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Bridging Partners, Regions, and Concepts

• Presentation of
• The Regional Environmental Center
  
• for Central and Eastern Europe

Marta Szigeti Bonifert Executive Director
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Our Mission

• () The REC is a non-partisan, non-advocacy,
  not-for-profit international organisation with a
  mission to assist in solving environmental
  problems ()
• The REC is an international organisation,
• Established in 1990,
• legally based on a charter signed by the
  governments of 28 countries and the European
  Commission.

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Bridges
Bridges Across Borders
NGOs
Government
Government
NGOs
The REC
Local Governments
Business
Local Governments
Business
Citizens
Citizens
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The REC Network

• 200 staff (30 nationalities)
• Head office in Hungary
• 16 country offices 3 field offices
• Over 300 running projects
• 12 million Euro annual turnover
• Operations beyond Central and Eastern Europe

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Board of Directors

• CORRADO CLINIChairman of the Board of
  DirectorsDirector GeneralDepartment for
  Environmental Research and Development / Ministry
  for the Environment and Territory / Italy
• SOLEDAD BLANCOEuropean CommissionDirector DG
  Environment - International Affairs
• NADYA BONEVAExecutive DirectorTime Ecoprojects
  Foundation / Bulgaria
• ALLAN GROMOVDirector GeneralMinistry of the
  Environment / Estonia
• ROBERT HERBST Global Environment Technology
  Foundation
• Co-Founder and Principal
• JON OPEMSenior AdvisorMinistry of Environment,
  Department for International Cooperation / Norway
  
• ISTVAN POMAZIChief AdvisorDepartment for
  Strategic Planning, Ministry of Environment and
  Water / Hungary
• YUKIO YANAGISAWAProfessor of Department of
  Environmental ScienceGraduate School of Frontier
  Science / University of Tokyo / Japan

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Partners of the REC
EU Countries
EFTA
Asia Pacific Transatlantic Cooperation
()
International and private Institutions
Countries in Transition
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Partnership in focus

• The REC fulfils its mission by promoting
  cooperation among non-governmental organisations,
  governments, businesses and other environmental
  stakeholders, and by supporting the free exchange
  of information and public participation in
  environmental decision making
• The REC has developed, promoted and implemented a
  variety of models and tools to address
  environmental challenges, such as stakeholder
  engagement and ownership, regional partnerships,
  environmental assessments, public participation

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REReP

• Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme
  for SEE
• Under the Stability Pact for SEE /Working table
  II
• Model for a Successful Assistance Mechanism, more
  than 600 MEUR of assistance for the region
  attracted
• Contributes to the goals and objectives of the
  Stability Pact
• Integrates the environment concerns into the
  reconstruction
• Supports the Stabilisation and Association
  process
• Promotes regional dialogue and partnerships
• Ownership by the beneficiary countries
• Major tool for capacity building and
  strengthening of the environmental institutions
• Transfer of best practices from the new EU member
  states
• Simple and flexible management structure

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Regional water management examples

• Sava River Basin Framework Agreement and Action
  Plan
• Tisza River Basin Sustainable Development
  Programme
• UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project
• Water quality management at river basin level/
  Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Support for the Implementation of the Water
  Framework Directive, national and transboundary
  context
• New initiatives/projects, e.g. Black Drim, Buna,
  Neretva rivers

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Sava River Basin

• Formerly a river within Yugoslavia now an
  international river passing through 4 countries
  recently at war
• International Framework Agreement (2003) to
  re-establish joint state-of-art river basin
  management
• Interim Commission established
  
  (Permanent Commission
  
  will be in Zagreb, Croatia)
• Issues Navigation, Flood control,
  Commerce, Recreation and other
  Uses, Water Quality, Transboundary
  Cooperation,
  Public Participation, Biodiversity

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Tisza River Basin Sustainable Development
Programme

• New international planning method on river basin
  level instead of national or county level
  approach
• Early integration of sustainable development
  principles in planning and implementation
  processes
• Development of a participatory framework for
  cooperation between countries, sectors,
  communities and stakeholders in the river basin
• Goals
• Securing prosperity for inhabitants
• Using natural resources sustainably
• Minimizing environmental risks
• Preserving natural and cultural values
• Involving communities

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Cooperation with UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project

• Enhancing Access to Information and Public
  Participation in Environmental Decision-making
• Significant project for the region, implemented
  by the REC, New York University and Resources for
  the Future in close cooperation with ICPDR
• Focusing on Implementation of the EU Water
  Framework Directive
• DRP Small Grants Component
• in nine Danube Countries
• Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the
  Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia
  and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine

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Regional water management issues

• Need for assistance and cooperation on regional
  level, not only within the specific
  initiatives/projects
• Need for capacity building to further strengthen
  the institutions
• Preparatory work for implementation of the Water
  Framework Directive
• Further development and implementation of the
  secondary legislation
• Countries very committed but limited human and
  financial resources
• Need to actively exchange/transfer best practices
  and models

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Water related infrastructure investments

• Priority Environmental Investment Programme for
  South Eastern Europe (PEIP)
• Targeting the investment challenge in SEE
• (air, waste, water sectors)
• Identification and prioritisation of
  infrastructure investment projects (in line with
  EU directives).
• Building pipelines of investment projects and
  assistance in projects formulation.
• Facilitating dialogue between proponents and IFIs
  and exchange of expertise

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PEIP 2004-2005 and water sector investments

• Work on project formulation with pilot water hot
  spots (sites with a potential for development of
  investment water projects)(9 sites)
• Organizing 2 regional training workshops on
  development of water investment projects.
• Study on investment planning status for water
  sector investment projects
• PEIP priority investment infrastructure list
  including water sector projects on the list
  (update to be prepared for September 2005 PEIP
  Regional Meeting)

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PEIP and DABLAS synergies

• 4 PEIP water pilot hot spots are proposed to be
  added to the DABLAS project list
• Exchange of information concerning water sector
  investment projects
• Further opportunities for cooperation and
  synergies will be explored

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• Thank You for Your Attention!