Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe: Setting Priorities : Abridged Version of the Document Endorsed by the Ministerial Conference, Lucerne, Switzerland, 28-30 April, 1993

193 Pages·1998·2.48 MB·English

by  Richard Ackermann

Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe
Environmental Action Programme for Central and
Eastern Europe
Setting Priorities
Abridged Version of the Document endorsed by the Ministerial Conference
Lucerne, Switzerland
2830 April, 1993
Copyright © 1998
The International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development/THE WORLD BANK
1818 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Printing May 1998. Previously distributed by OECD in 1994.
2 3 4 5 03 02 01 00
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Library of Congress Cataloging−in−Publication Data
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe.
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe :
setting priorities : abridged version of the document endorsed by
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe 1
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe
the Ministerial Conference, Lucerne, Switzerland, 28−30 April 1993
/ [prepared by a team led by Richard Ackerman (World Bank) ... et al.].
p. cm
ISBN 0−8213−3179−5
1. Environmental policy—Europe, Eastern—Congresses.
2. Pollution—Economic aspects—Europe, Eastern—Congresses.
3. Europe, Eastern—Economic aspects—1989—Congresses.
conditions—1982− 4. Latin America—Social conditions—1982−
I. Ackerman, Richard. II. Ministerial Conference "Environment for
Europe" (1993 : Lucerne Switzerland) III. World Bank.
IV. Organization for Economic Co−operation and Development.
V. Title.
HC244.Z9E523 1998 98−10238
363.7'0094—dc20 CIP
Preface to the 1994 Edition
At the Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe," which took place on 28−30 April 1993 in Lucerne,
Switzerland, Ministers "endorsed the broad strategy, with its principles and general priorities, contained in the
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe (EAP) as a basis for action by national and
local governments, the Commission of the European Communities and by international organisations and
financial institutions and private investors active in the region" (Paragraph 6 of the Ministerial Declaration, 30
April 1993).
This endorsement was the culmination of a two−year process of discussion and consensus building among
representatives from about 30 Eastern and Western countries and numerous international institutions in the
framework of the Swiss−led Expert Group established after the Dobris Conference in June, 1991. From a different
perspective, the endorsement was the beginning of a substantive dialogue which is based on a much better
understanding of how to achieve tangible results in a situation where serious environmental problems must
compete with many other grave social and economic demands.
The great achievement since the Dobris Conference, however, goes well beyond the preparation of the Action
Programme, for there has been a shift in understanding of how it might be possible to achieve the greatest
possible environmental improvements with the available resources. There is now a recognition that improvements
in the environment are rooted in economic and social change, not in isolated investments. Attendance at the
Lucerne Conference reflected this new paradigm; not only were environment ministers from 50 countries
represented, but many senior finance, economic, and sectoral ministry officials also attended, especially from the
20 participating Central and Eastern European countries.
This Action Programme represents a synthesis of several major studies. As part of a broad consensus building
process, they were reviewed by various expert panels and dis− cussed at international meetings prior to the
Lucerne Conference. The work was undertaken by the World Bank and OECD under the guidance of a Task
Force chaired by the Commission of the European Communities.
The innovative conclusions and fundamental recommendations would not have been possible without the
commitment of countless individuals and generous contributions by several governments and institutions. The
major studies were funded jointly by the governments of Denmark, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States; and by the European Commission, the OECD, and The
World Bank. The Netherlands Government also financed the editing of the Action Programme. Most important of
Preface to the 1994 Edition 2
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe
all, however, was the dedicated effort of a number of the Central and Eastern European countries with whom we
embarked on a journey that is bringing us ever closer together in our joint quest for a better "Environment for
Europe."
RUTH DREIFUSS
FEDERAL COUNCILLOR
HEAD OF THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
GOVERNMENT OF SWITZERLAND
YANNIS PALEOKRASSAS
COMMISSIONER
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
JEAN−CLAUDE PAYE
SECRETARY−GENERAL
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO−OPERATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
LEWIS T. PRESTON
PRESIDENT
THE WORLD BANK
This Report has been prepared by a team led by Richard Ackermann (World Bank) and
comprising Gordon Hughes, Clyde Hertzman, László Somlyódy, Kristalina Georgieva,
Wendy Ayres, and Gretta Goldenman. The sections on economic and environmental policies
and on forecasting draw upon the work of Rob Maas, Johannes Bollen and Jean−Paul
Hettelingh (RIVM) and Michael Toman (RFF). The chapter on expenditure priorities is based
on the work of Wynne Jones, Mark Ambler, John Marrow and others working under a
contract with Coopers & Lybrand. The section on Transboundary and Global Concerns is
based on a draft from Martin Uppenbrink (UNEP), and benefitted from extensive comments
and review by Anton Eliassen, Harald Dovland, Mari Saether (Norway). The sections on
biodiversity and nature conservation are based on contributions from Jean−Pierre Ribaut
(Council of Europe), Zbigniew Karpowicz and Liz Hopkins (IUCN). Information on the
phaseout of Ozone Depleting Substances was provided by Claus Hvashøj Jørgensen and Ulla
Blatt Laursen under a contract with COWIconsult. The section on Non−Governmental
Organizations includes contributions from John Hontelez, Mara Silina, Martin Kaspar, and
Przem Czajkowski. The principal editor was Frances Cairncross.
Many others provided helpful comments and contributions. Brendan Gillespie (OECD) and
Anna Bramwell (EU Commission) provided major inputs; and valuable advice was received
from members of the Task Force, Expert Group, and others, in particular Alexander
Avertchenkov, Dan Beardsley, Thomas Becker, Ruth Bell, Quincy Berengère, Lars Björkbom,
Jan Boehringer, Anders Bojeman, Philippe Bourdeau, Philippe Bourel dela Roncière, Ralph
Brieskorn, Giuseppe Cassini, Guy Clausse, Andrzej Czyz, Andriy Demydenko, Jeremy Eppel,
Hermann Escher, Andrea Fennesz, Duncan Fisher, Richard Fort, Alexander Goudyma, Ronald
Greenberg, Hugo Haider, Hans−Joachim Hermann, Theresa Herzog−Zimmermann, Paul
Hofseth, Adam Isaacs, Oreola Ivanova, Jonathan Klavens, Miklos Koloszar, Zsuzsa Lehoczki,
Kurt Lietzmann, Thomas H. Litscher, Bill Long, Måns Lönnroth, Ralph Luken, Sheila
McKinley, Timo Mäkela, Margita Mastrovic, Alexander Melzer, Brian K. Muehling, Branimir
Preface to the 1994 Edition 3
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe
Natov, Marek Novakowski, David W. Pearce, Grzegorz Peszko, Istvan Pomazi, Tue Rohrsted,
Theodore E. Russell, Wilhelm Schmid, Karsten Skov, David Stanners, Daniel Stauffacher,
Jernej Stritih, Ulf Svidén, Josue Tanaka, Stanislaw Tarkowski, Daniel Thompson, Jan
Thompson, Istvan Tökes, Hubert Menalda van Schouwenburg, Luis Veiga da Cunha, Ulla
Weigelt, Henry Wyes, Harvey Yakowitz, André Yatchinovsky, and Anthony Zamparutti.
Valuable advice was received from colleagues in the World Bank, including especially
Wilfried Thalwitz, Anil Sood, Marcelo Selowsky, Anand K. Seth, Robin Bates, Kathleen
Stephenson, Anders Halldin, Helmut Schreiber, Bilal Rahill, Stephen Lintner, Nicole Glineur,
Piotr Wilcynski, Peter Whitford, Mark Kosmo. Laszlo Lovei and David Wheeler were Peer
Reviewers.
The Action Programme and the many related administrative tasks depended critically on the
tireless assistance of Lucie A. Albert, Johnson Appavoo, Nathalie Lenoble, Jennifer Sterling
(World Bank), and Anne Cariou and Leonora Lynch (OECD).
A full draft of this report was discussed with Central and Eastern European governments in
the course of a series of missions in March/April 1993. These missions were led by
representatives from Austria, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United
Kingdom.
Many thanks go to Jürgen Gneveckow, Lousewies van der Laan, and Bo Libert for their
efforts to obtain translations of the Action Programme; to Stanislaw Sitnicki, Alexander Juras
and Colin Woodard at the Regional Environment Center for organizing the translation and
dissemination in Eastern Europe; and to all the countries and institutions sponsoring the
translation and dissemination process. The EAP is being translated into 19 Central and Eastern
European languages.
The work program and the many studies leading up to this Environmental Action Programme
for Central and Eastern Europe (EAP) were first described in a document entitled "Setting
Environmental Priorities in Central and Eastern Europe." Many of the issues raised in that
document are taken up in greater detail in this report and in the technical reports issued
separately.
Table of Contents
Preface link
Executive Summary (As Adopted at the Ministerial Conference) link
I. Introduction: Why an Environmental Action Programme? link
Objectives link
The High Costs of Environmental Cleanup link
International Assistance link
The Need to Set Priorities link
Why a Regional Approach? link
II. How to Set Priorities link
Table of Contents 4
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe
The Costs of Environmental Damage link
Environmental Damage and Human Health link
The Main Pollution Problems link
Degradation of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Conservation link
Responding to the Problem: Finding a Balance between Policies link
and Investments
III. Policy Reforms link
The Effects of Economic Change on the Environment link
Better Environmental Policies link
Enforcement link
IV. Building Better Institutions link
A Commitment to the Environment link
Legislative and Institutional Reform link
Environmental Monitoring and Information Systems link
Constraints on Policy and Project Implementation link
Management Capacity, Training and Education link
Developing New Partnerships and Involving the Private Sector link
V. Priorities for Environmental Expenditure link
"Win−Win" Investments and Worker Training link
Operation, Maintenance and Repair (OMR) link
Immediate Priorities for Public Investment link
Investments to Deal with Urgent Problems Specific to Different link
Countries
Low−Cost Measures to Address Longer Term Environmental link
Problems
Financing Environmental Investments link
VI. Transboundary Issues: Regional and Global Concerns link
Regional Concerns: Air Pollution link
Regional Concerns: Water Pollution link
Global Issues link
Management of Toxic Chemicals and Hazardous Wastes link
Conclusions: The Key Messages link
VII. Principal Recommendations link
Priorities in Detail link
Table of Contents 5
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe
Annexes
1 Summary of Human Health Problems and Major Industrial link
Plants in Pollution "Hot−Spots"
2 Occupational Health link
3 Modelling the Impact of Economic Reform and Industrial link
Restructuring
4 Why Raise Energy Prices? link
5 Environmental Standards link
6 Priorities for Environmental Expenditure (Details) link
Boxes
1.1 Environmental Investment Expenditures in Poland link
1.2 Follow−up of the Lucerne Ministerial Conference link
2.1 Developing Country−Specific Priorities (Albania) link
2.2 Portraits of Different Kinds of "Hot Spots" link
2.3 Nitrates in Drinking Water in Romania link
2.4 Cost Savings for One Medium−Sized Town link
2.5 Airborne Dust or Gases—Which is More Important? link
3.1 Short−Term Threats to the Environment in Russia during the link
Transition
3.2 Privatization and Environmental Liability link
3.3 Reducing Emissions from Coal−Burning link
3.4 Finding the Most Efficient Way to Reduce Environmental link
Pollution
3.5 Financing Environmental Protection in the Russian link
Federation
3.6 National Environmental Funds link
3.7 Environmental Standards in the European Union link
4.1 Key Features of National Environmental Action Plans link
4.2 The French River Basin Agencies: An Example of Regional link
Water Management
4.3 The Project Cycle under Central Planning link
4.4 Proposed Project Fact Sheet link
4.5 Cost−Effective Wastewater Management in a River Basin: link
The Nitra River
link
Table of Contents 6
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe
4.6 The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern
Europe (REC)
5.1 Dealing with Large, Old Industrial Plants link
5.2 The Diversity of Pollution Problems and Remedies—An link
Overview
5.3 Checklist for Cost−Effective Municipal Wastewater link
Investments
5.4 Biodiversity Conservation: Short−Term Investment Examples link
6.1 The Environmental Damage Caused by Acid Emissions link
6.2 Low Cost Options to Reduce Sulfur Dioxide Pollution link
6.3 Black Triangle Environmental Programme link
6.4 Mechanisms to Share the Burden of Reducing Transboundary link
Pollution
6.5 Environmental Programs Dealing with International Waters link
6.6 Wastewater Investments Which Meet Domestic and link
Transboundary Objectives
6.7 The Polish Debt−for−Environment Swap link
6.8 ODS Phaseout Activities link
6.9 Global Environment Facility Biodiversity Projects in Central link
Europe
Annex Boxes
A6.1 Environmental Improvements in the Non−Ferrous Metals link
Industry
A6.2 Environmental Investments in the Iron and Steel Sector link
A6.3 The Impact of Industrial Pollution on Municipal link
Wastewater and Sludge Treatment
A6.4 Rural Water Supplies link
A6.5 The Application of Natural Treatment Systems: Szugy, link
Hungary
A6.6 Different Types of Wastewater Treatment link
A6.7 Priorities and Alternative Technologies: Case Study of an link
Overloaded Treatment Plant
A6.8 Environmental Investments in the Paper and Pulp Sector link
A6.9 Environmental Investments in the Chemical Sector link
Text Figures
Table of Contents 7
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe
2.1 Fuel Use for Households, Commerce and Services (Percent link
Shares in 1988)
2.2 Fuel Use for Electricity (Percent Shares for Public Supply in link
1988)
2.3 Number of Passenger Cars Per 1000 Persons (1990) link
2.4 Average Annual Percentage Growth in Numbers of Cars Per link
1000 Persons (1980−90)
6.1 Total Emissions of SO2 and N0x from Central and link
South−Eastern Europe
6.2 Total Emissions of Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides from link
Russia
6.3 Total Emissions of SO2 and NOx from Other Countries of link
the Former Soviet Union
6.4 Emissions of Carbon Dioxide in Central and Eastern Europe link
6.5 Primary Energy Use in Central and Eastern Europe link
Annex Figures
A3.1 Emissions of Particulates in Hungary and Russia under link
Alternative Reform Scenarios
A3.2 Emissions of Particulates in Romania and Ukraine under link
Alternative Env. Standards
A3.3 Emissions of Sulfur Dioxide in Hungary and Belarus link
A3.4 Emissions of NOx in Hungary and Ukraine link
A3.5 Emissions of Lead in Bulgaria and Romania link
A3.6 Emissions of Cadmium in Belarus, Lithuania and Romania link
A3.7 Emissions of BOD in Russia link
A3.8 Particulate Emissions in Poland by Type of Source link
A3.9 SO2 Emissions in Czech & Slovak Republics by Type of link
Source
A3.10 Lead Emissions in Bulgaria by Type of Source link
Text Tables
2.1 Minimum Damage Costs from Pollution Emitted by High and link
Low Stacks
5.1 Priorities for Pollution Control link
Annex Tables
A1.1 Major Industrial Plants Located in Pollution "Hot Spots" link
Maps
Table of Contents 8
Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe
1 Concentration of Total Dust (RIVM/IBRD 25296R)
2 Total Deposition of Cadmium (RIVM/IBRD 25305R)
3 Concentration of Sulfur Dioxide (RIVM/IBRD 25297R)
4 Concentration of Sulfur Dioxide in 2010 (RIVM/IBRD
25298R)
5 Locations of Large Point Sources of SO2 Emissions in the
CEI Region (IISAS)
6 Regional SO2 Emissions from All Sources in the CEI Region
(IISAS)
7 Leaching of Nitrate in Agricultural Soils (RIVM/IBRD
25312R)
8 Exceedance of Critical Loads for Acidity (RIVM/IBRD
25300R)
9A Exceedance of Critical Loads for Acidity in 2010, Scenario 1
(RIVM/IBRD 25301R)
9B Exceedance of Critical Loads for Acidity in 2010, Scenario 2
(RIVM/IBRD 25302R)
10 Aluminium Concentrations in Acidified Soils (RIVM/IBRD 25304R)
Technical Reports (issued separately)
This report represents a synthesis of a two−year process involving numerous studies, detailed technical reports on
the most important topics, joint meetings, workshops and international conferences. Following is a list of the
major reports and conferences:
Environment and Health in Central and Eastern Europe
Monograph evaluating the influence of environmental pollution on human health in comparison with other
determinants of health in 12 Central and Eastern European countries. The document summarizes the current
knowledge about locations
in the region where environmental pollution is known to have influenced human health, and identifies the
principal types of environmental exposure which are affecting human health and could be subject to remediation
through concerted environmental action. A draft of the report, which was prepared for the World Bank, was
discussed at a high−level meeting of health and environment officials sponsored by WHO, UNEP and the World
Bank at the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen (Denmark), March, 1993.
Environmental Liability and Privatization in Central and Eastern Europe
Book analyzing the legal and economic issues associated with questions of environmental liability in the
privatization process. The document, prepared by the World Bank, is based on an international conference on
privatization, foreign direct investment and environmental liability hosted by the Polish Ministry of
Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry in Warsaw in May, 1992. The Conference, which was
organized jointly by The World Bank, OECD and EBRD, brought together ministers, deputy ministers and other
Table of Contents 9