|
EUROPEAN ECO FORUM NEWSLETTER No 43 |
||||||
1. MEETING OF THE EXTENDED BUREAU OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY The Extended Bureau meeting of the Committee on Environmental Policy (CEP) took place on 19 May 2009 in Geneva. Apart from the CEP Bureau members meeting was attended by the EU Presidency (Czech Republic), chairpersons of UNECE Conventions, UNECE Secretariat, members of the Working Group on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (WGEMA) and Environmental Performance Review Expert Group, EEA, UNEP, UNDP, EAP Task Force, REC Caucasus and REC for Central Asia. European ECO Forum was represented by Mara Silina, Chairperson of the Coordination Board. The purpose of this meeting was to brainstorm on possibilities for the preparation of the assessment report(s) required for the next “Environment for Europe” (EfE) Ministerial Conference to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2011. The EfE Reform Plan adopted by the CEP and endorsed by the UNECE established that the pan-European assessment would be among the official substantive documentation for the EfE Conferences. The Plan also states that preliminary findings of available assessments and statistical reports on environment should be taken into account when CEP will decide about the themes for and discuss the outline of the Conference. The European Environment Agency (EEA) was invited to inform the meeting about the developments within and outside the agency that have an impact on its capacity to prepare a fifth pan-European assessment report. Until now the EEA has produced four assessments for the “Environment for Europe” process and was asked in the conclusion to the Belgrade conference to consider producing the fifth assessment for the Astana conference. However, the situation has changed both in respect to EU policy (affecting the resources available for this activity and the focus of interest) as well as to the way of conducting environmental assessments and the EEA currently is not in a position to produce the next pan-European assessment report. In the planning of the EEA’s next regular five-year State and Outlook Environment report, expected to be published late 2010 (SOER2010), the EEA Management Board has considered a number of options. However, they have rejected the idea of extending EEA’s regular five-year report to the pan-European area. Thus, the SOER2010 will cover 32 EEA member countries and 7 Western Balkan countries. Nevertheless, the Management Board has asked the EEA to make linkages between SOER2010 and other regional assessment efforts. To this end the EEA has put forward and received support for the notion of an umbrella SOER2010 process and a report of several parts covering also regions outside EEA. Having this information in mind, the UNECE Secretariat prepared the note on pan-European and other assessment reports for the next EfE conference where various options for the preparation of a pan-European assessment for the Astana conference were presented. One of the possible options is that the EEA might be able to offer an EECCA supplement to its SOER2010 as an additional part. Alternatively, a self-standing document could be prepared for the Astana EfE conference on the basis of SOER2010 and the EECCA assessment. Another option mentioned was to prepare another type of pan-European assessment which would be different from previous ones. In this case, the Global Footprint Network expressed its readiness to prepare such report following the template of the “Living Planet Report”. Preparation of a set of thematic assessment reports was also mentioned as an option. Most of participants of the meeting, including the European ECO Forum were in favour of the first option with the EEA being involved in the preparation of the pan-European assessment but agreed that further discussions are needed. It has been announced that the EEA will hold a meeting on this topic on 3 July in Copenhagen to complement and further deepen the discussions from this Extended Bureau meeting. At the end of the meeting, UNECE Convention Secretariats and other organisations informed participants about recent and upcoming assessments which could support the selection of themes for the Astana EfE conference. Assessments already foreseen for the next conference include the second assessment of transboundary waters and report on the results of the second round of the Environmental Performance Reviews. EAP Task Force also intends to produce several outputs on environmental policy reform and water supply and sanitation sector in EECCA countries. Themes for the next EfE conference in Astana will be selected at the CEP meeting in March 2010. For more information, please contact: Mara Silina, European Environmental Bureau
2. THIRD HIGH LEVEL PREPARATORY MEETING TO PARMA-2010 On 27-29 April 2009, Third High Level Preparatory Meeting and an executive session of the European Environment and Health Committee took place in Bonn, Germany. The European ECO Forum was represented by Sascha Gabizon (Coordinator of Environment and Health Issue Group at European ECO Forum, Women in Europe for a Common Future - WECF), Sonja Haider and Johanna Hausmann (WECF), and Iulia Trombitcaia (Eco-Accord, Russia). These meetings focused on the preparation to the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health (Parma-2010), in particular:
The dates of 24 to 26 February 2010, Parma, Italy were announced as final for the Fifth Ministerial Conference. 23 February will be a day for pre-conference events such as youth event, meetings of South East European (SEE) countries and Newly Independent States (NIS), and an event on the Protocol on Water and Health. The session that will encompass a panel discussion/roundtable with stakeholders is currently scheduled for the second day (25 February) afternoon. Participants commented on drafts conference papers, including documents on climate change and on socioeconomic and gender inequities, which are the main topics on the Conference agenda. An update on progress achieved on ‘Gender Inequities in Environment and Health’ was given by the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs of Spain as a lead country. The United Kingdom as a lead country provided update on the document ‘Protecting health in an environment challenged by climate change: A Regional Framework for Action’. The Regional Framework for Action will be a policy document presented at the Ministerial Conference, with some key elements included in the Ministerial Declaration. The Regional Framework for Action sets five pillars for action for the WHO European Member States in areas of adaptation and mitigation climate change measures, primarily in the health sector. It encourages development of national action plans by 2012 as well as development and regular update of integrated climate change environment and health impact, adaptation and vulnerability assessments. Delegates welcomed the document. Several countries and the European ECO Forum stressed the need to bring more actions from this policy document into the draft Ministerial Declaration as well as the need for assistance to countries of NIS and SEE in implementing the Regional Framework for Action. A joint presentation of the German Ministry of Environment and the WHO Regional Office for Europe described examples from NIS and SEE countries where opportunities for protecting health from climate change were possible due to the financial support provided by Germany. The WHO Regional Office for Europe presented a new web-map questionnaire as a mechanism to organise country reporting on implementation of the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE). The meeting discussed, paragraph by paragraph, the Draft Ministerial Declaration for the Parma-2010 conference. The most important thing is that the draft includes school specific targets for each Regional Priority Goal of the CEHAPE, which should ensure focused actions for the upcoming years. The future of the Environment and Health process following Parma-2010 provoked a very lively discussion. It was the first time in the preparatory process to Parma when this issue was raised in the plenary in presence of all member states, international organisations and stakeholders. The European ECO Forum stressed that environmental non-governmental organisations believe in the great value of this process to reduce the burden of disease and to take a strong policy stance, in particular by strengthening the ministries of health and environment and by addressing regional differences. The European ECO Forum proposed to reinstate the CEHAPE Task Force and to establish a CEHAPE Implementation Fund. Addressing the concerns of a number of countries whether we can afford current and new institutional frameworks in time of economic crisis, European ECO Forum proposed sharing resources with other secretariats, for example of the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP) and of the Water and Health Protocol. The European ECO Forum stressed the need to look at moving towards a legally binding process and to consider taking the process to a global level. Presentations by the German Federal Environment Agency showed results of the recent research on monitoring hazardous chemicals. Among others, these showed worrying information on phthalates, known to be hormone disrupters and possibly causing cancer. Children of all age and social groups had very high levels of phthalates in their bodies. The combined effects are of a special concern as well. The sources of these phthalates seem to come for some 60% from food intake. The occurrence of phthalates in food is not yet well researched, but might be linked to the use of plastic containers, packaging and tubes in food processing, as for example all types of milk sampled, including organic milk, contained high phthalate levels. The next preparatory steps on the way to Parma-2010 include:
The European ECO Forum’s intervention about the future of the Environment and Health process is available at http://www.eco-forum.org/documents/Intervention-Gabizon-EH.doc Documentation of the meeting is available at http://www.euro.who.int/eehc/meetings/20090204_2 For more information please contact: Sascha Gabizon, Women in Europe for a Common Future Iulia Trombitcaia, Eco-Accord, Russia
3. DETERMINATION AND APPLICATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE FINES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL OFFENCES Draft Guidance for Environmental Enforcement Authorities in countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) on determination and application of administrative fines for environmental offences was prepared by the Secretariat of the Task Force for the Implementation of the Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EAP Task Force). This document provides environmental authorities in EECCA countries with guidance on how to determine and apply administrative fines for environmental offences, based on best practices in several OECD countries. The draft was presented and discussed at a regional expert meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, on 19-20 March 2009, and is proposed for endorsement at the annual meeting of the Regulatory Environmental Programme Implementation Network (REPIN network) in Chisinau, Moldova, on 10-12 June 2009. The document stresses that all EECCA countries use administrative monetary penalties in environmental enforcement, but they are mostly directed at physical persons and officials. Their size does not account for the offender’s economic benefit resulting from non-compliance, and the collection rates are generally low. The document summarises the fundamental principles of the design of effective environmental fines and describes a methodology to assess economic benefits of non-compliance or delayed compliance. It explains how to take into account the seriousness of an environmental offence (actual or possible harm and importance of the type of violation). Also, the document deals with operator-specific factors in adjusting the size of a fine, including the degree of wilfulness or negligence, history of non-compliance, ability to pay, degree of cooperation with the enforcement agency, etc. The implementation issues (including the consistency, transparency, and enforceability of penalty decisions) are also addressed. Specific short- to medium-term recommendations for EECCA countries that follow from the international best practices are provided. The draft is available at:
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/44/42356640.pdf (in English)
4. WORKING GROUP ON INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT TO DISCUSS PREPARATORY STEPS TOWARDS THE FIFTH MEETING OF THE PARTIES TO THE UNECE WATER CONVENTION The Working Group on Integrated Water Resources Management under the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE Water Convention) will have its 4th meeting in Geneva on 8–9 July 2009. The main objectives are to review the implementation of the activities in the Convention’s work plan for 2007–2009 and to agree on a draft work plan for 2010–2012. The latter work plan will be submitted for discussion and adoption at the Fifth Meeting of the Parties (Geneva, 10–12 November 2009). The Working Group will comment on draft Guide to Implementing the UNECE Water Convention as developed by the Legal Board of the Convention. It will agree on ways to finalize the draft Guide and to make arrangements for its submission to the Fifth Meeting of the Parties for adoption. The Working Group is also expected to comment on the draft Guidance on Water and Adaptation to Climate Change as developed by the Task Force on Water and Climate, and to agree on ways to finalize it so that it could also be submitted to the Meeting of the Parties for adoption. The preparation of the “second assessment” of transboundary rivers, lakes and groundwaters in the UNECE region, to be ready by the next “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference in 2011 in Astana, is another important item on the agenda. The Working Group will discuss recent developments under the EU Water Initiative and its National Policy Dialogues process regarding integrated water resources management, and water supply and sanitation. Particular attention will be given to the ongoing dialogue processes in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, as well as the activities envisaged in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The documents of the Working Group are available at
5. WORLD HEALTH YOUTH ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH COMMUNICATION NETWORK WHO-Europe, with the assistance of the World Health Communication Associates, supports the World Health Youth (WHY) Environment and Health Communication Network. Its key objective is to catalyze the involvement of young journalists from European countries in the environment and health process, thus developing capacity, enhancing the quality and quantity of coverage, and building sustainable communications across the WHO European Region. Young journalists (18-30 years old) are invited to join the Network. Feature stories from WHY journalists will be entered into a competition focusing on national perspectives on key environment and health challenges and progress to date. Selected entries will be included in a publication on the 20-year history of the “Environment and Health” process in Europe to be launched at the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health (Parma, 24-26 February 2010). Winning journalists will be invited to Italy in 2010 to receive their awards. The stories may be written in English and/or Russian. Russian stories need to be accompanied by an abstract in English. 17 July 2009 is the deadline for submission of stories by WHY journalists. Winning submissions will be selected by a panel of judges appointed by WHO-Europe and partners. More information about how to join the WHY network and how to submit stories is available at http://www.euro.who.int/envhealth/media/20080923_1 For more information please contact: Ms. Cristiana Salvi
|