The 4 th pan-European assessment “Belgrade report”

1. The 4th pan-European assessment “Belgrade report” Looking back and looking ahead Adriana Gheorghe EEA

2. “EfE” Environment for Europe process - from Dobris to Belgrade “2007 Belgrade Report” 1991 Dobris 1993 Lucerne 1995 Sofia → 1998 Aarhus → 2003 Kiev → 2007 Belgrade

5. Kiev Ministerial declaration (23 June 2003): “30. We call on EEA to prepare the fourth assessment report for the next EfE ministerial conference building on new partnerships, especially with UNECE and UNEP…………………”

6. REQUESTED Short, policy oriented report Indicator based Responding to Belgrade agenda Support in assessing progress on EECCA strategy Based on recent information ACHIEVED Similar size as Kiev, using EECCA strategy and 6EAP frameworks Partially possible New things: ESD, SCP, SD, outlooks Better geographical balance - More EECCA and SEE focus Base year: 2004/2005 EEA mandate for the Belgrade report: To produce…….

7. The Belgrade report – timing • Data gathering and indicator production: From Jan. 2006 • Writing phase: April – August 2006 • Compilation first draft & translation Russian: September 2006 • Extensive review & consultations on drafts: Oct 2006-February 2007 • Processing comments & final editing: Dec 06-April 07 • Report(s) to printer: June 2007 • Dissemination: end June 2007(English); September 2007 (Russian) • Report launch:10 October 2007

8. Partnership…partnership…

9. Key messages – Key areas • Environment and health (air pollution, water quantity/quality, hazardous chemicals, soil) • Climate change • Biodiversity • Marine and coastal env. • SCP • Sectoral impact (agriculture, transport, energy, tourism)

10. Key messages- Belgrade report Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, driven by society’s desire for ever higher standards of human well-being together with increasing resource needs which can deplete and contaminate natural resources within and beyond Europe’s borders. Since the Kiev conference, the issue of sustainable consumption and production has become more prominent on the policy agenda although few substantive results have emerged. Patterns of consumption are changing rapidly across the region, with increases in the shares for transport, communication, housing, recreation and health. Total waste generation is increasing in the pan-European region. At the same time, the legacy of old waste sites still presents a major problem in some EECCA and SEE countries, although many have developed waste strategies and legislation for specific waste streams. However, waste management plans and effective legislation have yet to be implemented in some countries.

11. Environment-related health concerns result from continuing pollution of air, water and soil. Despite considerable reductions in air pollutant emissions in much of the pan-European region, atmospheric pollution (in particular current levels of fine particles and ozone) still poses a significant threat to human health and the environment as a whole - in EECCA countries some air polluting emissions have increased by more than 10% since 2000 as a result of economic recovery, increase in transport, and the persisting poor effectiveness of air pollution protection strategies. Similarly, although water quality appears to have improved in rivers across the region, some large rivers and many smaller watercourses remain severely polluted. More than 100 million people in the pan-European region still do not have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation; and in EECCA and SEE the quality of water supply and sanitation services has deteriorated continuously over the past 15 years. Soil degradation, in particular contaminated sites, remains to be an issue of concern across the region. Yet, some progress has been made in terms of policy development and the availability of information on soil issues. Also, the production and use of commercial chemicals raises health concerns, as the production of toxic chemicals has increased at almost the same rate as total chemical production.

12. Climate change, mainly driven by energy consumption and the resulting emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), exacerbates extreme weather events (such as flooding or droughts) and has an impact on a range of socio-economic activities such as agriculture and tourism. Impacts of climate change on society and natural resources are already occurring both across the pan-European region and worldwide, and are projected to become even more pronounced. A global emission reduction of up to 50% by 2050 is necessary to achieve the target proposed by the EU to limit temperature increase to a maximum of 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. However, even if global emissions of greenhouse gases are drastically reduced, some unavoidable climate change impacts make adaptation measures urgent.

13. Biodiversity loss in the pan-European region (particularly in farmland, mountain regions, forests and coastal zones) is occurring as a result of land use changes, urban sprawl, infrastructure development, acidification, eutrophication, desertification, resource overexploitation, both intensification and abandonment of agriculture, as well as climate change. The global target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010 will not be achieved without considerable additional efforts. More than 700 species are currently under threat in the pan-European region, while the number of invasive alien species in the pan-European region continues to increase. National forest plans that link sustainable forest management with an ecosystem approach are being implemented. Nevertheless, illegal logging and human-induced forest fires are a growing problem, particularly in EECCA and SEE.

14. Overuse of marine resources and pressure on coastal environments continue to be high. Eutrophication remains a problem in all enclosed seas and sheltered marine waters across the pan-European region, whilst over-fishing and destructive fishing practices are still widespread in all European seas. Improved fisheries policies and stricter enforcement are needed, especially to stop illegal fishing. There is evidence that some fish stocks can recover where proper measures are implemented. Major accidental oil spills have generally decreased in European seas, although oil discharges from day to day activities, such as maritime transport and refineries, are still significant.

15. Options for action • Focus on the implementation of the existing environmental agreements in the pan European region and at the sub-regional level (e.g. Black Sea, Caspian, Carpathian). • Set clear and realistic environmental targets; also develop and implement mechanisms / instruments to monitor progress towards reaching these targets. • Strengthen governmental support to the education for sustainable development process. • Strengthen governmental support to increase public participation and raise awareness. • Expand existing partnerships at pan-European and regional level. • Continue to regularly assess the state of environment in pan-European region by building a shared environmental information system. • Further develop key environmental indicators to assess progress and continue the streamlining process across the pan-European region

16. Belgrade consultation & dissemination processes - novelties • Development of the Belgrade review tool (in En & RU) allowing an open consultation process; • Further use of the review tool for report dissemination • Two dedicated consultation meetings funded under EU TACIS activity: • EECCA NGOs & RECs 16-17 Nov; • UNECE/WGEMA 27-29 Nov

17. Languages Click on the chapter title to leave comments Login with your CIRCA username and password

18. On-line comments by country

19. Number of comments per chapter On-line Off-line

20. Additional consultations • April: Health & Tourism • April: Chapter 1 • June: Executive Summary -------------------- Via Circa IG (around 2000 entries) Only in English Limited in duration

21. Feed-back consultation Available for all chapters and sections on the Circa Interest Group Belgrade 2007 http://eea.eionet.europa.eu/Members/irc/envirowindows/belgrade_07/library?l=/report_development/table_contents_toc/summary_consultation&vm=detailed&sb=Title

22. Belgrade 07 Belgrade 07 From June 2007

23. Launch – Belgrade report (novelties) • Planned 10 October after the opening session of the conference • Jointly with OECD/EAP Task Force and UNDP • Common “look and feel” of the 3 reports; common folder • Executive Summary and Press release in all EEA languages + Russian • Report available on-line in EN and RU

24. Reflections for the future pan-European reporting • Ensure a systematic process for gathering regularly information across the pan-European region • Continue working on streamlining the indicators development process in both SEE and EECCA • Ensure participatory process (open consultation, writing contributions, translation)

25. Reflections for the future pan-European reporting • Ensure necessary funding for a good and timely preparation of the future reports; • 2. Agree on clear targets allowing the evaluation of progress against them; • 3. Build up gradually a Shared environmental information system as a solid basis for future assessments and reporting.