TOWARDS BELGRADE-2007 |
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1.THE SEVENTH MEETING OF THE WORKING GROUP OF THE PARTIES TO THE AARHUS CONVENTION The seventh meeting of the Working Group of the Parties (WGP-7) to the Aarhus Convention took place on 2-4 May 2007 in Geneva. The European ECO-Forum was represented by Serhiy Vykhryst, John Hontelez, Mara Silina, Andriy Andrusevych, Yves Lador, Fikret Jafarov, Franziska Mischek, Silvia Schuette, Dan Badarau, Sergey Solyanik and Anke Stock. The Working Group of Parties was informed about the status of ratification of the Aarhus Convention, of the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers and of the Almaty amendment on GMOs. Recent ratifications of the Aarhus Convention by Germany and Croatia have brought the total number of Parties to 41. Switzerland became the second country (after Luxemburg) to ratify the PRTR Protocol, having deposited its instrument of ratification in April 2007. The European Community has approved (ratified) the Protocol in February 2006. Many delegations (Sweden, Ireland, Norway, Romania, Germany, Belgium, Armenia, Denmark, Latvia, Finland, Spain, Estonia, Malta and Belarus) reported that they were working hard on ratification of the PRTR Protocol as soon as possible. The Protocol needs sixteen ratifications to enter into force. The Almaty amendment dealing with public participation in decision-making on GMOs has now been ratified by three countries - Bulgaria, Denmark and Luxemburg. The work on ratification of the GMO amendment was reported by Sweden, Slovenia, Norway, Romania, Belgium, Armenia, Latvia, Moldova, Spain, Estonia, Malta and Belarus. The Working Group of Parties has discussed the Guidance on Reporting Requirements prepared by the Compliance Committee to assist the Parties in fulfilling their tasks on reporting. Since the national implementation reports should be ready by mid-December 2007 to allow for a compilation of a synthesis report for the Third Meeting of Parties (Latvia, 8-13 June 2008), the Guidelines suggest that the national consultation processes start in mid-May 2007. The Guidance on Reporting Requirements clarifies how the Parties should implement the requirement "to submit new information : and, where available, a consolidated national implementation report". The Guidance includes a check-list of issues that could be addressed in national reports. The Working Group of Parties addressed the activities of the
Compliance Committee. All together, 18 public communications were
received. After the Second Meeting of the Parties, fivecommunications were
processed. With regards to the follow-up on the recommendations made by
MoP-2 (in three cases MoP-2 recommended to develop a compliance strategy),
only one country has developed a draft strategy so far (Kazakhstan). In two
other cases (Ukraine and Turkmenistan), there was no strategy developed.
European ECO-Forum stressed that the reporting requirements under the Aarhus
Convention should contain the provisions on taking due account of the
Compliance Committee The Chairperson of the Task Force on Access to Justice Mr. Håkan Bengtsson has reported on the preparatory activities for a workshop for senior members of the judiciary (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine) to take place in Kiev, Ukraine, on 4-5 June 2007. Future activities on access to justice were addressed. Uzbekistan stressed that access to justice remains one of the most problematic areas of the Aarhus Convention in the entire region and proposed to re-establish the Working Group on Access to Justice. The Working Group of Parties discussed the consultation process on public participation in international forums. 97 forums were addressed. 65 out 97 indicated their interest to take part in the consultation process. 50 forums have provided feedback. The consultation process will end in July 2007 with a workshop on PPIF. The Working Group of Parties appreciated the high rate of responses and the readiness of international forums to receive assistance of Aarhus Convention Parties in this field. As noted by some countries, there seems to be no recognisable need to review the text of the Almaty Guidelines on PPIF at this point. The Working Group of Parties has also discussed the options for decision on financial arrangements aimed to ensure financial stability for implementation of the work programme of the Convention. The decision of this matter is extremely important since the contributions in 2006 were below the core requirement which led to cuts on certain activities under the Aarhus Convention. Two major options for financial arrangements were proposed: legally binding contributions (new amendment to the Convention or a new protocol) or voluntary contributions. In general, the discussion revealed a preference towards a binding approach and a strong desire to avoid the changes to the Aarhus Convention requiring ratifications and other bureaucratic problems. European ECO-Forum stressed the need for "stable and predictable sources" and spoke in favour of a legally bindingarrangement to be agreed in as light manner as possible. Other issues discussed included public participation in strategic decision-making, use of the electronic information tools and the clearing-house mechanism as well as capacity building activities under the Aarhus Convention. The documents of the meeting are available at
2.PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON FUTURE OF AARHUS EXTENDED The deadline for consultation on the draft elements for a long-term strategic plan for the Aarhus Convention has been extended to 31 May 2007 to allow further opportunities for public to comment. The draft elements for a long-term strategic plan for the Aarhus Convention were prepared by the Convention's Ad Hoc Expert Group on Long-Term Strategic Planning. This is part of a process which is expected to lead to the adoption of a long-term strategic plan for the Convention by the Third Meeting of the Parties to the Convention (June 2008). The document is available in English on the website for public comment (http://www.unece.org/env/pp/ltsp.htm). Details of the modalities for submitting comments are contained in the document itself. Please send your comments to the Secretariat (as indicated
in the document itself) and copy your message to:
3. PREPARATION OF BELGRADE DOCUMENTS AHEAD OF THE FOURTH WORKING GROUP OF SENIOR OFFICIALS The fourth meeting of the Working Group of Senior Officials (WGSO) is scheduled to take place in Geneva on 30 May - 1 June 2007 back-to-back to the 14th session of the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy that is scheduled to take place on 29 May 2007. The documents for the WGSO meeting appear on the Web as soon as they become available (see http://www.unece.org/env/efe/wgso/Belgrade/WGSOMeetings.htm). Currently, almost all drafts of Category I documents (those proposed for action by ministers) are available in English at abovementioned web-site. The drafts of proposed category I documents were considered in detail by the fifth meeting of the Executive Committee (14-15 February 2007). These drafts were revised and the new versions are being submitted to the fourth meeting of the WGSO for final approval. In particular, the following drafts of Category I documents in English are already displayed on the Web: Belgrade Statement on Biodiversity; Draft Statement on Education for Sustainable Development (in Russian and French as well); Guiding Principles of effective environmental permitting systems; Initiative on Strategic Environment Assessment; Belgrade Initiative: enhancing the SEE cooperation in the field of Climate Change; Public- private partnership for reduced air pollution from vehicles through no-lead and low-sulphur fuels; Environment and security partnerships; Sustainable Consumption and Production; Public sector participation in the Energy Efficiency Equity Fund; Draft Statement on Energy Efficiency and the Environment; Mobilizing finance for environmental priorities: recommendations for the future. At the fourth meeting, the WGSO is expected to consider and
approve the draft provisional agenda of the Belgrade Conference
4.SERBIAN NGOs PREPARE FOR THE BELGRADE "ENVIRONMENT FOR EUROPE" CONFERENCE Serbian NGOs continue their preparatory activities towards
"Environment for Europe" Ministerial Conference, which will take place in
Belgrade on 10-12 October 2007. The preparations intensified after the
Coordination Meeting of over 170 Serbian NGO representatives in January 2007
and after the participation of Serbian NGO representatives in European
ECO-Forum Strategy Meeting in March 2007. Coordinators of the seven working groups are: Milka Gvozdenovic and Jelena Scekic from "Young researchers of Serbia", Nenad Nikolic from "Local Agenda 21 for Kostolac Municipality", Nenad Robajac from "Ecolibri bionet", Dejan Zagorac from "Eko centar", Branimir Jovanovic from "Center Tesla - Competence Center for SD", and Andjelka Mihajlov representing SEE Network FORUM EfE07 and "Environmental Ambassadors". Bratislav Poprasic from "Krusevac Ecological Center" is coordinating organization of side events. Zorica Korac is a representative of REC CO Serbia responsible for facilitating the preparation process. At the working group meetings, NGO representatives will come to a consensus on the mutual platform of Serbian NGOs on each issue of the Belgrade agenda, as well as agree on Serbian NGO participants of the Belgrade Conference. Each group will organize two meetings prior to the deadline for submitting the list of NGO representatives who will participate in Belgrade- 2007. For more information contact:
5.ENVIRONMENT AND SECURITY INITIATIVE REPORT In March 2007, the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) released a Progress report 2006. The report contains a detailed matrix of planned, on-going and completed projects in the Southern Caucasus, Central Asia and South Eastern and Eastern Europe. The Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) is a joint effort of UNDP, UNEP, OSCE, NATO, UNECE and REC. It seeks to facilitate a process whereby key public decision-makers in South Eastern and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus are able to motivate action to advance and protect peace and the environment at the same time. During 2006, the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) continued to implement sub-regional projects in the Southern Caucasus, Central Asia and South Eastern and Eastern Europe. USD4,686,000 million were made available by Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy,the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA for activities in 2003 -2006. The ENVSEC partners added USD 912,000 through these years, and NATO as an associated organization aligned its activities amounting to USD 7,456,000. A work programme including over 70 projects stemming from region- specific priorities related to need of further assessments, policy development, institution and capacity building as well as technical cooperation has been elaborated for the period 2007-2009. See progress report at
6.SURVEY COMMISSIONED BY "PARTNERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION IN EUROPE" Partners for Environmental Cooperation in Europe (PECE) brings together UK-based organisations from the public sector, business and civil society who have a shared goal to help protect the environment and promote sustainable development in the countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA). PECE asks non-governmental organizations from EECCA countries to participate in a survey by answering 10 questions. The purpose of the survey is to help PECE understand how partnerships between governments, civil society and business can play a part in improving the environment and promoting sustainable development in EECCA region. The opinion of EECCA NGOs is extremely important in order to understand how partnerships can best be facilitated and what are the main barriers to establishing partnerships in the region. The questions are available at
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