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Tracing the Evolution of the Alpine Convention, the Carpathian Convention and the South East European Mountain Initiative

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Tracing the Evolution of the Alpine Convention, the Carpathian Convention and the South East European Mountain Initiative Exploring the Emerging Governance Principles: Tracing the Evolution of the Alpine Convention, the Carpathian Convention and the South East European Mountain Initiative Sabaheta Ramcilovic EFI Technical Report 28, 2009 Exploring the Emerging Governance Principles: Tracing the Evolution of the Alpine Convention, the Carpathian Convention and the South East European Mountain Initiative Sabaheta Ramcilovic Publisher: European Forest Institute Torikatu 34, FI-80100 Joensuu Finland Email: [email protected] http://www.efi.int Editor-in-Chief: Risto Päivinen Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the European Forest Institute. © European Forest Institute 2009 Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 4 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ............................................................................................. 5 Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 7 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Research Question and Objectives ...................................................................................... 8 1.2 Case Studies and Study Subjects ......................................................................................... 9 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND – CONCEPT OF GOVERNANCE ................................ 10 2.1 Classification of governance definitions ........................................................................... 10 2.1.1 Classification according to the definitions’ broadness .............................................. 11 2.1.2 Governance vs. Government definitions ................................................................... 15 2.2 Governance and other related concepts ............................................................................. 15 2.2.1 Good governance ...................................................................................................... 15 2.2.2 Environmental governance ........................................................................................ 16 2.2.3 Sustainable development ........................................................................................... 17 2.3 Governance in this study ................................................................................................... 18 2.3.1. Principle of participation – theoretical background ................................................. 19 2.2.2 Principle of policy integration – theoretical background .......................................... 21 2.2.3 Principle of partnerships – theoretical background ................................................... 22 3. METHODS .............................................................................................................................. 24 3.1 Literature review ................................................................................................................ 24 3.2. Interview phase ................................................................................................................. 24 4. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................ 25 4.1. Alpine Convention ............................................................................................................ 25 4.1.1 History of the Alpine Convention ............................................................................. 27 4.1.2 Implementation of the Alpine Convention ................................................................ 28 4.1.3 Alpine Convention and governance – an overview ................................................... 32 4.2 Carpathian Convention ...................................................................................................... 37 4.2.1 History of the Carpathian Convention ...................................................................... 39 4.2.2 Towards implementation of the Carpathian Convention .......................................... 41 4.2.3 Carpathian Convention and governance – an overview ............................................ 44 4.3 South East European (SEE) or Balkan Mountain Initiative............................................... 48 4.3.1 The Balkans – the region and challenges .................................................................. 48 4.3.2 The Balkan Mountain Initiative process ................................................................... 50 4.3.3 Sixth European Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” ......................... 52 4.3.4. Balkan Mountain Initiative concerns and discussion ............................................... 53 5. INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS ............................................ 53 5.1 The emergence of the Alpine and the Carpathian Conventions ........................................ 54 5.2 Alpine and Carpathian Convention - Initial impacts on governance ................................. 55 5.3 Alpine and Carpathian Convention and the principles of governance .............................. 56 5.4 Main actors and their roles in the Alpine and Carpathian Conventions ............................ 57 5.5 Main strengthens and challenges of the Alpine and the Carpathian Conventions ............. 59 6. ALPINE AND CARPATHIAN CONVENTIONS – MODELS FOR SEE (BALKAN) MOUNTAIN INITIATIVE ......................................................................................................... 61 6.1 Recommendations for the SEE (Balkan) Mountain Initiative ........................................... 61 7. CONCLUSIONS AND MAIN FINDINGS ............................................................................. 64 7.1 Answering the research question and objectives ............................................................... 64 7.2 Conclusions related to the concept and principles of governance ..................................... 66 7.2 Governance puzzles and further research .......................................................................... 67 References .................................................................................................................................... 69 Annex 1. Interview on the Alpine Convention ............................................................................ 76 Annex 2. Interview on the Carpathian Convention ...................................................................... 82 Annex 3. Alpine vs. Carpathian Conventions – differences and similarities in the applied strategies, approaches and governance elements .......................................................................................... 90 Acknowledgements This report is based on my Master Thesis study on exploring the emerging governance principles: tracing the evolution of the Alpine convention, the Carpathian convention and the South-East European mountain initiative. The thesis was submitted to the International Master in Environmental Governance Programme, at the Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg, Germany. I would like to thank my thesis supervisor Prof. Dr. Margaret Shannon and Dr. Georg Winkel for providing support, ideas, critics and encouragement during the study. I conducted the study at the European Forest Institute (EFI), under the EFI Member Scholarship Programme. The study was carried out within the EFI Policy and Governance Research Programme and supervised by Mr. Ilpo Tikkanen. My thanks go to him and EFI. In addition I would like to thank the second examiner of the thesis, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schraml. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms AC – Alpine Convention AGOCA – The Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities ALPARC – Alpine Network of Protected Areas ANPA – Alpine Network of Protected Areas ANPED – The Northern Alliance for Sustainability ARGE ALP – Arbeitsgemeinschaft Alpenländer ASP – Alpine Space Programme BFSD – Balkan Foundation for Sustainable Development BMI – Balkan Mountain Initiative CADSES – Central European Adriatic Danubian South-Eastern European Space CBD – Convention on Biological Diversity CC – Carpathian Convention CEE – Central and Eastern Europe CEEWEB – Central and Eastern European Working Group for the Enhancement of Biodiversity CEI – Central European Initiative CERI – Carpathian Eco-region Initiative CIPRA – International Commission for the Protection of the Alps CNPA – Carpathian Network of Protected Areas CoP – Conference of the parties COTRAO – Western Alps Working Community CS – Civil Society CSD – Commission for Sustainable Development CWI – Carpathian Wetland Initiative DEFRA – Department for Environment Food and Rural Development DEWA – Division of Early Warning and Assessment DEWA/GRID – UN’S major centres for data and information management DIAMONT – Data Infrastructure for the Alps Mountain Orientated Network Technology DLG – Democratic local governance EECCA – Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia EfE – Environment for Europe EMs – Environmental Ministries ENVSEC – Environment and Security EURAC – European Academy Bolzen/Bolzano FAO – Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO/SEUR – Sub-regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe FIANET – International federation of national associations of cable car operators
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