Given the past successes of Environment for Europe, can October's conference also deliver?
By Nathan Johnson
In order to understand where the Environment for Europe process is going, it's helpful to have at least a minimal understanding of where it's been. One must also bear in mind how much Europe itself has changed politically and economically during EfE's lifetime.
It was in Dobris 16 years ago that the call was first made for a comprehensive assessment of Europe's environment, and to develop long-term strategies toward creating an environmental programme for the entire continent. Among the many basic guidelines agreed to at the conference, one was to provide assistance for improving environment-related health issues, while another was that each country would bear responsibility for global environmental problems. Dobris attracted environment ministers from 34 European countries, Brazil, Japan and the US, in addition to representatives from UN bodies and both governmental and non-governmental institutions.
Two years later, in Lucerne, 45 European countries were represented, along with officials from Canada, Israel, Japan and the US. Ministers adopted the 'Ministerial Declaration' during the 1993 gathering, which was critical in establishing EfE's political dimension. Efforts at this time were focused primarily on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and Lucerne participants established what is now known as the EAP Task Force to implement the Environmental Action Programme for CEE. The core activities of the EAP Task Force are to help countries develop their own national environmental action plans, run training programmes, involve the private sector, and to improve management of priority conservation areas.
The agenda for the 1995 EfE conference in Sofia had already been decided at Lucerne. Ministers from 49 countries in Europe, North America and Central Asia (the United Nations/Economic Commission for Europe, or UN/ECE region) attended the third conference, while Australia, Japan and Mexico were also represented. The ministerial declaration adopted in Sofia, in addition to representing a reaffirmation of commitment to European environmental protection, placed new and special emphasis on assistance to Central and Eastern Europe, especially in terms of environmental financing and private sector involvement. In addition, the Pan-European Biological and landscape Diversity Strategy was adopted at Sofia.