The 'Environment for Europe' process was initiated in 1991
by Mr. Josef Vavrousek, Environment Minister of what was then
Czechoslovakia, and since then it has become a unique policy
making platform for the region in environmental field. It
covers the 55 countries of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UN/ECE), with the focus moving more to Eastern
Europe and even more in the NIS countries in the last years.
It regularly brings together Ministers of Environment and
other relevant partners at Pan-European conferences for defining
common environmental policies.
The process is most useful tool for Pan-European coordination,
to harmonize the efforts and to avoid unnecessary duplication,
as well as to ensure that funding from various resources is
channeled to the areas most in need. It also provides an effective
forum for disseminating ideas that may help to tackle the
environmental crisis of the region, such as changing production
and consumption patterns, public participation, energy efficiency
or precautionary principle. Hence the process is a good source
of inspiration, guidance and support on the way of creating
a more sustainable Europe.
The First Ministerial Conference held in 1991 (Dobris)
called for a comprehensive assessment of Europe's environment
and the development of an Environmental Programme for the
entire region.
At the Second Ministerial Conference (1993, Lucerne)
Ministers endorsed the "Elements for a Long-Term Environmental
Programme for Europe" elaborated within the UN/ECE framework
and agreed on the further development of the environmental
programme on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of the
region's environment. "Europe's Environment: The Dobris
Assessment" was prepared by the European Environment
Agency for the 1995 Sofia Conference.
The Third Ministerial Conference (1995, Sofia)
endorsed the Environmental Programme prepared within the UN/ECE
framework. This document is the first attempt at pan-European
level to outline long-term environmental priorities and to
make Agenda 21 more operational in the European context, especially
its provision related to the integration of environmental
considerations into other sectoral policies. It serves as
a framework for better coordination between national and international
efforts and for promoting convergence of national environmental
policies.
At the Fourth Ministerial Conference (1998, Aarhus)
the ECE Committee on Environmental Policy reported on progress
made in the implementation of the Environmental Programme.
Moreover the ECE was invited to continue to screen the programme,
taking into account the report "Europe's Environment:
The Second Assessment" in order to make proposals for
concrete priority actions.
The Aarhus Conference endorsed the Convention on Access
to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and
Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, or as it is widely
known, the "Aarhus Convention".
At the Fifth Ministerial Conference (2003, Kyiv)
the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable
Development of the Carpathians was signed by the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Ukraine
and later in November by Poland. Besides the Ministers approved
the Environmental Strategy for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and
Central Asia (EECCA), which evolves as a partnership initiative
of all UN/ECE member states for the better environment of
twelve NIS countries.
An ambitious nature conservation commitment was undertaken
in the Kyiv Resolution on Biodiversity to halt the loss of
biodiversity at all levels by 2010. Besides the Biodiversity
Resolution determines additional tangible targets for the
first decade of the century in various fields from ecological
networks, through forestry and agriculture to monitoring and
public participation. Read more about the
Kyiv Conference >>
CEEweb programmes and projects
related to the Environment for Europe process:
