Geneva, 12 May
2003 - Environment Ministers throughout
the UNECE region are gearing up for
the fifth "Environment for Europe" Conference
scheduled to take place in the Ukrainian
capital, Kiev, later this month. On
their agenda will be pan-European environmental
cooperation and taking stock of the
progress made since their previous meeting
in the Danish city of Aarhus five years
ago.
New international
environmental law
On the occasion of
the "Environment for Europe" Conference,
the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe is submitting three new protocols
for adoption by the Ministers:
-
The Protocol
on Pollutant Release and Transfer
Registers to the Aarhus Convention.
The new Protocol will require polluting
companies to provide information
on their releases of polluting substances,
such as greenhouse gases, dioxins
and heavy metals, to a national
register that is accessible and
searchable through the Internet.
-
The Protocol
on Strategic Environmental Assessment
to the Espoo Convention. This Protocol
will require environmental and public
health considerations to be systematically
taken into account when plans and
programmes, for instance in agriculture,
industry of transport, are drawn
up.
-
The Protocol
on Civil Liability and Compensation
for Damage Caused by the Transboundary
Effects of Industrial Accidents
on Transboundary Waters to the Helsinki
Conventions. This Protocol will
ensure that if an industrial accident
pollutes international rivers or
lakes, its victims, such as fishermen
or drinking water plants downstream,
will receive compensation.
Busy agenda
Besides adopting the
above-mentioned protocols and a framework
Convention on the Protection and Sustainable
Development of the Carpathians negotiated
with UNEP support, the Environment Ministers
are expected to hold policy debates
on:
· The state
of Europe's environment
· Compliance with multilateral
environmental agreements
· Energy efficiency and pricing
· Biological and landscape
diversity
· Education for sustainable
development
· Environmental partnerships
and
· The future of the "Environment
for Europe" process itself
The initiative to draw
up a UNECE strategy for education for
sustainable development is the first
practical regional contribution to the
decade of education for sustainable
development proclaimed by the UN General
Assembly. The Ministers will be invited
to endorse work on this subject.
One of the three partnerships
that will be presented at Kiev is a
strategy that has been developed to
improve environmental conditions and
put the Johannesburg Summit's Plan of
Implementation into practice in Eastern
Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Linked to this strategy
is the EU Partnership on Water for Sustainable
Development, which focuses on three
issues in those same countries: drinking-water
supply and sanitation; integrated water
resources management; and transboundary
water cooperation. Tackling these issues
is important to address the poor quality
of water and decide how best to share
the limited available water resources
both among countries and among sectors,
such as agriculture or industry, within
countries without wreaking havoc on
the environment.
Environment, water
and security in Central Asia will also
figure prominently on the Ministers'
agenda. The initiative of the five Central
Asian States aims to ensure sound water
use and safeguard the remaining water
ecosystems in a region where the disappearing
Aral Sea is evidence of the scale of
the crisis.
On the second day of
their Conference, the Ministers will
hold a special session with environmental
NGOs.
From Dobris
to Kiev
The Conference in Kiev
will be the fifth in a series of regional
conferences where Environment Ministers
and other policy makers discuss ways
of strengthening cooperation to protect
and improve our environment. The "Environment
for Europe" process is aimed at harmonizing
environmental conditions and policies
in all the member States of the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE). The ultimate goal is to raise
standards everywhere.
The "Environment for
Europe" ministerial process was initiated
in 1991 by the late Josef Vavrousek,
Environment Minister of what was then
Czechoslovakia. He invited his counterparts
to Dobris Castle, where they held their
first "Environment for Europe" Conference.
Their second Conference took place in
Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1993, the third
in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1995, and the
fourth in Aarhus, Denmark, in 1998.
During these Conferences
the Environment Ministers have launched
new initiatives, discussed the state
of the environment, adopted international
environmental law and agreed on specific
strategies to improve our environment
and our health. Increasingly, these
Conferences have also provided an opportunity
for environmental policy makers to meet
business leaders and NGOs.
The United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe has become
much more involved in the "Environment
for Europe" process: it hosts the working
group that prepares these Conferences
and it also draws up important policy
documents and international agreements
for adoption by the Ministers. Other
international organizations and institutions
also play a role in the process. Many
will be represented in Kiev (European
Commission, European Environment Agency
(EEA), Council of Europe, Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), World Bank, etc.)
For more information, please contact:
Kaj Bärlund,
Director
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements
Division
Palais des Nations, office 334
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0)
22 917 23 70
Fax: +41 (0) 22 907 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]
URL : http://www.unece.org/env
Mary Pat Silveira
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements
Division
Palais des Nations, office 338
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0)
22 917 24 48
Fax: +41 (0) 22 907 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]
URL : http://www.unece.org/env
Ref: ECE/ENV/03/P05