Ecological threats of Central Europe Prospects of cooperation between the Visegrad Group countries i

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Ecological threats of Central Europe Prospects
of co-operation between the Visegrad Group
countries in the area of environmental protection

• Viktor Trebický
• Institute for Environmental Policy
• Prague

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NO BORDERS

• In terms of the environment, V4 has no borders

• Components
• Air
• Biodiversity
• Water
• Information
• etc.

• Ecological problems
• Air pollution
• Climate change
• Waste and material flows
• Water pollution
• etc.

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BASIC ECOLOGICAL LAW
Everything is connected connected with everything
else
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ECOLOGICAL THREATS3 key questions

• How can we identify existing threats?
• How to tackle them?
• How to prevent us from new ones?

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Identifing existing threats

• Who? - Science, Governments, NGOs, .
• How? Using research, information, traditional
  knowledge
• Special role - INDICATORS

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Describing threats - INDICATORS

• Indicators (indikátor, wskaznik) help us to
  describe environmental reality, trends and
  developments and react on them
• Definition indicators simplify information that
  can help to reveal complex phenomena.
• Example GDP, SO2/capita, energy/GDP

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Examples of two indicators
Personal transport in EU
Energy consumption in EU
Miliardy osobo-kilometru
Miliony tun ropného ekvivalentu
vodní
5000
1400
cyklo
Zemní plyn
chuze
1200
eleznicní
4000
1000
Tuhá paliva
letecká
silnicní
800
3000
600
Ropa
400
2000
200
Jaderná
Obnovitelné
2000
0
1985
1995
1995
1987
1989
1991
1993
0
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
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How to tackle threats?
By formulation and implementation of ecological
(environmental, sustainability) policies Basic
goals 1. Reduce pollution (70s,80s) 2.
Integrate environmental concerns in other
sectors 3. Prevention, precautionary
principle 4. Ensure sustainable
development
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Examples of policies

• Global Agenda 21
• European - 6th Environmental Action
  Programme
• Strategy for sustaianble development
• National - State Environmental Policy
• Other OECD, World bank, local Agenda 21

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How to prevent us from new ones?

• Reduce human impact on the Earth
• Produce more with less
• Promote eco-efficiency
• Change production and consumption patterns
• .
• In other words implement sustaianble
  development strategies

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How is the environment doing? in Europe
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How is the environment doing? in V4 countries
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Basic trends (environment)

• Positive aspects
• Reduction of pollution
• - air, water, soil
• Decrease of harmful industrial activities
• Improving health status of population
• Better local and regional policies

• Existing and new threats
• Energy intensity of V4 countreis
• Import of western consumption patterns
• Suburbanization
• Lack of political will for further improvements
• Lack of money

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Emission of SO2
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Emission of NOx
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Emission of greenhouse gases
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Organic water pollutant (BOD) emissions
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Production of waste
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Consumption of pesticides
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Number of personal cars
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Sustainability has 3 pillars

• Ecological (environmental)
• Economic
• Social
• How was the environment influenced by economy
  and social factors in Visegrad countries?

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Basic trends (economic and social sphere)

• Economy ten years of transition towards market
  economies, many successes, but V4 has not
  reached the poorest EU country yet
• Social sphere weak balance, potential dangers
  are serious, differences among V4 countries over
  last 10 years?

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GDP as PPP
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Foreign direct investments
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Foreign debt
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Inflation rate
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Real gross industrial output
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Agricultural output
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Birth rate
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Total fertility rate
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Life expectancy at birth - women
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Unemployment
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University education
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Conclusions proposals

• Prague Initiative for WSSD What we can do on
  the level of Visegrad countries for better
  cooperation and sustainable development?
• 1. To strengthen the position of sustainable
  development in the Visegrad political agenda.
• 2. To maintain and further develop the
  positive aspects of the Visegrad groups recent
  conditions throughout the entire EU accession
  process - for example, public transport, less
  harmful traditional agriculture, traditional
  skills, more modest consumption patterns, and a
  rich diversity of the natural and cultural
  heritage.

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Proposals (2)

• 3. To introduce an environmental,
  revenue-neutral fiscal reform as a primary
  economic tool for transition towards
  sustainability based on the internalisation of
  negative external costs. 
• 4. To advocate an additional 10 tax shift
  from labour to natural resources within 10 years.
  
• 5. To encourage co-operation in the framework
  of natural units such as the Carpathians and the
  Danube river basin, as well as cross-boundary
  co-operation in the framework of river basins
  like Morava, Odra, Poprad, Tisa or Ipel.

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Proposals (3)

• 6.To increase the share of renewable
  resources in energy production by a minimum of
  10 by 2010 and promote energy savings.
• 7. To reform educational systems focusing on
  commonly understood principles of sustainable
  development and necessary abilities (such as
  critical and systematic thinking, problem
  solving, co-operation, responsible
  decision-making).
• 8. To strengthen multi-sectoral, cross-border
  partnerships among NGOs, academic institutions,
  the business sector and municipalities at a local
  level for the implementation of Agenda 21. To
  extend networks and improve the exchange of
  information regarding good examples of Agenda 21
  implementation.
•  

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Further inforamtion

• On the quality of environment in Europe
• www.eea.eu.int
• On Prague Initiative and evaluation of V4
  progress towards sustainability
• www.rio10.org
• Generally about indicators of OECD
• www.oecd.org