches, and spans the entire life of a project. These can be divided into the following eight components:

• Stakeholder Identification and Analysis
• Information Disclosure
• Stakeholder Consultation
• Negotiation and Partnerships
• Request Management
• Stakeholder Involvement in Project Monitoring
• Reporting to Stakeholders
• Management Functions