Regional Cooperation REC’s experience

1. Regional CooperationREC’s experience Kenty Richardson Director for International Relations and Strategic Development EU – Central Asia Platform for Environment and Water Cooperation Working Group on Environmental Governance and Climate Change Almaty, Kazakhstan, 11-12 June 2014

2. Regional Environmental Center (REC) • An international organisation established in 1990 with a mission to assist different interest groups in addressing environmental issues and promote sustainable development in CEE and beyond • Legally based on a charter signed by 31 countries and the European Commission • Offices in 17 countries; head office in Szentendre, Hungary; approx. 160 staff members • 100% project-financed organisation • over 200 running projects in more than 25 countries with growing tendency • annual turnover 10-12 MEUR • Operations in: • EU member states (in CEE and EU28) • EU enlargement countries • Eastern partnership countries • beyond the REC regions

3. Main directions for work & topic areas • Following Rio+20 the REC has two main directions for work: • Governance for Sustainability • Green Economy • Areas of specialisation: • Biodiversity • Climate Change and Clean Energy • Education for Sustainable Development • Environmental Financing • Environmental Management • Health and Environment • Law Development, Enforcement and Compliance • Local and Participatory Governance • Smart Cities and Mobility • Water Management

4. Coordination and management of environmental projects and international secretariats Offering a neutral platform Mission driven approach Transparent, flexible implementation Specific support in the drafting of national strategies and programmes for the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy flagship initiative: resource-efficient Europe for sustainable growth Civil society support grants capacity building Policy briefs and guidelines; good practices Stakeholder involvement cross-sectoral governmental bodies and agencies business sector finance community representatives of civil society and academia media Capacity building organisation of comprehensive seminars and workshops at national and regional level Research National and regional coordination REC services and competencies

5. REC in the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) • A partnership of six international organisations: OSCE, REC, UNDP, UNECE, UNEP, and NATO as an associated partner • Contributing to the reduction of environment and security risks through strengthened cooperation in four regions: Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and South Eastern Europe • Focus areas: Natural resources, climate change, hazardous substances, information and participation • REC chairing ENVSEC in 2013 and 2014

6. Transferring the REC experienceto Central AsiaEnvironmental GovernanceWater Management Climate Change Green Economy

7. Protection of international river basins Project: Environmental Protection of International River Basins Geographical scope: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine Objectives: • to improve the availability and quality of data on the ecological, chemical, and hydromorphological status of trans-boundary river basins including groundwater • to develop River Basin Management Plans(RBMP)for selected river basins / sub-river basins according to the requirements of the WFD Main outcomes: increased capacities / technical capacities: • of the respective national authorities for hydro-biological, chemical, and hydro-morphological monitoring of water quality including groundwater • by means of development and implementation of RBMPs for selected rivers

8. Themis Network against environmental crime Cooperation initiative for managing natural resources and combating environmental crime, such as illegal logging, in South Eastern Europe • environmental law enforcement units of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia • increasing administrative capacities to tackle environmental crime and enhance regional cooperation in the context of approximation to EU environmental legislation • funded by the government of Finland and the Austrian Development Cooperation • REC serves as the Secretariat of the Network Transferring lessons learned  Setting up informal networks in new regions for the improvement of natural resources management  Capacity and institution building activities, strengthening cooperation and dialogue, raising awareness, and transferring best practices

9. Participatory and Local Governance STREAM framework programme in Belarus and Moldova,2012-2014: • Strengthening Local Environmental Planning and Environmental Civil Society in Belarus and Moldova • Financial support from SIDA (Sweden), with total budget of 5.3 MEUR • Two clusters under implementation: • Supporting Sustainability and Environmental Action Planning in Communities in Belarus and Moldova (LEAP) • Supporting Environmental Civil Society Organisations in Belarus and Moldova (SECTOR)

10. Recent REC experience and selected projects in EECCA countries on climate change • 2012-2014: Instrument for Stability (IfS) project under the Environment and Security (ENVSEC) Initiative • Adaptation to climate change is a tool to reduce climate change related risks, especially in the trans-boundary areas, of all regions of EECCA countries • REC responsible for the training materials on climate related disaster risk reduction and for carrying out the trainings • 2011-2013: Carpath Climate Change project • In-depth assessments of vulnerability of ecosystems and feasibility of adaptation measures in 7 countries of the Carpathian basin • Increase abilities of the Carpathian countries to react to climate change in timely and adequate manner • 2012: Assessment of capacity building progress under the UNFCCC within the economies in transition • Belarus, Russia and Ukraine • 2013: co-training with UNITAR in Tajikistan for policy-makers on climate change mitigation and adaptation • Special attention to the future climate regime (post-Durban) • REC as the regional Focal Point for Article 6 of the UNFCCC activities • Raising awareness, providing trainings and enhancing international cooperation on climate change topics

11. REC research: Impacts of Climate Change on Food Production in the Western Balkans • This REC publication summarizes the knowledge, experience and results acquired through the research on the impacts of climate change on crop yields in five countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia • Identifying risks related to climate change and the main impacts on the production of important crops • Highlighting the gaps and barriers that central and local governments need to address • Providing recommendations for decision-makers on the most urgent actions needed to pave the way to incorporating climate change aspects into agricultural development plans and shaping appropriate strategies and policies in the Western Balkans

12. Transferring REC experience in climate change to Central Asia Focus on climate change adaptation and capacity needs assessment: • Support to the preparation and enhancement of climate change adaptation process: adaptation strategies on regional, national and international level • Trainings for the policy-makers on adaptation issues • Capacity building activities to enhance negotiation skills of the national Climate Delegation in the negotiations under UNFCCC • Vulnerability assessments, especially in the field of urban adaptation

13. Promoting Green Economy in GUAM countries: Selected projects • Workshop on financing waste management in Kiev, Ukraine in May 2014, with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Environment and Infrastructure • Trainings on green economy in Belarus and Moldova • Promotion of renewable energy sources(RES) in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine • focus on the technical and economic aspects of energy generation potential • mapping of existing and planned renewable energy generation policies and legislation, together with major national measures, programmes and ongoing RES projects, as well as gaps and needs for RES utilisation • workshop in Kiev in October 2013 funded by the Government of Japan • REC concept for addressing environmental problems through the development of infrastructure investments • Enhancing cross-border cooperation among municipalities in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine

14. Summary of the opportunities for cooperation Experienced in promoting cooperation among different stakeholders, the REC looks forward to international cooperation to transfer the lessons learnt and best practices to Central Asia in: Environmental Governance: management of natural resources and tacking environmental crime; Participatory Governance; development of Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAP) together with local stakeholders Water Management: protection of international river basins and water sheds Climate Change: capacity building on climate change adaptation; vulnerability and impact assessments Green Economy: capacity building and awareness raising on renewable energy sources, waste management and energy efficiency

15. Thank you for your attention! Kenty Richardson Krichardson@rec.org