The European Union and the Western Balkans. Environment and Natural Resources

Transcription

1 The European Union and the Western Balkans Environment and Natural Resources

2 Environment and natural resources - an environment for Shared goals The countries of the Western Balkans and their European Union neighbours share the same air, the same rivers, and the same seas. Respect for the environment is a pre-condition for the health of everyone in the region. Sound policies and practices in conservation and the use of natural resources can safeguard the well-being of future generations. In addition to delivering direct regional benefits like reduced pollution, a policy that reinforces sustainable development will help the countries of the Western Balkans move down the road towards European integration. Incorporating environmental concerns into transport, competition, consumer protection or regional development is the way they can successfully meet the standards of the European family they aspire to rejoin. At the same time, the region contains unique habitats in its dunes, estuaries, coastal lagoons, wetlands, and forests, and these merit conservation not only for the sake of the region, but for the rest of Europe and the wider world too. Delivering assistance The EU is spending over 113 million between 2000 and 2004 to support the development of environmental policy and infrastructure in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro. Most of the assistance is delivered through the EU programme known as 'Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation' CARDS with a commitment of 4.65 billion to the region between 2000 and The Vardar/Axios river which runs through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia into Greece provides the authorities in Skopje with a practical Environmental Project on Vardar River, April 2003 challenge. The country has taken on obligations under EU and international rules on the protection of water systems and quality of water of international importance. This is where it has to meet these obligations. With EU funding of 1.7 million, two automatic monitoring stations are being installed to keep a check on water quality. The units provide real-time information on everything from water level, temperature and acidity, to the presence of nitrites, nitrates and heavy metals. Back at the Skopje Meteorological Office, the information is being constantly monitored. Through established alert systems, the system allows rapid reaction to emergencies, so preventive measures can be taken in threatened regions. And it sets baselines for future improvements of water quality. The work on this project - underway since has brought new techniques and new approaches to the country s environmental experts, particularly in developing efficient responses to concentrations of contaminated materials and efficient alert systems.

3 r change Public involvement in environmental matters in Croatia is still limited, and there are few established channels for citizens to learn about environmental management or to influence environmental legislation in the country. Green Action Seminar, Croatia, May 2003 A small grant from the EU is helping generate more of a response to this challenge: the development of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) - Zelena Akcija, meaning Green Forum - in Zagreb. This has been running since 1990, but is still small. The EU money is helping provide an information centre for the public, aimed at building contact between people and the local and national authorities on environmental matters. From July 2003 to July ,000 is going into the purchase of equipment for Zelena Akcija, and getting architect's advice for the centre, located in a Croatian cultural monument. The money is also helping expand information activities. More that 100 people took part in a 2003 eco-seminar in Zagreb, and a workshop was held in early 2004 on how to design a green campaign and organise an exhibition. Visiting lecturers were invited and discussions organised on topics such as protection of green areas in Zagreb and the decision-making process on environment. The challenges The sustainable development that is at the heart of EU policies, and fundamental to balanced growth everywhere in the world, can be achieved only if environmental issues are dealt with adequately. But across much of the Western Balkans, environmental planning has not been in the forefront of policy formation. Neglect of environmental considerations has left many scars, both visible and invisible: where pollution is high, it is not merely an economic or aesthetic issue, but a serious health threat. For instance, as long as sheep continue to graze on toxic grass around abandoned industrial sites, there is a risk to health for everyone feeding from them. The lack of effective urban planning allows illegal new construction to sprawl around towns. Failures in environmental management have led to soil erosion and damage to sustainable agriculture. Countries in the region need to pay attention to environmental issues before the situation worsens. But they often lack the capacity to monitor the situation, to collect data, or to frame and implement modern legislation. In this region, the procedures and disciplines that underpin environmental management are often new and unfamiliar concepts. The EU response The EU has, largely through CARDS, provided carefully targeted assistance to help the countries and the region identify the most effective ways of tackling the huge challenges that environmental management and sustainable development present. Although assistance has taken the form of finance, that is only part of the approach. Challenges such as how to deal with waste management need more than just equipment - training in using and maintaining it is just as important as is ensuring that the legal framework is also present. Similarly, overall

4 environmental improvement in the region requires management expertise and cultural shifts just as much as funding. And this is where the EU's experience within its own borders, and particularly in the work with its new Member States from Central and Eastern Europe, is of particular value. Targets are agreed in relation to both tackling urgent problems and achieving a gradual alignment with EU standards. Improving management of the environment and natural resources is heavily dependent on strengthening institutions making sure laws are implemented and enforced, improving monitoring and inspection systems to counter pollution, supporting better planning in towns and at regional level so that physical investments are effective. EU assistance aims to focus on actions with real significance. Whilst studies of pollution densities and solid waste strategies may be an important part of planning, operational improvements in environmental management come largely from specific investments in infrastructure in individual municipalities or by individual firms.. Practical help Urgent attention has been paid to "hot spots" that present immediate threats such as local contamination caused by heavy metal and other by-products from obsolete industries. Ill-managed processing plants have filled waste ground with dangerous concentrations of chemicals, endangering people and animals in the immediate vicinity, and posing wider threats to groundwater and rivers. Assistance has helped provide rapid remedies, through "quick-start" programmes that provide funds to focus the attention of banks, international financial institutions and NGOs. And governments have been given help in conducting law reform to outlaw such pollution. Longer-term improvements are also catered for, through reinforcement of ministries, to make it possible to boost water quality, reduce air pollution and improve waste management. This institution building takes the form of training and associated investment support, creating a framework to ensure the law covers all companies, both private and public, and to permit successful infringement cases for breaches of environmental law. The EU is also involved in training small banks and local authorities on how to lend, borrow and monitor the use of money for environmental projects which helps the region to secure loans from such institutions as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). This local expertise becomes increasingly necessary to fill the gap left as countries shift away from reliance on the now diminishing donations of humanitarian and emergency aid, and towards economic self-sufficiency. Because regional co-operation is vital to deal with risks posing a trans-boundary threat, notably water and air pollution, the EU is encouraging collaboration through regional and cross border projects so that national administrations learn to work effectively with one another. A regional approach is also central to the preservation of the many natural parks and lakes that straddle borders.

5 Agreeing regional level priorities has been an essential tool in modernising environmental management and co-operation is encouraged as a means to bring together ministries, parliaments, and NGOs from across the region. This gives a higher profile to environment at national level, and allows an exchange of ideas on the best solutions for common problems. At the same time it reinforces regional solidarity and understanding in more general terms. The EU also helps in promoting the recognition that ultimately these measures must be self-financing, employing appropriate mechanisms, such as tariff models, public-private partnership options, and privatisation or leasing concessions. Specific reinforcement mechanisms complement EU assistance in the region. The Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme for South-Eastern Europe (REReP) helps improve the environmental policy framework through institution building, measures for raising environmental awareness in civil society, and cross border co-operation, and has helped the emergence of a sense of regional ownership of policies among environment ministries. Regional networks of senior officials and experts are developing, and the countries are now participating in the activities of the European Environment Agency, helping to ensure that collection of data becomes consistent with EU norms. And as part of a regional water resources strategy, the DABLAS (Danube-Black Sea) Task Force has identified trans-boundary management priorities. Perspectives for the future Renewed economic activity in the region will also increase the environmental challenges. It is by putting in place today the structures, mechanisms and disciplines to protect the environment that damage will be avoided tomorrow. The CARDS programme sets out regional level targets, and spells out the range of national reforms which will eventually need to be in place. This will help guarantee a healthy environment in the region and assist the countries to match EU rules and European and international standards and best practice. Ecology is not usually seen as a profitable concern in Bosnia and Herzegovina and environmental matters often get low priority in government planning. That is the reason the EU is funding a 1.7 million project in the country from Recreational area near Sarajevo, to 2005 to enhance awareness of environmental problems and the links between environmental protection and economic sustainability. The immediate targets are central government ministries responsible for environment, but the wider objective is improved coordination - with other similar projects, to enhance sustainable environmental management right across the country. Officials need training, environmental policy needs defining, and new legislation needs drafting. So the project will organise skills development, and conduct case studies in a few selected companies where major reductions in pollution are possible. These should show that it is possible to combine successful business with high enviromental and ecology standards. The outcomes will be agreement on environmental priorities, better definition of the options for achieving them, with indicative cost assessments, and the development of specific policy recommendations. At the same time, methods of raising the public and institutional profile of environmental issues will be developed.

6 Contacts EuropeAid Co-operation Office European Commission B-1049 Brussels Fax: (+32 2) Directorate General for External Relations European Commission B-1049 Brussels Fax: (+32 2) Delegation of the European Commission to Albania Tirana, Rruga Donika Kastrioti - Villa n 42 Tel: (+355) / Fax: (+355) Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, Dubrovacka 6 Tel: ( ) / Fax: ( ) Delegation of the European Commission to the Republic of Croatia Zagreb, Masarykova 1 Tel: (+385 1) / Fax: (+385 1) Delegation of the European Commission to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 1000 Skopje, Marsal Tito 12 Tel: (+389 2) / Fax: (+389 2) Delegation of the European Commission to Serbia and Montenegro Belgrade, Krunska 73 Tel: ( ) / Fax: ( ) European Agency for Reconstruction Headquarters Thessaloniki - Egnatia 4, Greece Tel: ( ) / Fax: ( ) ISBN: X KQ EN-D European Communities 2004 Photographers: Dejan Vekić (Sarajevo), Almin Zrno (Sarajevo), Carl Cordonnier (Lille)