CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Sixth Ministerial
Conference “Environment
for Europe”
Statement of the UNECE Executive Secretary, Mr. Marek
Belka,
at the Opening Session
Belgrade, 10 October 2007
Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
I am honoured to speak to you today at this Sixth Ministerial Conference “Environment
for Europe”. And allow me, at the outset, to warmly thank our host country
Serbia for the wonderful arrangements here in the beautiful city of Belgrade,
and for the good cooperation throughout the preparatory process. I consider
the high number of Ministers and other high-level delegates, and the presence
of civil society representatives as a strong sign of collective commitment
to improve the state of the environment throughout the UNECE region. It is
also thanks to the active participation of all major regional organizations
that this Conference is so remarkably encompassing. I am particularly pleased
to welcome the Executive Director of UNEP, Mr. Steiner. UNEP is our sister
organization within the UN for all environmental matters and we share a strong
willingness to go further in our cooperation, making maximum use of our respective
and complementary strengths.
This is the first “Environment for Europe” Conference that I
have attended, but I have followed its preparations very closely. I also have
learned about the earlier Conferences and know that the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe has been closely associated with this process since
its early days back in 1991.
Coherence
Europe should be proud of the “Environment for Europe” process.
In today’s world, particularly in the United Nations, much is said about
the need to achieve COHERENCE. The “Environment for Europe” process
has exemplified this concept and has done so since the first “Environment
for Europe” Conference sixteen years ago : it is the only multilateral
framework in the region that brings together at a high political level the
UNECE member States, the organizations of the United Nations system represented
in the region, other intergovernmental organizations, regional environment
centres, non-governmental organizations, and other major groups, in order
to strengthen cooperation to protect and improve the environment, and to develop
and implement long-term strategies toward the environment. It thus provides
a region-wide platform for strengthening partnerships among all these actors
as well as for ensuring consistency among the various mechanisms and instruments
existing in the region to address specific environmental issues.
That is no small accomplishment.
A glimpse to the past…
I do not want to dwell on the past. But I think it is worth noting that
sixteen years ago, the first Conference in Dobris, in the then Czechoslovakia,
laid down guidelines that included the introduction of ecological aspects
in the process of transition of economies in central and eastern Europe.
In other words, the Conference recognized the need to help the countries
in transition from a centrally planned to a market economy attain the level
of environmental protection established in developed market economies,
and, at the same time, to work to raise these standards throughout the
region.
These ideas may seem obvious in today’s world, but this was not
so sixteen years ago. As someone from a transition economy, I can attest
to the efforts it took to include environmental aspects into the overall
economic planning. This remains, in many countries, a challenge today.
Much has happened since 1991.
The political and economic landscape of the UNECE region has changed
significantly and many Central and Eastern European countries have now
joined the European Union. In addition, current Community policies and
initiatives provide new opportunities for closer cooperation between the
EU and the countries of South-Eastern Europe and of Eastern Europe, Caucasus
and Central Asia.
At the same time, economic developments and environmental performance
have varied greatly within subregions: a number of countries face problems
of poverty, the transition towards market institutions is still unfinished,
there are considerable differences in the degree of competitiveness, and
environmental conditions are quite disparate.
And then to the future…
How the “Environment for Europe” process can help reduce
these disparities is something that should remain foremost in our minds
during the next two and half days. During this time, you will take stock
of progress made since the last Ministerial Conference in Kiev and look
at the main environmental challenges that we are facing in the region,
and determine what this process can contribute to achieving further progress
in the implementation of environmental policies.
What are these challenges?
The Fourth Assessment Report on the State of the Environment prepared
by the European Environment Agency in cooperation with UNECE and other
partners clearly shows that we are not short of challenges. The list of
areas to be addressed is long: environment-related health concerns caused
by poor air quality; inadequate water supply and drinking water quality;
soil degradation; risks posed by hazardous chemicals; adverse impacts of
climate change; continuing biodiversity loss; overuse of marine resources;
and the current unsustainable patterns of production and consumption.
Another building block of our improved knowledge on the status of our
natural resources is the First Assessment of Transboundary Rivers,
Lakes and Groundwaters, prepared under the UNECE Water Convention.
Transboundary waters play a significant role in our region: 53 out of 56
countries share water resources with one or more other countries. This
first Assessment highlights achievements in reducing transboundary impact.
However, despite the hard work, old problems still persist and new issues
have to be tackled (risks of upstream-downstream conflicts linked to water
sharing; overuse of groundwater resulting from increasing abstraction for
agricultural purposes and drinking water supply; pollution from point sources
such as municipal sewage treatment plants and old industrial installations
in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia and in South-Eastern Europe;
pollution from diffuse sources (for example, agriculture and urban areas)
in Western and Central Europe; and the effects of climate change on the
water resources).
While some countries are making progress because of sustained efforts
over several years, others continue to face obstacles hindering the implementation
of effective environmental policies. Insufficient financial and human resources,
weak environment ministries, and the lack of infrastructure and technical
capacity are a few examples.
A major policy goal of low-income countries is the improvement of their
economic competitiveness in order to achieve sustained growth and raise
the material well-being of their populations.
We will discuss this on Thursday under item 6 and I hope that the discussion
will help to illustrate how environmental policy concerns can be integrated
into national economic development strategies and how economic growth can
be achieved without increasing environmental pressures. This requires,
in particular, a gradual shift towards an economic development model which
would save environmental resources on a sustainable basis and which would
be accompanied by various forms of cooperation for sharing the transition
costs.
This is a point that I feel very strongly about. Because, the temptation
sometimes for transition countries is to “go for growth” at
the expense of the environment. This is not a viable option. There are
powerful arguments for transition or “catch-up” economies to
build in environmental concerns into their development strategies because
this will allow them to build a modern economy and society. It is a wise
investment that will reap benefits. To neglect the environmental aspects
will cost countries and societies much more in the long run. What I am
advocating, and what is advocated in the background document on environmental
policy and international competitiveness – challenges for low-income
countries in the UNECE region – is that the costs of reversing environmental
degradation later on are always larger than the costs of avoiding pollution
in the first place. And, not all environmental degradation is reversible.
Thus, as the paper states, “It is important to compare the costs
of implementing an environmental policy with the costs of policy inaction,
to avoid that society would risk losing today as well as tomorrow.”
I look forward to the discussion on this very important issue.
This is not the only issue of great importance that you will discuss – I
am very pleased that for the first time in this process, we will have a
joint session of environment and education ministers to address the achievements
and challenges in the implementation of the UNECE Strategy for Education
for Sustainable Development. I believe that education is key to promoting
sustainable development and the presence of so many education ministers
here at the Conference is heartening, as it is a clear demonstration that
Governments are also of the view that education is key if we are to embrace
policies that promote sustainable development. It also demonstrates that
cross-sectoral cooperation can work in practice.
At this Conference, there will not be any new legal instruments for adoption.
Rather, this is a Conference for strengthening implementation of earlier
commitments and deciding on those to be made here in Belgrade.
It is good to speak about implementation and commitments. But to ensure
that implementation happens, we need to address the future of the “Environment
for Europe” process. How can it be tailored to the specific needs
of subregions, groups of countries and individual countries? Do we need
a stronger focus on subregional initiatives and partnerships? How can it
help countries implement the decisions that are taken at the Ministerial
Conferences? I expect that our meeting will provide broad directions to
address these issues and will set in motion a process that would lead to
revisiting the format of the Environment for Europe with a view to making
it more needs-driven and result-oriented.
CONCLUSION
In concluding, I would like to stress one other point. The “Environment
for Europe” Conference is not just a two-day Conference – it
is a PROCESS, a process that, as I mentioned above, can be adjusted
to better meet the needs of countries in changing circumstances. That flexibility
has served it well over the years. And, this Process is strong because
of its continuity which is assured by monitoring specific follow-up actions
decided upon at the Conference. This has been done in the past and will,
I understand, be done with respect to this Conference also. In other words,
the results of this Conference have the potential to make a difference!
This process is also strong because it symbolizes “partnerships
at work”. Different partners sometimes have different objectives
and perspectives. But as you take up the very important items on this agenda,
I urge all partners in this process to join forces with renewed vigor – Governments,
international organizations, NGOs and business – so that we will
be able to make progress and build bridges to an environmentally sustainable
future of all parts of the UNECE region. This is in the interests of Europe,
but even, I would submit, in the interests of the world beyond. For my
part, and as the head of the UNECE, I can assure you that the UNECE will
continue to do its part to support and strengthen this process.
Thank you.
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Ref. ECE/GEN/07/P10