COUNCIL CONSEIL OF EUROPE DE L'EUROPE

Chère Lectrice, Cher Lecteur,

Je suis très heureux de vous présenter la nouvelle maquette de la revue Naturopa, qui voit le jour avec ce numéro 89. J'espère que vous allez apprécier ce nouveau style, qui en donne une image plus moderne et en facilite la lecture.

Naturopa est la revue Environnement du Conseil de l'Europe depuis 1968. Elle est publiée trois fois par an, en avril, août et novembre et est entièrement illustrée en couleurs. Depuis 1998, elle est diffusée en cinq langues (français, anglais, allemand, italien et russe) et est distribuée gratuitement dans toute l'Europe.

Naturopa est une revue thématique. Chaque numéro traite d'un sujet et en étudie les différents aspects: historique, scientifique, juridique, financier, etc. Le thème de ce numéro est «Collectivités locales et régionales et environnement».

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Eladio Fernández-Galiano Éditeur responsable

.<*#••»*•-*- - • 'raffilili,. Editorials Chief editor Eladio Fernández-Galiano The challenge of an environmental policy W. Clement 3 Conception and editing Rome - modernity under construction F. Rutelli 3 Marie-Françoise Glatz E-mail: marie-francoise.glatz@coe. int Roles, responsibilities and activities This issue's special advisers Konrad Otto-Zimmermann The Aalborg Charter A. Payne and P. I .off 1er 4 Rinaldo Locatelli Environmental policy in Andalusia M. Chaves Gonzalez 5 Layout Riga, Latvia: towards sustainable development J. Zaloksnis 6 Emmanuel Georges Recommendation on the distiibution of powers R. Fasino 7 Printer Relations between central government and local authorities, Bietlot - Gilly (Belgium) Croatia 1. Jakovcic 8 Access to information, public participation Y. Berthelot 9 Articles may be freely reprinted provided that reference is made to the source and a copy sent to the Centre Naturopa. The Examples of good policy-making co^ht of °" P^ographs is reserved. The opinions expressed in this publication Citizen participation, Turkey E. Saker 10 are those of the authors and do not Vital partnersh ips, Russian Federation necessarily reflect the views of the Council N.A. Maleshin and N.I. Zolotukhin 11 ° urope' A case beyond Europe: South Africa S. Granger 12 Since 1993 Naturopa has been printed on chlorine-free paper. Tools and instruments for implementation A setect(Ve bibliography on heal and regional authorities and the environment Fiscal and financial instruments J. Leinen 14 is available, free of char9e' uPon reauest , . ,. . . , to the Centre Naturopa, Green purchasing - turning policy into action J. Lund Madsen 15 Environmental budgeting and sustainability, Germany B. Weber 16 Technical assistance for local authorities. United Kingdom J. Morris 17 Cover, fond: S. Desnoulez/Pluriel Networks of towns and regions vignettes: 7. Square in front of the Arche de la Défense, Paris, \. Witt/Pluriel ICLEI: local action with global responsibility G. Bjorlo 21 2. Bruges, Belgium, STF/Sunset Act locally: the CEMR commitment E. Gateau 22 3. Lerici, Italy, B. Irrmann Meddles: a blueprint for progress M. Boussraoui 24 ® ''(''"'" M Bertrand Patrick/Bios A federation of cities around the Baltic Sea A. Engstrôm 25 International organisations and programmes Local Agenda 21 - a world-wide campaign K. Otto-Zimmermann 26 The activities of the CLRAE G. Bergou 27 European Urban Charter H. Van Staa 29

Prospects

Towards the next millenium R. Locatelli 30 Editorials

The challenge of an environmental policy

On the eve of the 21st century, environmental Rome - modernity under construction 1 problems have acquired a global dimension. I The recent realisation of our shared respon• sibility for our "one world" is reflected in The environment is a key challenge when it the model for sustainable, environment- comes to developing metropolises or "global ' friendly development adopted by the interna• cities" (to use Saska Sassen's term) in a tional community in Rio de faneiro in 1992. manner that capitalises on their strong The parties in Rio laid the foundations, which we points without, however, undermining their can now use as a basis for tackling head-on the environmental identity, history and cultural heritage. and development problems that exist world-wide. A major programme of works is currently under However, merely adopting international conventions andwa actiony in Rome . The programme has three fundamental objectives: programmes will not in itself bring about tangible improvements. preparing for the historic event of the Jubilee, harmonising the The agreements and programmes need to be translated into prac• organisation of the city for the year 2000 with the modernisation tical action. The industrialised nations have a particular responsi• of its infrastructure, and incorporating hundreds of individual bility in this respect. It is for them to agree on binding methods of projects in an overall sustainable development strategy. This is a action at national and supranational level. However, as long as medium to long-term undertaking, of which the main thrusts have shortcomings persist in this area, it will fall to local and regional been decided and the first projects launched. Realisation of the bodies to employ the means and resources at their disposal to importance of the work must go hand in hand with a search for make their contribution to sustainable development without new goals that are both ambitious and realistic. detracting from the other priorities they are required to pursue in the public interest. As far as town planning is concerned, the era of uncontrolled growth, which took no account of quality and caused serious The obligation to act also brings with it an opportunity toproblem be s affecting the 130 000 ha of greater Rome, has ended. seized in terms of utilising and capitalising on technical and eco• When revising the principles for the good management of the city. nomic possibilities that have not yet been exploited. The govern• it will be necessary from now on to put in place a wide range of ment of the Land of North-Rhine Westphalia is firmly committed conservation and development tools while strengthening redevel• to action in this area, believing that close co-operation with the opment and rehabilitation policies, as well as creating efficient private sector is a precondition for success in developing and services and improving the urban environment. establishing new production methods that are geared to the future, respect the environment and use resources sparingly. The redevelopment of Rome is starting in its vast and widely dif• fering suburban areas. The city is being enhanced by key metro• Many firms in our Land have already chosen to incorporatepolita envi•n structures such as universities and research centres. ronmental concerns in their production systems. We want to see decentralised government ministries, railway stations, cultural. more small and medium-sized firms follow this lead and have commercial, recreational and sporting facilities, urban parks and therefore set up an efficiency consultancy agency the like. Private firms operating under public sector supervision (Effizienzagentur NRW) at Land level. In co-operation with the have recently also developed a number of well-planned new neigh• private sector and the main representatives of civil society we are bourhoods and completely rehabilitated many existing ones. also going to launch a Local Agenda 21 initiative aimed at defin• ing concrete objectives for environmental improvements. This pro• The construction work in Rome also involves the building of a ject will help to create and preserve competitive jobs. vast public transport network. Having got rid of the commonest types of pollution (sulphur and carbon monoxide), we must now Admittedly, these are all small pieces in the big jigsaw of thedeal glob•with substances that are less well known but more harmful, al objective of sustainable development of the natural resources such as benzene. The approach adopted is that of offering a ratio• essential to humankind. But it is precisely at local and regional nal alternative to road traffic through the "three-by-three" rail level that we must launch a whole range of activities of this kind transport network, construction of which is under way and will so as to move closer to the goal on as broad and comprehensive atak e ten years of major works, the modernisation and develop• basis as possible. That is why I would urge all local and regional ment of the existing underground railway lines, and the construc• leaders to play an active part in developing a programme for envi• tion of line C, including the modernisation and building of three ronmental protection, job creation and technological innovation. major regional connecting lines. Minister-President Wolfgang Clement Over 7 000 billion lire have already been allocated for the various Land of North-Rhine Westphalia projects, but a total of at least twice that amount will be needed if Haroldstrafee 2 Rome is at last to be provided with the infrastructure it has want• D-40213 Dusseldorf ed for so long. Francesco Rutelli Mayor of Rome City Hall Piazza Campidolio 1-00197 Rome

naturopa n " 8 9 / 1999 3 Role r e sponstbilities

The Aal borg Charter

Cities and towns on the move towards sustainability

The First European Conference on Signing up to the Aalborg Charter It also launches a number of powerful Sustainable Cities and Towns took means that a local authority makes a initiatives. All local authorities embark• place in Aalborg, Denmark, in 1994. strong commitment to sustainable ing on projects. Local Agenda 21 and It gave birth to one of the most development and Local Agenda 21 (see action plans are at the same time sup• important documents on sustainable article on page 26). Signatories become ported by a range of tools and mecha• development at local level in Europe: participants of the European nisms developed through the European the Charter of European Cities and Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign. Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign. Towns towards Sustainability. better All signatory cities and municipalities A core tool of the campaign is built known as the Aalborg Charter. During of the Charter recogniie their essential around a partnership of five networks the conference, 600 representatives responsibilities for many environmen• and associations of local authorities. from European cities and their asso• tal problems humankind is lacing and These are Eurocities, the Council of ciations, from national governments, stress their importa^Hole in the European Municipalities and Regions the European Commission, the process of undertaking the necessary (CEMR). the International Council for European Union Expert Group on the steps towards sustainability Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), Urban Environment, research insti• What does this mean in practice? Theth e United Towns Organisation (UTO) tutes and non-governmental organi• Aalborg Charter mentions a whole bun• and the World Health Organisation sations discussed and formulated the dle of issues which need to be pursued (WHO) through its Healthy Cities Charter. at the same time, such as increased Project eco-efficiency of buildings and trans• The fruitful co-operation of these five Commitment of local authorities port systems, healthcare, creaiion of networks and contributions from a The Aalborg Charter was written when long-term jol is. equitable distribution of number of other organisations and a world-wide discussion on the issues wealth, effective land-use policies, ^associations has indeed been another of sustainable development was gain• reduction of greenhouse emissions. success story. This alliance has enabled ing momentum. It was set in the con• protection of natural capital stocks, the message of the Aalborg Charter and text of Agenda 21, the master plan for broad public participation and so on. the European Sustainable Cities & the 21st century agreed in Rio in 1992, The Charter calls for the development Towns Campaign to be spread widely. as well as the EU's 5th Environmental and implementation of comprehensive, At the moment, a series of four region• Action Programme "Towards long-term strategic action plans for sus• al conferences across Europe is occur• Sustainability" and the Sustainable tainable development, notably through ring, which will lead to the 3rd Pan- Cities Project of the European Union. Local Agenda 21 processes, in order to European Conference on Sustainable Initially, 80 European local authorities achieve these objectives through a bal• Cities & Towns in Hanover, Germany, in signed up to the Charter. By the end of anced process. 2000. Also, a variety of other projects 1998. their number had increased to are being organised through the net• over 410 local authorities coming from Increasing success works and with the support of the 32 European countries. They represent How could the Aalborg Charter be suc• Campaign Office in order to further more than 100 million European citi• cessful in a time characterised by bud• advance and implement the Aalborg zens. get cuts with the environment being message across Europe. dropped as a priority issue? The Anthony Payne and Peter Loffler Aalborg Charter gives a clear message The European Sustainable Cities that economic development, social wel• & Towns Campaign fare and protection of the environment Rue de Treves 49-51 cannot be achieved separately from B-1040 Brussels each other - this is what sustainable E-mail: [email protected] development is about. There is evi• Web: http://www.sustainable-cities.org dence that we can achieve benefits in all these areas at the same time. Due to this balanced approach, including all aspects of sustainable development, the Aalborg Charter has immense appeal for politicians and professionals, as well as voluntary organisations and community groups. As a consequence. the goals of the Aalborg Charter could become part of many mainstream poli• cies and programmes at local level right across Europe. The Aalborg Charter does not limit More than 600 local authorities have signed the Aalborg Charter itself to make claims and formulate principles for sustainable development. naturopa n ° 8 9 / 1999 and activities

Environmental policy

Andalusia, Spain

The need to protect the environment, lection and processing of solid waste, Ronda, Andalusia while also ensuring that nature and the power supplies and the use of new use of its resources serve as instru• and renewable sources of energy; ments of progress both today and in in rural areas: improving living stan• to detect and correct shortcomings in the future, means that we must man• dards by providing more modern the environmental sector and to solve age our heritage rationally and realise facilities and offering a wider range of many of the problems facing us today. the importance of solidarity and inter• training activities and programmes dependence between generations. with a view to encouraging people to An environmental information net• stay in rural areas, fostering greater work, urban noise measurement sys• The conventional model of giving prior• participation by women and young tems and remote detection and geo• ity to growth and consumption is people and boosting ecological and graphical data collection installations increasingly being challenged by the natural resources; have been put in place In Andalusia, concept of sustainable development. In protecting coastlines and regenerat• and environmental statistics are gath• analysing the latter, we are faced with a ing areas or landscapes that have ered for the Eurostat network. Research number of serious questions. Who do deteriorated by strictly applying the is also continuing on alternative natural resources belong to? Should we regulations on town planning, har• sources of energy and methods of grad• restrict the rights of society and indi• bour facilities and communication ually introducing them for various viduals to use them? What constitutes infrastructures in coastal regions and domestic and industrial uses. the well-being of society? taking account of the impact of such The priority of the Andalusian govern• facilities on the environment; Striking a balance ment in the environment sector is to paying special attention to water sup• As far as commitments are concerned, combine the protection of the natural plies - water being a limited resource it is important to realise that sustain• heritage with its development for the in Mediterranean countries that is able progress presents us all with a benefit of society, so that today's citi• nevertheless crucial to social, eco• major challenge and, likewise, that fail• zens can enjoy both economic growth nomic and tourist development - and ure to comply with certain environ• and a good quality of life, without the need for a water plan based on mental principles poses a threat to future generations having to suffer irre• broad consensus that solves distribu• humankind as a whole. versible consequences. tion and supply problems, while ensuring that the resource is used It is therefore essential that there That is the aim of the main legal mea• rationally and managed efficiently. should be co-operation between the sures and provisions adopted in recent various authorities and public institu• years: the nature areas act, the forestry A major challenge tions concerned and active participa• act and the environmental protection Working together today to build a soci• tion by economic and social players, act, etc, which together form the ety based on progress and well-being businesses, technical experts and the Andalusian environment plan. combined with economic development population at large. These groups are all and quality of life without, however, increasingly aware of the environmen• undermining the rights of future gener• tal problems facing us today and must Practical implementation ations is a complex, sensitive and also be sensitive to those that will arise The environment plan must be put into urgent task that demands clear deci• in future. practice in daily life and be reflected in sions, the mobilisation of all our the policies that affect all of our citizens resources and a firm commitment by Experts correctly define sustainable and the environment they live In. This society. development as the balance that must u has been the aim of a number of spe• be struck between the three impera• u cific actions, e.g.: First of all, the scientific and technical tives of economic growth, the preserva• <3 advances of which we are so proud tion of natural resources and the main• "8 • in urban areas: environmental need to be developed to greater bene• tenance of an adequate level of social S improvements, efforts to combat fit. We must encourage applied cohesion. « noise and air pollution, selective col- research and use the latest techniques Manuel Chaves González vi The objectives of the Andalusian environment plan Head of Government of Andalusia Consejería de la Presidencia Correcting existing shortcomings and ones Improving the quality of the information made Palacio de San Telmo that might arise in future by boosting potential available to the public, encouraging their par• Avda. de Roma s/n C and competitiveness through a comprehensive ticipation and co-operation so that Andalusian E-41071 Seville O development model based on solidarity, in society remains true to its commitments and a. which creating wealth and employment goes creating a network of volunteers willing to «9 hand in hand with putting in place environ• take action to defend the environment in a

Riga, Latvia: towards sustainable

Once upon a time, at least a thousand and migrating birds in Europe by such In this way we are fulfilling the Helcom years ago, the area where the city of institutions as BirdLife International guidelines concerning reduction of the Riga is now situated looked quite dif• and Wetlands International. Scientists pollution in the Baltic sea. ferent. The river Daugava - Latvia's in this area have noted more than 60 river of destiny which starts its long different bird species, also mentioned 1020 km course at Walday Heights - in the Latvian Red Book (Botaurus stel- Waste management flowed into the Baltic Sea as it does laris, Ixobrychus minutus, Circus aerugi• We have serious trouble with solid today. But the surroundings were dif• nosas, etc.). waste management, as for almost ferent - untouched mixed forests, vir• 30 years the city has been using only one landfill that has not been con• gin lands and lush grass in water Water management plan meadows. Water was clean and structed properly. This creates some Riga City, with a population of 830 000, danger for aquifers used by the city for waves washed wild beaches of golden is rich in surface waters - the river sand. the drinking water supply and meets Daugava and some large lakes, which strong objections from the environ• cover almost 20% of the city's territory. ment protection institutions and local Unfortunately, in the course of time the people. Therefore the Riga City quality of the water has deteriorated. In Council has decided to start the clean• the Middle Ages, citizens used drinking ing of the old landfill and introduce water directly from the river Daugava, new technology for household solid but now this is now impossible to imag• waste utilisation and disposal under ine. the solid waste management project The first water supply device in Riga that will cost the city 15 million was built in 1620, but in 1904 an arte• Latvian lats. We have obtained a loan sian water supply complex was built from the World Bank and grants 20 km from the city centre. The under• from the Global Environmental Facility ground water quality has practically not and the Swedish International Develop• changed since then1". ment Co-operation Agency. We hope that we will be successful with this Yet, for the drinking water supply in project, running to the year 2002. and Riga, the surface water from the will start the landfill operation accord• river Daugava is used as well ing to European Union standards. The (approximately 40% of the total processing of organic compounds will Old Riga on the banks of the Daugava river amount). For improvement in its allow us to obtain methane with high• quality we have started large recon• er volumes and use it for electric ener• Centuries came and went, along with struction works, including not only gy production. This is a considerable vast changes in the environment. The water purification technology, but involvement by Riga City in decreas• river Ridzene, which gave the city of Riga also development of a pipeline net• ing global warming according to the its name, disappeared underground. work and distribution system to pro• international obligations of the vide the necessary pressure and feed• Nevertheless, some areas survived, Republic of Latvia. ing. Implementation of this pro• which we are proud of and which we Air pollution gramme up to the year 2000 will are trying to protect. These are five Unfortunately, we still have some require almost 45 million Latvian restricted areas - botanical and ornitho• unsolved environmental problems. lats (1 Euro ~ 0.66 lats) which will logical - which really surprise scientists e.g. the enormous increase in the be covered by credit from the and visitors from all over the world. We number of motor vehicles registered European Bank of Reconstruction are looking forward to extending our in the city over the years (1994 - and Development, Swiss and Coastal Nature Park along the whole 115 975; 1998 - 206 752) and the Swedish governmental grants, as length of the sea coast in the city terri• corresponding air pollution in the well as investments by the Riga City tory, as well as to defining the status of city. The city of Riga is using a Council. the protected areas at other appropri• Swedish air quality management We are lucky that during hard econom• ate places. and monitoring system \ Emission ic conditions, at the very beginning of data base and dispersion calcula• Riga City's total area is 307 km-, but theou r transition to a market economy, in tions estimate and evaluate air pollu• territory of the protected areas covers 1991 we started a new waste water tion levels at various locations in the 750 ha. Twenty-five species grow in treatment plant with a planned capacity city and process data in order to pre• these areas, mentioned in the Latvian of 350 000 mVday'-'. We hope that the dict the air quality changes. The con• Red Book. Wild orchids (Epipactis practicable treatment load will be suffi• centration of nitrogen dioxide, atrorubens. Epipactis palustris) are the cient in the future, as we are working formaldehyde and ozone exceeds most significant of them. Our ornitho• seriously on the water-saving pro• the national standards over almost logical reserve is mentioned as one of gramme and leakage reduction in the all the city's territory during the the most important areas for wintering pipes' network. entire working day. pa n = 8 9 / 1999 and activities

development

A brighter future (1) The following figures prove this: nitrates - 1 In 995, the Riga City Council approved 0.11 mg/1; chlorides - 13.0 mg/l: sulphates - the Development Plan up to 2005. It is 15,3 mg/1; total firmness - 2.5 mg-eq/l; turbidi• based on the principles of integrity in ty - 0.12. The water contains five times less all sectors of sustainable development. lead than the minimum acceptable by This document was widely discussed European standards, while cyanides, arsenic by citizens, as we all wish to have a and copper are practically non-existent. brighter future. (2) The biological treatment is carried out accord• We hope that in 2001. when we will cel•ing to a technology of anaerobic-anoxlc-aero- ebrate Riga's 800th anniversary, the bic treatment widespread throughout the developed accepted vision will, at least Janis Zaloksnis world, which allows considerably lower con• in part, become reality. Deputy Chief centrations of nitrogen and phosphorus com• Environmental Department pounds. The educed sediments are processed Riga City Council 3 K. Valdemara Street by mud compressors, with further treatment in LV-1539 Riga methane tanks to produced biogas used for E-mail: [email protected] local heating. (3) An air quality management and monitoring system (Indie. Opsis, Airviro) based on differ• ential optical absorption spectroscopy and real time meteorological measurements.

Distribution of powers

A Council of Europe Recommendation

On 2 October 1996, the Committee of lay down the "polluter pays" principle), Roberto Fasino Secretary of the Steering Committee on Ministers of the Council of Europe to introduce effective systems for Local and Regional Democracy adopted Recommendation No. R (96) assessing environmental impact and to Directorate of Environment and Local Authorities 12 on the distribution of powers and facilitate public access to information Council of Europe responsibilities between central author• on the situation and evolution of the E-mail: roberto.fasino@coe. int u ities and local and regional authorities environment. Web: http://www.coe.int 'S with regard to the environment. The recommendation also asks gov• « The recommendation is based on theernment s to call on local and regional idea that States and local and regional authorities to implement effective «i authorities have different responsibili• policies for protecting the natural envi• ties in the field of environmental pro• ronment and landscapes, including tection. Dialogue between the authori• preventing and fighting air and water• ties at the different levels is therefore course pollution, the separate collec• necessary and, indeed, essential if a tion of different types of household coherent and comprehensive long-term waste, energy saving, programmes to strategy is to be devised and imple• clean up polluted sites and the rational mented. development of urban transport net• A legal framework should include a clear definition of O The Committee of Ministers calls on theworks . each authority's role concerning the environment as governments of member States to Furthermore, governments are asked to naturopa n • 8 9 / 1999 establish a legal framework capable of provide local and regional authorities ensuring genuine protection of the with technical and financial assistance environmenlarof ,th include varioue at sclea(whic tierrs definitioh o shouldf governmenn, oinf thparticuet anrolde • tAgendpolicieo supporas 2ant1 th dstrategiese o implementatiof those. basedn oonf theslocael Role, responsibilities

Relations between central government

and local authorities The Croatian example

When discussing the concepts of land• scape, nature and environment, stand• points often differ greatly. The com• plexity is even greater when landscape protection and planning, nature protec• tion or environmental conservation issues are involved. This diversity is due to the fact that many disciplines per• ceive nature, landscape and environ• ment as subjects within their activities. In Croatia there are three different approaches to environmental protec• tion: • spatial (town/regional) planning; Landscape in Istria • implementation of protective regula• tions; • designation of outstanding areas are legally anticipated measures Designation as reserve which are given this legal status within the same system, such as the The third approach towards nature or because of their exceptional natural protection norms in all the existing environment protection is through the and/or cultural values; town planning instruments like build• designation of outstanding natural ing permit application files, as well areas as reserves. In Croatia, categories Such approaches to the solution of thea s the inclusion of protective consid• range from national parks and nature above-mentioned issues are anticipated eration of Environment Impact parks (which are under the jurisdiction by legislation on national as well as of central government) to the other Assessment (E1A). Considering the local level. The realisation of each seven categories under the jurisdiction latter, there is a list of required approach is carried out using different of local authorities. The field of activi• mechanisms and instruments. actions where E1A is obligatory both ties at local level is to propose, proclaim Furthermore, and no less important, a at national and local levels. As E1A and manage a potential site and/or distinction is made between three basic actually serves as a "tool" for the implement overall management of an parties involved in that system: decision's optimisation, an alterna• existing site. The lack of technical assis• experts, decision-makers and the pub• tive has to be introduced in this tance and no financial support from the lic. The main characteristic of these mechanism. Moreover, when the central government generally decreas• three should be transparency. assessment of a major action of state es the local interest for the creation of The landscape, nature and environ• priority is concerned, the nomina• such institutions. However, the County ment protection policy in Croatia is tion and structure of the commission of Istria Assembly has established the sanctioned by the Constitution and pri• of experts, from the point of local Public Department "Natura Histrica" to marily originates from three fundamen• representatives, should be redefined. carry such tasks - the first in Croatia. tal laws in that domain. Other "sectori• Laws and regulations al" laws contain fragments of protective The legal provisions for implementa• Current efforts regulations and measures relating to tion of the protection norms and stan• Due to the insufficient and imprecise the domain they cover. Analysing the dards are related to the structural ele• legislation, the existing mechanisms for present legal framework from the ments of the environment. The actual protection at local level are unsatisfac• aspect of its structure and function threshold values are spread over tory. Efforts are being made towards towards the local level, it is important to numerous laws and regulations and are improvement of the legislation, which keep in mind that legislation is always therefore under the authority of differ• should result in better policy and which liable to improvement, but the neces• ent governmental bodies. The indis• is one of the main goals of local author• sary conditions to make it possible are tinctness and complexity are often ities. Such policy should improve local increased social values and an articulat• reflected in the effectiveness of the authority involvement, both horizontal• ed "demand" from interest groups. legally defined supervision service. ly and vertically. Additional prevention measures legally Regional planning foreseen are a monitoring service and Ivan Jakovcic Within the spatial organisation sys• recording of polluters. The first is County of Istria Assembly tem, there is a general master plan for designed to be operational on the cen• Druzba Sv. Cirila i Metoda 10 the county. This document defines the tral level, the second on the local level. HR-52000 Pazin long-term model regarding land-use; it Both should be comprised within the is co-ordinated with another at higher information system, whose method• (central) level and is used as a general ological and technical framework is reg• pattern for more detailed plans. There ulated by the State Directorate for Environment and Nature. naiuropa n " 8 9 / 1999 and activities

Access to information and public

participation The role of local authorities

In Europe, at the dawn of the 21st cen• into account and the inevitable conflicts specific activities and the drawing up of tury, access to information and public of interest between all those con• laws and regulations. On the latter participation in decision-making cerned. The UNECE Convention on point, the provisions of the Convention processes are still the exception rather Access to Information, Public are somewhat limited because they than the rule. However, the situation is Participation in Decision-Making and simply invite the Parties to Identify changing under the influence of decen• Access to Justice in Environmental cases in which the public should be tralisation, international agreements Matters, adopted at Aarhus in June consulted. For decisions on specific and people's needs. Environmental 1998, and signed to date by 39 coun• activities, on the other hand, Article 6 protection provides the best illustration tries and the European Union, governs lays down a fairly elaborate series of of this. the relationship between the authori• procedural rules which the authorities ties and civil society and hence will must respect when authorising certain Most often the role of citizens in public serve as an important instrument of co• activities listed in the appendix, such as life is limited to the election of the operation at local level. the opening of a mine or a tannery. authorities, and public administration is still shrouded in secrecy. The public has The Convention deals precisely with been brought up since the 1 9th century the rights of those requiring informa• The right to appeal to respect experts and science in gen• tion from the authorities, procedures The most innovative aspect of the eral, and tolerates this situation or even for divulging information and types of Convention is that provision is made sees nothing wrong with it. information which may not be dis• for an appeal when the information closed. All individuals or legal entities required is not satisfactorily provided are entitled to request information or when a decision has been made A major step towards without having to state their reasons without abiding by the consultation participatory democracy and irrespective of their nationality. All procedures. Appeals may be lodged Nonetheless, decentralisation, which individuals or legal entities with a pub• with a court of law or another impartial has become necessary because of the lic responsibility for the environment, body established by law. increasing number of tasks taken on by apart from legislative or judicial bodies, the public authorities and the diversity The possibility of appealing consider• must provide the information. The ably reinforces the right to information of local circumstances, has progressive• Convention also attempts to deal with ly increased the role of local and region• and the possibility of participating in the duty of the authorities, which is all the decision-making process. The fact al government, paving the way for par• too often neglected, to collect and dis• ticipatory democracy. The local author• that a convention containing such pro• seminate information without having to visions was accepted shows how ideas ities' raison d'être is to meet local be asked to do so. It requires in partic• needs better than central government and approaches have changed in ular that information should progres• Europe, a development which will facil• and so they are more dependent on the sively be made available in electronic trust and co-operation of the public to itate co-operation between the local databases accessible via telecommuni• authorities and the public. There is no whom they are directly accountable. cations networks. Trust and co-operation require open• doubt that the progress made in the Regarding public participation, a dis• environmental field will serve as an ness. Openness and co-operation tinction is made between decisions on require rules and procedures control• example and contribute to the growth ling access to information and partici• of participatory democracy. This will pation in decision-making. These rules prevent a good number of conflicts and procedures have been lacking for a resulting from ignorance or lack of dia• «S long time but they are gradually being logue. established thanks, in particular, to the Yves Berthelot negotiation of international legal stan• Executive Secretary dards and the pooling of experience on Economic Commission for Europe the best approaches. The Council of United Nations Office Europe has played a vital role in the dis• Palais des Nations tribution of tasks between central gov• 8-14 avenue de la Paix ernment and local authorities. The CH-I2II Geneva 10 United t^àtions Economic Commission E-mail: [email protected] for Europe, the UNECE, has focussed on S the protection of the environment. o a. The Aarhus Convention Environmental protection is the perfect illustration of the need for global, national and local policies and the importance of public participation, in New technologies can assist better access o the light of the many factors to be taken to information by the public

naturopa 8 9 / 1 9 9 9 Examples of good poli

The public and sustainable development

The case of Bursa in Turkey

Bursa, situated in the north-west of now function as the meeting points for help of small achievements and their Turkey, has been a historical, cultural, small-scale sustainable projects devoted motivational effect. Some unexpected agricultural, natural and tourism centre to the neighbourhood and are on the way successes with the synergistic charac• for 2 200 years and an industrial city to being Neighbourhood Councils, part of teristic of partnerships proved that all since the 1960s. Today, with a centre the Volunteer City Council. these elements contributed to forming population of 1.2 million, it is the strong roots although slowing down the fourth largest city in Turkey. For city-wide actions to be undertaken,process . The partnership principle there are the working partners of Local showed its magic effect while finding With two massive automotive plants Agenda 21-Action Plans, including busi• the easiest solution with maximum and corresponding spare part indus• nessmen, NGOs, academics, trade enabling and minimum challenges. The tries, major textile and machine indus• unions, women, youth, children, repre• public began to think that the dream of tries, it has become unavoidable for sentatives of national government and a sustainable Bursa was being achieved Bursa - a city situated in a valuable eco• the municipality, which we call "city day by day. logical region - to have integrated envi• partners". There are two platforms for ronmental management. In this man• these partners. One is the Local Agenda The number of people who believed agement framework, the adaptation of 21 Citizens' House, where citizens this structure at the beginning has the city to sustainable development come together and work for their prior• increased and today about 2 000 citi• principles has been facilitated and ities towards their sustainable future. zens are dreaming together with the developed with public involvement. Workshops and small-scale meetings same Bursa vision. The sanction power Bursa City of the 21 st century has start• are held here and the requisites of the of the Volunteer City Council grows ed to be shaped with public vision. action points are forwarded either to with the support of the citizens. One of responsible bodies or to the Volunteer the best indicators of this growth can be exemplified by the participation of Essential partnerships City Council. businessmen and the commitments The target has been to prevent the rapid The Volunteer City Council is the major made at these meetings. eradication of environmental values organ of Local Agenda 21-Bursa, bring• caused by hasty urbanisation and to ing together all these partners and serv• make these values sustainable. There is ing as a mechanism to put the pluralis• "Come on, let's run our city only one method for achieving this tar• tic and participatory local democracy together" get: partnerships in city management. into practice, and to discuss the priori• The Bursa initiative has been an exam• ties of the city on a democratic plat• ple to other cities in Turkey and, with The organs of this governance structureform . The decisions of the council. the leadership of Bursa, the number of have started to be established and these which has 500 members, are taken Local Agendas has reached 23. This are now the blood vessels of the whole directly into the agenda of the project is conducted by IULA-EMME Local Agenda 21 Action Plan of the city Metropolitan Municipality Council in and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality moving towards sustainable development. order to be integrated into the deci• with the guidance of ICLEI and has been endorsed by UNDP. The first organs are the Neighbourhoodsion s of the municipality. At this point, Offices, aiming to bring together the the elected Metropolitan Council and With all local, national and internation• neighbourhood residents and neighbour• the elected Lord Mayor function as al partners, Local Agenda 21-Bursa hood heads while meeting the social, cul• important factors in this partnership believes that this is the only way of tural and educational needs of the resi• structure. achieving the city's sustainability. The dents at their localities. These centres Bursa public is now thinking about the Encouraging results sustainability of their Local Agenda 21 In the very first days of the formal Action Plan and ways of protecting it in I adaptation of Local Agenda 21 in the all aspects. The motto that they are city, it was considered a luxury for a used to hearing is the call made by the developing city like Bursa. People local government at the beginning of rejected the idea saying that they had the process: "Come on, let's run our their own economic challenges and city together". they could not find enough time to think about local democracy and the Now, Bursa communally enjoys manag• environment. The professionals found ing the city together through the Local the partnership principle to be some• Agenda 21 mechanism. thing making everything complicated Erdem Saker and slowing down the process. All Lord Mayor of Bursa Metropolitan these considerations seemed to be real Municipality challenges for the development of the Atatiirk Cad. U(ak Sok. No. 1 structure. But now all these challenges TR-16020 Bursa are being overcome and the rejections E-mail: [email protected] have turned into positive ideas with the Web: http://www. turk.net/bursabb ^making

Vital partnerships

Russian Federation

Like the prairies of North America's Great Plains, the Russian steppes have suffered a sorry fate. They offer the first example of a whole geographical area being almost totally destroyed for the purposes of ever more intensive farm• ing. Since time immemorial, human civilisations in Europe, Asia and North America have ensured their own sur• vival through crop growing and stock rearing at the expense of prairie and steppe ecosystems.

Historical background In 1626, the first tsar in the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov, granted streltsy (musketeers) and Cossacks in his service the forma• tion of an area of fertile virgin steppe The reserve's area has doubled in 50 years to stand at about 6,300 ha today near the town of Kursk for their horses to graze on, and as a source of forage. ing place against a background of eco• reserve therefore led the reserve man• The tasks of these soldiers - defending nomic crisis and at the heart of the agement to reconsider their positions the frontiers of the Russian state, fight• Chernozem region, which is the most and draw up a strategy that suited the ing off nomad incursions and taking densely populated, most highly indus• new social and economic context. The part in armed conflicts - were not com• trialised and most intensively farmed district and regional committees on the patible with farming. Moreover, an part of European Russia'2'. environment and land and water imperial decree forbade the streltsy resources, the local population and and the Cossacks to plough the steppe senior officials from the surrounding Essential co operation towns'3' were all involved in drawing up land. After 360 years of continuous use, The biosphere reserves in each natural the land concerned was incorporated in and examining proposals and taking region must simultaneously encompass the relevant decisions. A two-stage pro• 1935 in the Centralno-Chernozemny the whole range of local ecosystems, State Reserve, which was established gramme of measures was thus adopt• serve as yardsticks for measuring the ed: that year on the initiative of the famous level of the changes humankind has Russian geobotanist Professor V. V. made to the environment and also 1992-95 Alekhin of Moscow University. The allow important functions such as mon• Protected areas were established on an reserve was included in the UNESCO itoring, the conduct of scientific stud• urgent basis in areas where land was list of biosphere reserves in 1979 and ies, the protection of natural systems, being farmed. This measure had to be was awarded the Council of Europe's ecological awareness-raising and the taken before the expected adoption of European Diploma for protected areas involvement of local authorities in the federal legislation on land ownership. on 18 September 1998. management of the reserve, and in as the reserve did not have the neces• decision-making on its expansion. sary resources and would otherwise Expansion of the reserve have been unable to buy the land from In its 64 years of existence, the reserve Although the Centralno-Chernozemnyth e farmers and agricultural co-opera• has taken the lead in nature conserva• Reserve met these criteria in overall tives. tion in Russia and has developed into a terms, there was no serious co-opera• key centre for the study and protection tion with the local authorities. As the When the "Lyssye Gory" area was of steppe fauna and flora. Above all, it reserve managers wished to increase established, careful preparatory work has succeeded in preserving for future the area of nature zones from 0.14 to with the district and regional authori• generations the last magnificent 3% (in line with the international stan• ties enabled the land to be declared a expanses of unploughed, tall-grass dards attained by the developed coun• nature reserve without any disputes steppe on deep and fertile black soil. Its tries), they were forced to acknowledge, arising. It was, however, difficult to per• area has increased by 58% since 1935 following considerable debate, that this suade two farms to sign agreements to and stood at 6 287 ha on 1 January objective could not be achieved without act as buffer zones, given the many 1999. The greatest part of this growth the support of the local authorities. constraints that this imposed on the has taken place over the last five farming of the land, e.g. bans on the years'". use of herbicides and granulated fer• A new strategy tilisers, as the latter had frequently The most surprising fact is that the The need to develop the ecological net• been eaten by grey partridges and expansion of the protected areas is tak- work and increase the area of the other grain-eating birds. Examples of goo d p o I i c

1995-98 optimum protection of all biotopes Nikolay A. Maleshin Protected areas were established in and ecosystems. Director of V. V. Alekhin Centralno- marshy land that could not be used for Chernozemny State Biosphere Reserve farming. The marshes take the form of When it is not possible to create pro• N. I. Zolotukhin small depressions surrounded by fields. tected areas in single, uninterrupted Deputy Director responsible Ploughing around the marsh areas was blocks of a sufficient size, the for scientific questions causing them to silt up, leading to the approach should be to establish a P/o Zapovednoye Sreletsky disappearance of combinations of mosaic of separate protected areas 307028 Kursk sphagnum mosses and rare plants. modelled on the Centralno- Russian Federation Between 1968 and 1993, over 20% of Chernozemny Reserve, which is E-mail: [email protected] the sphagnum bogs turned into sedge made up of a large number of small (t) From 1993 to 1998. four new areas were or reed marshes. Only a lively press protected areas. Admittedly, these added: "l.yssye Gory", the Bare Hills. 170 ha; campaign and efforts to raise aware• areas are only drops in an ocean of "Stenki-lzgoriye". 267 ha in the Belgorod ness among the farmers made it possi• farmland, but they are full of life and region: "Zorinskiye Bolota", the Zorinsk marsh• ble to stop this negative trend by estab• have high levels of biodiversity. A es; and "Poyma reki Psel". the Psel flood basin. lishing protected areas. As a result, the network of small protected areas is 964 ha, in the Kursk region. only group of cutover sphagnum bogs very useful in densely populated (2) 82 to 86% of the total area here is taken up by was saved. In May 1998, two unique regions, but the costs of maintaining arable land and under 1% by forests, while sites were established in this area, it are two to three times higher the remainder is occupied by large thermal namely "Zorinskiye Bolota" and because of the considerable length of and nuclear power stations and the huge "Poyma reki Psel" (964 ha), where the protected areas' boundaries and Mikhailovskoye and Lebedinskoye open-cast enhancement and boundary work is the distances between them. mines, where 40% of Russia's iron ore is pro• currently being carried out in spite of In conclusion it should be noted that duced. serious difficulties resulting from a lack the network of protected areas, whose (3) Gubkin. Novy Oskol. Belgorod. Oboyan. Kursk. of resources. overall effect is to preserve the biodi• Prlsten. Korenevo. Dmitriyev and versity of the central chernozem Zheleznogorsk, etc. Vital funding region, can provide the basis for the In Russia, rare biotopes can only be future restoration of degraded ecosys• effectively preserved in reserves, tems once the economic crisis has where they are protected on a perma• been overcome in Russia. Dialogue and nent basis and in their entirety co-ordination of efforts with local and against any use for economic purpos• regional authorities, the public and rel• es. If use is made of them, however, it evant organisations are the only means must be based on scientific research of developing these ecological net• and recommendations that ensure works.

A case beyond Europe

Biodiversity at the crossroads in South Africa

The Fairest Cape under threat Too good to last? Perhaps. As never "The Fairest Cape in all the World" - Sir before, Cape Town's environmental Francis Drake's words on rounding the riches - both biophysical and cultural - Cape of Good Hope so many years ago are under threat from the challenges of have since been echoed by countless urbanisation at the dawn of the 21st visitors to greater Cape Town, or the century. The Cape Metropolitan Cape Metropolitan Area (CMA) as it is Council (CMC) has embarked on inno• now known. Home to 3 million people, vative environmental and land use pol• the area at the south-western tip of the icy processes, but unless it can gain African continent covers less than widespread support for these policies, 1 500 km', including some 300 km of the future of its natural and socio-cul• scalloped coastline. Table Mountain tural assets will remain uncertain in stands as a fortress over the metropo• the face of potentially unfettered and lis, the Cape's pure white beaches and unsustainable growth. dramatic rocky capes continue to lure pleasure-seekers and international film Assets and liabilities crews alike while the Cape Floral The Cape's assets are readily apparent View from Table Mountain Kingdom Is an unparalleled botanical and cannot be adequately reflected miracle of biodiversity. 12 naturopa n'89 / 1999 -making

here. The Table Mountain chain defines the CMA's topography and is the heart of the Cape Peninsula National Park which stretches from Cape Town's cen• tral business district to the tip of the Cape of Good Hope - the mythical meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The varied coastline has a high recreational, educational and scientific value. Many beaches attract locals and tourists alike, while coarse-textured granite and sandstone formations provide striking images along the coast. Rivers and wetlands have similar potential but have suffered degrada• tion in the past through neglect and poor planning. But arguably the great• est jewel in the CMA's crown is the An environmental tug of war • the Metropolitan Spatial Development Cape Macchia, or fynbos, as it is An example of the tension between Framework (MSDF) broadly defines known in the vernacular. The world's managing natural resources on the one the shape of future development smallest plant kingdom rivals tropical hand, and developing land to create within the CMA, seeks to limit urban forests for biodiversity, the Cape jobs and housing on the other, was in sprawl and protect the "urban edge"; Peninsula alone boasting some 2 500 evidence towards the end of last year. and species, many of them rare and endan• A developer offered to "solve" Cape gered. Town's housing crisis, through develop• • the Integrated Metropolitan Environ• ing all or part of the lower western mental Policy (1MEP), a process com• While the CMA's natural wonders are slopes of Table Mountain as an elite menced in 1997, which aims to place unparalleled, its rich cultural her• residential area which would subsidise environmental management within itage completes the canvas, with fea• social housing on the Cape Flats (low- the CMA on a sustainable footing, tures such as Robben Island. Cape income area in the south-eastern por• partly through tools, such as a State of Town Castle, the historic Groot tion of the CMA). Authorities have -so Environment Report and an Constantia Wine Estate and the cre• far remained unimpressed at the offer. Environmental Charter for the CMA, ative fabric of burgeoning informal while even community leaders appear and partly through the implementa• settlements attracting increasing sceptical at the "Oudekraal" offer. tion of various sustainable policy numbers of anthropologically-mind• options. ed tourists. Another example is the planning for the future of Driftsands Nature The Cape's heritage is at the cross• On the debit side, there are urgent Reserve, a 600 ha parcel of conserva• roads. It may not be an exaggeration to needs to be addressed including the tion-worthy, undeveloped land in the state that the economic future of the accelerated rate of urbanisation, the heart of the Cape Flats, surrounded by CMA - which will undoubtedly lean lack of integration in environmental low-income, high-density residential heavily towards tourism - depends to a administrative processes and a criti• areas. The critical needs of shelter and large extent on the successful imple• cal shortage of capacity in managing employment have to be weighed mentation of these policies and the and policing the environment in the against the benefits of a multi-purpose support they receive from all stake• CMA. The ever-increasing urban foot• urban nature reserve, which would holders. print threatens the CMA's resource include recreational, conservation and Stephen Granger base and presents a tough challenge educational facilities. Is there a middle Head. Environmental Management to the CMA's environmental policy. path, whereby a limited housing com• Cape Metropolitan Council Meeting short-term needs, such as ponent is accommodated and employ• PO Box 16547 shelter and jobs, without jeopardising ment generated within the primary Vlaeberg 8018 longer-term sustainability - or simply conservation, education and recreation South Africa put, our grandchildren's future - is land uses? An important deciding fac• E-mail: [email protected] one of the supreme challenges facing tor will be funding - significant capital authorities. will be needed to ensure that even a Other challenges to environmental well-portion of the conservation option is being within the CMA include air pollu• implemented. tion (of which the prolific use of private motor vehicles is a major cause), nutri- Hope for the future? fication of fresh water bodies and the In seeking the golden mean between lack of administrative integration conservation and development, two between local, provincial and national CMC policy processes will play a cru• spheres of governance in the environ• cial role in ensuring viable, long-term mental and planning disciplines. sustainability within the CMA: Tools and instruments

Fiscal and financial instruments

Funds for a clean environment

One of the major challenges for used or wasted without there being a cost of this service to municipalities humankind in the 21st century will be price to pay. This is true of all use of the and regions. On the contrary, water to achieve sustainable development environment. Behaviour that respects rates should encourage sparing use. throughout the world, as the only way the environment should be rewarded Furthermore, the taxes levied to pay for out of the impasse of current levels of and harmful behaviour punished. waste water treatment should take consumption of energy and raw mate• account of both the quantity of waste rials and the only solution to the pollu• At its fourth plenary session, in June water and the pollutants contained in tion accompanying such consumption. 1997. the Congress of Local and the water. Danish municipalities have Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) It is in the municipalities and regions found that the quality of waste water recommended the use of fiscal and improves with an environment-friendly that the effects of environmental pollu• financial measures to protect the envi• tion are most noticeable. Urban air pol• pricing policy. Local authorities keen to ronment. Such measures span a broad protect the water table frequently set lution, poor quality water and contami• range including various kinds of taxes, nated land all hamper successful devel• up grant programmes to promote envi• licences, user charges and grants. They ronment-friendly farming methods. opment. are used to encourage competition, innovation, dynamism and efficiency Waste management Municipal and regional authorities are and enable economic players to choose As is already the case with water sup• therefore particularly concerned about the best way of reducing or avoiding ply, local and regional taxes levied on finding ways to protect the environ• pollution while t,iking account of the waste removal should at least cover the ment and have often been the first to costs involved. They also provide incen• cost of providing the service. Such taxes alert the public to environmental issues tives for developing new technology could offer an incentive for reducing and to carry out programmes in this and limiting waste. They can be used in the quantity of waste and encourage field. Because of the power-sharing nearly all areas of environmental pro• recycling. Some municipalities, for arrangements in this sector, however, tection. example, have introduced a tax on dis• local and regional authorities often find posable packaging to encourage the use that their hands are tied and that they Energy policy of reusable packaging. Austrian munici• Electricity and gas prices should be are dependent on national bodies, ji palities have found that high landfill fixed to encourage private individuals taxes lead to a significant increase in and firms to save on the energy they Policies based on regulatory mea waste sorting and recycling. use. The German city of Saarbrücken, sures for example, has obtained good results Land use Virtually all Council of Europe member by varying the price charged for elec• Land is our most fragile natural resource States have taken steps to protect the tricity. Many economic players have and the cost of decontaminating pollut• environment. Frequently, they take the now gone over to energy-saving equip• ed land is often very high. As far as pos• form of technical and regulatory mea• ment and habits. Some municipalities sible, concreting of land should be sures aimed at both the public and the and regions also now offer tax reduc• avoided. The German city of Freiburg private sector. Experience has shown, tions and grants to users of renewable has developed housing estates without however, that an environment policy forms of energy and energy-saving the usual areas reserved for parking. based on obligations and prohibition techniques. With the help of attractive public trans• measures is difficult to apply and often port services, the city has thus been restricts innovation, insofar as firms Transport modes able to save on land and limit concret• halt development of new technology as Car traffic is one of the main sources of ing. soon as threshold values are attained. pollution, particularly in towns and According to the "polluter pays" princi• Small and medium-sized enterprises cities. The primary objective is there• ple, anyone who contaminates the land suffer most from such a policy. Their fore to reduce the number of private should pay the cleaning-up costs. The limited room for manoeuvre prevents cars on the roads and develop public community at large should not have to them from embarking on an environ• transport. Most fiscal measures adopt• bear that cost. Individual polluters must mental protection programme that is ed in this area are concerned with the be aware of their responsibilities. both financially rewarding and adapted management of car parks and systems to their needs. of paid parking. A few municipalities Financial measures may also be used in and regions have even introduced road- other areas, for example to improve air An alternative approach based on pricing. In Norway, for example, car dri• quality and reduce noise levels. the market economy vers must pay to enter the city of European municipalities and regions A few European municipalities and Trondheim. Consequently, inhabitants should make full use of these possibili• regions have adopted a different of the city are inclined to think twice ties offered by the market economy. approach. In order to attain the goals about using their car and to make more set they prefer fiscal and financial mea• use of public transport. Jo Leinen sures to bureaucratic rules and regula• Member of the Saarland Parliament Water management Franz-Josef-Röder-Strasse 7 tions. Land, water and air are all Water must not be supplied free of D-66119 Saarbrücken exhaustible resources and so cannot be charge, nor at a price lower than the E-mail: [email protected] 14 naluropa n ° 8 9 / 1999 for implementation

Green purchasing - cities turning policy

into action

The city of Copenhagen wishes to turn to incorporating environmental consid• a policy of green purchasing into con• erations in the assessment of goods crete action in daily life. It is a quite and services purchased. new challenge to the city to be in a role as a conscious consumer and to use According to the instructions, pur• this role to promote a policy of ecolog• chase of products that are manufac• ical production. tured from environmentally harmful materials is to be avoided. Products shall, whenever possible, be made Traditional role of the city of recyclable materials. There are many relationships between Consumption of necessary auxiliary producing companies and other par• substances, energy and water shall ties on the market. These parties can be as low as possible. Also, it shall all influence the producers toward be ensured that products can be dis• more respect for the environment: carded in a way that does not place authorities, technological centres, an unnecessary burden on the envi• and "green " purchaser research institutes, universities, con• ronment. sumers, suppliers, banks/insurance companies, the Danish Environment Finally, it shall also be ensured, wher•Birth of a network Agency, counties and municipalities, ever possible, that the manufacture of The introduction of green purchasing the European Union, standards, etc. goods takes place in compliance with in cities requires that staff in purchas• national requirements on occupational ing departments learn to think and act The traditional role for the city is to beenvironmen t and health. environment-consciously so that they a regulator of the market between the are able to request more environment- interests of production companies and A plan has been made to implement friendly products from the suppliers to consumers. The traditional regulation the Copenhagen policy of green pur• the city. Therefore, training of purchas• means is to decide strategies or plans chasing. The first step of the plan is ing staff is a priority. and to implement these by rules and limited to covering institutional aspects control. The normal procedure to pro• of the use of energy, water, food and It is also important that an exchange of vide a public strategy is to have a dia• environment. These areas are chosen experience and inspiration takes place logue with consumers and production to serve as models for other areas in among staff that handle or co-ordinate companies before decisions on rules the future. green purchasing every day. Therefore and regulation are taken. 1 find it valuable that a "Green Another purpose of the plan, as men• Purchasers Network" has been estab• 0 tioned before, is to encourage con• lished under ICLEI which should be New role of the city sumption of green products by the used for exactly this purpose. « A typical instrument for the city is the city, showing a good example. To approval of production plants. During the select the first areas of effort, a num• Jorgen Lund Madsen S Chairman of the European Municipal Green recent past this instrument is followed up ber of criteria have been selected as S by different new environmental manage• follows: Purchasers' Network ment systems, where private companies Deputy Director of the Copenhagen Agency built in environmental aims in the pro• • less environmentally harmful substi• for Environmental Protection duction process. tutions are available; Miljokontrollen • an environmental effect is achiev• Flaesketorvet 68 When a company freely moves into moreable ; DK-1711 Copenhagen V environment-friendly production, it may • due to large quantities the market is E-mail: [email protected] be less profitable for the company. To influenced; (1) The stimulation of the market for green prod• compensate for the cost risk by change to • the effort is visible to citizens, enter• ucts must be carried through within the frame• environment-friendly production, the prises and staff; work of. for example, EU regulation of the public bodies can go into the market as a • the effort is quantifiable. market conditions conscious consumer and change procure• ment to green products". This behaviour On the basis of these criteria, the of green purchasing will give reward to selected areas were electronic prod• the green production companies and it ucts, office supplies, cables and will stimulate other companies to follow pipes, transport and urban renewal. the same development. Concrete targets have been formu• lated in each area of effort, and they shall be met within the next Copenhagen: green purchaser two years. For example, purchased To improve green purchasing in products shall no longer contain Copenhagen, special attention is given PVC. naluropa n • 8 9 / 1999 Tools and instruments

Environmental budgeting and sustainab

Policy of Heidelberg City Council, Germany

Heidelberg has been implementing a The urban development plan is The environment: keystone of voluntary, preventive environmental much more than a spatial planning the concept policy for many years. Local climate tool: it takes account of social, eco• Environmental protection, the key• protection measures - in line with a nomic and environmental aspects stone of the strategy of action for sus• global approach - waste reduction and places the concept of sustain- tainability, does not yet have an and sorting, development of local ability at the very heart of the city's instrument which can bring together public transport and increased envi• policy. In this way, Heidelberg is the various concepts devised by ronmental advice provision by the responding to the request made of municipalities to manage the differ• German Environment and Nature towns and municipalities in ent components. As a signatory to Protection Association BUND are Chapter 28 of the Agenda 21 pro• the Aalborg Charter, which advocates some of the efforts made in close col• gramme, agreed upon at the UN the introduction by municipalities of laboration with Heidelberg's resi• Conference on Environment and new budgetary systems for natural dents. In the coming years, our activ• Development. resources management (Article 1.14), ities will be in line with the In Heidelberg, implementing the Heidelberg has included the prepara• "Heidelberg 2010" urban develop• concept of sustainability involves a tion of an environmental budget ment plan adopted by the city council large number of initiatives and peo• amongst the tasks to be achieved as in 1997. ple, and is able to rely on the sup• part of its urban development plan. port of many companies and insti• If we approach environmental protec• Heidelberg Z010 tutions; it is reflected in many pro• tion from the stand point of natural "Heidelberg is seeking to develop in a jects currently under way, some of resources consumption, we have to way which, while preserving its dis• which have been launched by the apply the same principles as are tinctive features, will continue to be city council itself. Some of the applied to the use of our artificial socially responsible, environmentally many examples include the active resource, "money": i.e. economy and friendly and economically viable. participation of residents, a listen• profitability. It was on these priorities This approach is aimed at regional ing authority, an equality policy, that the concept of a municipal bud• and universal responsibility, in confor• initiatives to fight youth unemploy• getary system for natural resources mity with the Aalborg Charter ... All ment, the setting up of senior citi• management was conceived. objectives have the same level of pri• zen centres, and close collaboration ority; they are both objectives and with companies in order to use nat• A pilot town preconditions." (document preamble). ural resources sparingly. Since 1996 Heidelberg has been tak• ing part, as a pilot municipality, in the demonstration project "ókoBudgets - Kommunale Naturhaushaltswirtschaft" (Eco-budgets - public management of natural resources), under the co-ordi• nation of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and with the financial support of the German Federal Environmental Foundation. The cities of Dresden and Bielefeld and the district of Nordhausen are also taking part in this experiment, the aim of which is to develop an instrument for manag• ing natural resources at municipal level. It includes the drawing up of an environmental budget plan which will be adopted by the municipal coun• cil and applied to a financial year. The project is due to last three years. The first two phases were devoted to laying the foundations: a project team, comprising representatives of city departments and water, energy and transport companies drew up a list of indicators which would give a Heidelberg seeks to develop in a way which is socially responsible, environment-friendly breakdown of environmental con• and economically viable sumption. Target figures were set for naturopa n"89 / 1999 o r implementation

ty each indicator; in fact they largely draw up provisional balance sheets in every sphere of activity we act in a corresponded to the environmental for future measures based on "envi• responsible way and are fully aware objectives already set by the city ronmental consumption estimates". of the consequences of our actions. council. Consequently it was possible Beate Weber to draw up a first environmental bud• Mayor of Heidelberg get plan containing an "environmen• Results late 1999 Town Hall tal consumption budget" for each Analysis of the project, beginning in Marktplatz 10 indicator. October 1999, will show the form the municipal management of natural D-69045 Heidelberg Heidelberg City Council adopted the resources could take and what indi• E-mail: [email protected] environmental budgeting plan in July cators can be used to assess and 1998. The third stage of the project, manage environmental consump• running until 30 September 1999. is tion. Once the technical arrange• based on it. This stage will be devot• ments are in place within the admin• ed to designing assessment, monitor• istration, other players could be ing and forecasting instruments asked to help draw up the develop• applied to the city's environmental ment plan to ensure that natural consumption; the five key indicators resources management rests on as are CO? emissions. NOx emissions, broad a foundation as possible. This traffic noise, the volume of waste will play a major role as regards the remaining after sorting, and drinking "ecological pillar" which underpins water consumption. The aim is to action to achieve sustainability. The estimate the city's overall environ• project is part of a series of diversi• mental consumption in as short a fied social and economic measures time as possible, broken down aimed at increasing the sustainability according to area and sector, and to of the city's policy, and ensuring that

Technical assistance for local authorities

Local Agenda 21 in the UK

The Local A national initiative to the delivery of local sustainable Agenda The UK Local Agenda 21 initiative is a development. 21 ini• national campaign covering England, tiative Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It in the is supported by all the UK local authori• LGMB activities United ty organisations which have mandated Because LGMB is part of the local King• the Sustainable Development Unit at government family in the UK, any dom has the Local Government Management guidance we have produced has e e n Board (LGMB is an organisation which automatically had credibility. We also operating for provides advice to local authorities on a have the right contacts to ensure that seven years now: range of issues, ranging from equal information gets to where it is need• since shortly after the Rio Earth opportunities to anti-poverty work etc) ed. To promote the concept of local Summit, in fact. to provide sustainable development sustainability we have taken the fol• guidance and advice to local authorities. lowing steps: In that time we have learnt a great However, because Local Agenda 21 is deal about promoting Local Agenda • set up a database with a contact in about local authorities working with 21 to local authorities and supporting every local authority, so that we their communities to achieve sustain• .them in their work to implement can send them information, sur• able development, the national cam• local sustainability. Obviously each veys, and so on; paign is not controlled by local gov• country will be approaching Local • organised an annual conference to ernment organisations alone: a Local Agenda 21 in a different way, bring together the LA21/sustain• Agenda 21 Steering Group has been depending on circumstances, but ability contacts in local govern• formed which comprises representa• perhaps some of our experience may ment to network and share experi• tives of local authorities, plus repre• be usefully shared with others. ences; sentatives of other sectors important naturopa n°89 / 1999 VIEWPOINTS

In Europe, although local and regional authorities vary a great deal in struc• ture and authority from country to country, the environmental problems they are faced with are similar. Urban areas are larger, more energy-con• suming, more resource- depleting, more waste- emitting and more popu• lous than they have ever been. Human civilisation is rapidly becoming an urban one. We will enter the new millennium with a large majority of people living in cities. The environmental impact of European cities and regions and their potential to contribute to the "sus- tainability transition" is very important and should become the focus for European policy-makers. This is not a minor chal• lenge: ways will have to be found to meet people's needs in a manner which puts less pressure on the environment in the next millennium.

Extract from the article by Rinaldo Locateli! Head of the Secretariat ngress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe Council of Europe

naturopa n' 8 9 / 1999 Tools and instruments for implementation

• established a website to give con• The 13 themes of local sustainability tact addresses, provide informa• tion, allow for information Resources are used efficiently and Access to facilities, services, goods exchange in discussion groups, waste is minimised by closing cycles. and other people is not achieved at etc; the expense of the environment or • assisted the development of a Pollution is limited to levels whichlimite d to those with cars. community practitioners network natural systems can cope with with• to support local activists working out damage. People live without fear of personal with local authorities on Local violence from crime or persecution Agenda 21; The diversity of nature is valued becausand e of their personal beliefs, race, • published a range of materials to gender or sexuality. explain the concept of Local protected. Agenda 21 and suggest ways of implementing local sustainable Where possible, local needs areEveryone met has access to the skills, development. locally. knowledge and information needed to enable them to play a full part in soci• However, perhaps the most Important Everyone has access to good food,ety. water, role the Sustainable Development Unit shelter and fuel at a reasonable cost. at the LGMB has played is simply by All sections of the community are being there. If anybody in local or Everyone has the opportunity to empowered to participate in decision• national government, or from other undertake satisfying work in a diverse making. organisations or the general public, economy. The value of unpaid work is wants advice on local sustainability recognised, whilst payments for work Opportunities for culture, leisure and then all they have to do is contact us. are fair, and fairly distributed. recreation are readily available to all. We do not have all the answers but at least we can act as a starting point and can point people in the right direction People's good health is protectedPlaces, by spaces and objects combine for further information. creating safe, clean, pleasant environ• meaning and beauty with utility. ments and health services which Settlements are "human" in scale and emphasise prevention of illness as form. Diversity and local distinctive• Significant milestones well as proper care for the sick. ness are valued and protected. in promotion Some of the key work we have done to promote Local Agenda 21 is as fol• learnt by those working on Local Jane Morris lows: Agenda 21; Locai Agenda 21 Management Advisor • produced two training manuals - Sustainable Development Unit • produced a step-by-step guide to one for local politicians, and one Local Government Management Board Local Agenda 21 which explains for local authority officers: 76-86 Turnmill Street how to implement sustainability • developed 13 themes of local sus• GB-London ECIM 5QU within a local authority and in the tainability to help communities E-mail: local.agenda.21 @lgmb.gov.uk wider local community: understand the compo• Web: http://www.la2l-uk.org.uk • undertaken research work on local nents of sustainable At indicators for sustainability; development. mk • produced guidance on different ways of involving the community in Local Agenda 21, using techniques New momentum such as visioning, consensus-build• for 2000 ing, future search, open space, etc; Local Agenda 21 in the • established a case study project to UK still has a long way share good ideas and lessons to go - society at large sti does not understand the con cept of sustainability, let alone be prepared to change its behaviour. However, the UK government is now much more supportive and has pro• duced joint guidance on how to draw up a local sustainability strategy. The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has added to the momentum by calling on all local authorities to agree a Local Agenda 21 strategy by 2000. As a result more and more local authori• ties are taking local sustainability seriously and starting to change the way they operate: what we need now is to see some tangible results. naluropa n ° 8 9 / 1999 20 Networks of towns and regions

ICLEI: local action with global responsibility

Through ICLEI we are better able to shape tional deliberations, such as the UN facilitates the exchange of experience and respond to global changes that will Commission on Sustainable among its members and other local determine the quality of life in our cities Development, the UN Conference on governments through a variety of the• in the next century. Human Settlements (Habitat), the matic or regional networks and project- Nicky Padayachee, CEO, Greater Conference of the Parties to the UN specific WorkNets. Examples include Johannesburg Metropolitan Council Framework Convention on Climate 45 European local authorities exchang• Change, the Helsinki Commission and ing their experiences on Local Agenda Through ICLEI. local government is a other important international fora. 21 in six WorkNets: a network of four well-established and fully recognised con• German pilot authorities developing stituency of stakeholders in the climate ICLEI has also supported the Congress and testing the ecoBudget for environ• change process. of Local and Regional Authorities of mental budgeting; and the European Michael Zammtt-Cutajar. Executive Europe (CLRAE) in developing guide• Municipal Green Purchasers' Network Secretary, UN FCCC lines for the use of financial instru• ments to support the implementation promoting eco-procurement of goods These quotations from a UN leader andof local environmental policies. and services. a municipal leader sum up the function ICLEI is also providing support to of the International Council for Local national municipal associations and Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI): pro• Networks and campaigns national campaigns such as Local moting local action with global respon• The primary mechanisms for Agenda campaigns in Bulgaria, sibility. implementing ICLEI's goals are net• Germany and Norway and Cities for works and campaigns. ICLEI's suc• Climate Protection campaigns in Urbanisation and government decen• cessfully established campaigns are Finland. Great Britain and Italy. tralisation are increasingly shifting Local Agenda 21 and sustainable responsibility for social development cities, Cities for Climate Protection and environmental protection to local and, in Europe, the Environmental Coordination, technical assis governments. ICLEI was created in Manage-ment Innovation pro• tance and training 1990 under the joint patronage of the gramme. Each of these campaigns The Cities Expo on the World Wide UN Environment Programme and the provides a variety of technical Web comprises, for example, a Best International Union of Local Authorities assistance, training and small grant Practice Pavilion, which presents the in response to the need of local author• projects to support participating most relevant databases of best prac• ities - metropolises, cities, towns and municipalities in implementing tice case studies such as Local counties - that are approaching these their commitments. By organising Sustainability, the European Good new responsibilities through sustain• groups of municipalities to work Practice Information Service. Another able development. together on these commitments, Pavilion provides information about ICLEI has developed a multifaceted ICLEI projects facilitate co-opera• the Expo 2000 in Sachsen-Anhalt, organisation in order to meet the varying tion among cities as well as con• one of Europe's most rapidly chang• needs of its local government members structive peer competition to ing regions; the ICLEI Pavilion pre• as they adopt policies, decision-making increase standards of performance. sents the campaigns and pro• processes, structures and practices to In addition to campaigns, ICLEI also grammes of the International Council; achieve sustainable development.

Commitment of 350 local authorities Some 350 local governments from all continents, who have made a unique commitment to sustainable develop• ment, constitute the Council. Europe is ICLEI's strongest region. Its member• ship has been steadily growing to presently 140 local authorities and nine national and regional associations of local government from 25 countries. ICLEI represents the largest European network of cities, towns and counties particularly dedicated to sustainable development. ICLEI represents a substantial local gov• Rome 2 ernment voice in regional and interna•

n a t u r o p a 8 9 / 1 9 9 9 Networks of town and

and the Global Townhall hosts debates Driving the sustainability agenda freshwater management, soil protec• and deliberations on hot topics for Those who look behind the scene are tion and land management will be local government, [www: cities- aware that much of what we perceive closely looked at. expo.com] as the European local sustainability agenda has been initiated, inspired, or Grethe Bjorlo ICLEI's International Training Centre guided by ICLEI, often in co-operation ICLEI based in Freiburg (Germany) provides with committees of partners. The c/o European Secretariat training programmes on leading-edge Charter of European Cities & Towns Eschholzstrajie 86 environmental management practices towards Sustainability (Aalborg D-79II5 Freiburg to local authorities and their partners Charter), the Mediterranean Cities' E-mail: [email protected] world-wide. The ITC's activities Call for Action, the Lisbon Action Plan Web: http://www.iclei.org include curricula development, semi• as well as the Sofia Statement and, nars, workshops and conferences, dis• in the field of climate protection, tance education courses, study tours the Amsterdam and Heidelberg and international exchange pro• Declarations, show clearly ICLEI's grammes. Important conferences hand. such as the Aalborg (1994), Rome Where is ICLEI going? In the year (1995) and Lisbon (1996) Conferences 2000, the organisation will celebrate have been organised by the 1TC. its 10th anniversary through a world ICLEI's 18-volume Guide to congress entitled Global Cities21 at Environmental Management for local which the Council will decide on its authorities in central and eastern Strategic Plan for the first years of the Europe is being distributed in ten CEE new century. ICLEI members will The mission of ICLEI is to countries in their respective lan• draw conclusions from the build and support a world• guages. The European Local Cities21 Report on cities' wide movement of local gov• Agenda 21 Planning achievements, new com• ernments to achieve tangible Guide has been pub- /H mitments and performance improvements in global envi• lished in 18 European m! target will be considered. ronmental conditions through languages. Guides on environmen Guiding cities towards better envi• the cumulative impact of local tal management instruments and ronmental performance will certainly actions. financial instruments in particular have be kept on ICLEI's future agenda, and recently been issued. further fields of engagement such as

Think globally, act locally The CEMR commitment

It is now apparent to all that local and fully integrate environmental con• local and regional authorities about regional authorities have an essential cerns in these different sectors. Community proposals as well as role to play in the area of environmen• Moreover, in order for these local national initiatives which may lead to tal protection. environmental policies to be effective, European regulations. they must be part of a general per• Action at local level can more effec• spective, based on the interdepen• The CEMR in brief tively contribute to the safekeeping of dence of diverse sectoral policies the environment and it is for this rea• affecting the environment (urbanism, The Council of European son that the central authorities are del• transport planning, etc.). egating more and more powers to the Municipalities and Regions, local authorities. This is also a concrete To carry out these tasks properly, local founded in 1951, is the repre• example of the principle of subsidiari• authorities feel the need to co-operate sentative organisation of ty, to which we ascribe great impor• and exchange their experiences within European local and regional tance. a European context as well as within a authorities, bringing together global one, as part of the implementa• more than 100 000 local and A large part of the responsibilities of tion of Agenda 21 at local level. regional authorities through 37 local and regional authorities directly large national associations of concern the environment (water sup• ply and purification networks, collec• The role of the CEMR local and regional authorities tion and treatment of solid waste, The Council of European Municipalities in 28 European countries. traffic control). They must therefore and Regions (CEMR) regularly informs

naluropa n'89 / 1999 22 regions

It co-operates with the European institu• tions, and in particular with the Commission and the Parliament, in order to ensure that the interests and expertise of local and regional authorities are taken into account in all initiatives. It participates in specialised groups of experts, organises colloquies and dis• seminates publications. CEMR actively supports projects of exchange of experience in environmen• tal matters as part of interregional co• operation programmes.

An ambitious programme The CEMR has established a committee dedicated to the environment, which has developed an important work pro• gramme centred on the relations between transport and the environ• ment, employment and the environ• ment, energy and the environment. and on the problems related to water management and waste management, as well as the questions linked to urban policy. Village in the Vernazza district, Cinque Terre, Italy Since 1996, CEMR has also created a network of Local Agenda 21 national co• inars and conferences, the production support of the European Commission's ordinators which associates all the and dissemination of publications and DG XI following the success of the two member countries of our organisation, the organisation of the European previous editions. The objectives of the and notably the central European coun• Sustainable City Award. award are to encourage and motivate tries, and whose work is focused on the local authorities which have made sig• promotion and management of sustain• nificant progress with regard to sustain- able development and Local Agenda 21. The European Sustainable City ability, to raise awareness within the This network has greatly contributed to Award local community for sustainable devel• the commitment of CEMR to the The CEMR has just launched the 1999 opment and Local Agenda 21, and to European Sustainable Cities Campaign award in co-operation with the other highlight examples of good practice of with the organisation of a series of sem- partners in the campaign and with the sustainable development. Applications are open to all European local authori• ties which have politically committed themselves to implementing a sustain• able development action and who have made progress in the development of a long-term action plan in this area. The awards will be presented on 24 June 1999 during the 4th Regional Conference on sustainable develop• ment in The Hague.

Elisabeth Gateau Secretary General Council of European Municipalities and Regions 14 rue de Castiglione F-75001 Paris E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.ccre.org

In 1999 the CEMR launched the European Sustainable City Award

naluropa n ° 8 9 / Networks of towns and

Medcities: a blueprint for progress

The Medcities Network, created A useful tool This shows that support for environ• in 1991, was a response to the Medcities is not only a tool for strength• mental protection and sustainable need expressed by mayors and ening the environmental management development activities should be con• elected representatives of capacities of the municipalities (train• tinued by funding agencies when they Mediterranean coastal towns for a ing and technical assistance), but also are carried out at a relevant level and structure which would enable for identifying the fields where their form part of national or regional global exchanges of know-how and the trans• joint mobilisation is the most effective strategies. fer of experiences on urban environ• for improving the state of the environ• ment at regional level (preparation of The audits have enabled some of the mental issues. A year before Rio, the towns belonging to the Medcities Mediterranean Environmental Technical investment projects in the framework of co-operation agreements). Network - sometimes aided by decen• Assistance Programme (METAP), with tralisation - to attain a new stage of the aid of the United Towns Development The Network advocates a global and planning, urban amenities and discus• Agency, set up a network to deal with transverse approach, even if the diag• sions with financial bodies on the fund• environmental problems at local level. noses are of a sectoral nature. The rec• ing of large-scale programme invest• ommendations of the audits and action ments (e.g. Limassol, Tetuan). The Network's aims and plans call for an approach which com• composition bines the economic, social and envi• Aware of their limitations in obtaining The aim of the Medcities Network is to ronmental aspects. sizeable funding, the Medcities mem• protect the environment and improve bers are carrying out reflection this environmental management problems year on the themes of cost recovery in local authorities of the Mediter• Vital financial support and public/private partnership. These ranean Basin. It pursues the following The Network has two sources of fund• two themes, in fact, would seem to be objectives: ing: the European Commission (DG XI) worthy of exploration, as the sources of and METAP. Certain projects of aid and funding, which are often only • to reinforce the idea of joint interde•Medcities are directly financed by bilat• of an incentive nature, are starting to pendence and responsibility concern• eral co-operation (France, Spain), the be considerably reduced, when at the ing environmental protection policies World Bank (Sousse, Tripoli. Tangiers. same time the needs to be met are in the Mediterranean Basin; Oran) and the European Investment immense. • to strengthen the role and the means Bank (EIB) in the case of Limassol. Mohamed Boussraoui (institutional, financial and technical For 1998-99, the Medcities Network has Technical Secretariat capacity) of municipalities in the United Towns Organisation implementation of local environmen• received new financial support from the European Commission (DG XI, LIFE United Towns Development Agency tal protection policies: 60 rue de la Boetie • to develop the awareness and Programme) to carry out new activities in its member towns. This financial sup• F-75008 Paris involvement of users and inhabitants; E-mail: [email protected] • to institute a policy of direct co-opera• port followed the support granted by tion by the setting up of partnerships this same Programme between 1995 between Mediterranean coastal towns and 1997 and which made it possible to in the framework of national policies. carry out environmental audits, aware• ness-raising and training activities and Today, the Network is composed of action to strengthen the institutional 27 coastal towns: Tirana (Albania), capacities of municipalities. Oran (Algeria), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Larnaca, Limassol (Cyprus), Alexandria (Egypt), Marseilles (France), Thessaloniki (Greece), Ashdod. Haifa (Israel), Rome (Italy), Zarqa (Jordan), El Mina, Tripoli (Lebanon), Benghazi (Libya), Gozo (Malta), Tangiers, Tetuan (Morocco), Gaza (Palestine), Koper (Slovenia), Barcelona (Spain), Alep, Latakia (Syria), Sfax, Sousse (Tunisia), Izmir, Silifke (Turkey), thus represent• ing all the Mediterranean countries. As far as the Network's operating proce• dures are concerned, Rome assures the Presidency (a revolving function), Barcelona the General Secretariat and the old port the United Towns Development Agency the Technical Secretariat. naluropa n ° 8 9 / 1999 regions

A federation of cities

around the Baltic Sea

The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) has defined Agenda 21 as "the process where local authorities work in partnership with all sectors of the local community to draw up action plans to implement sustain- ability at the local level". From this it follows that Agenda 21 is a cross-sector and network-orientated process which is carried out at the local level. The Agenda 21 process should not be considered as an addi• tional activity of local authorities. Instead it should penetrate all aspects of the existing local authority activities. Problems related to non-sustainable development are first recognisable at the local level.

A rapidly expanding network A successful implementation of the Local Agenda 21 needs support from all levels - European, national and The UBC currently links more than SO cities in ten countries around the Baltic Sea regional. One important task for net• works and organisation is to channel co-operation and support, spread Increased co operation Local Agenda 21 around the Baltic Sea. information and to initiate actions, UBC also co-operates with other net• We are also initiating projects on form partnerships and to inspire. The works and organisations in the Baltic themes like emissions from ships in Union of the Baltic Cities is a rapidly Sea region at all levels. We are harbours, co-operation between cities expanding co-operation network of observers at the Helsinki Commission, and universities, and the need for more than 80 cities in ten countries which monitors the environmental sit• training in the field of EU environmen• around the Baltic Sea Region. One of uation in the Baltic Sea. UBC co-oper• tal legislation in many member cities. ates with a number of networks, like our main strategic aims is to work with We have a rather good picture of implementation of Agenda 21 at the European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign, ICLE1, Baltic Local Agenda Agenda 21 in our member cities local level. UBC activities in this field through a large survey conducted last are co-ordinated by the UBC 21 Forum, Coalition Clean Baltic and others. year. It is an invaluable basis for the Commission on Environment based in planning of future projects. Turku, Finland. UBC brings together people active in One important example on co-opera• Agenda 21 work. One successful exam• However, it will not always be neces• tion between different levels is the cre• ple is the Health and Sustainable Cities sary for UBC to act as a partner in pro• ation of Baltic 21, an Agenda for the Conference in Turku in 1998. where jects. In many cases it can be enough Baltic Sea. UBC is active in the so- 400 people from 27 countries met to if the Commission's activities just called Senior Officials Group of the discuss concrete activities in connec• bring some member cities together for Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS), tion with Agenda 21. initiating and running a new project. which is a co-operation organisation on the national level. The CBSS adopt• Anders Engstrom V> ed the Agenda 21 at their meeting in Projects underway Mayor of the City ofKalmar S Nyborg, Denmark, in 1998, where UBC also initiates a number of pro• Chairman of the UBC it Ministers of Foreign Affairs from all jects where many cities are involved. SKalmar Kommun o Baltic Sea countries were represented. The Municipal Environmental Auditing Box 611 UBC was assigned several concrete Project has been financed by the S-391 26 Kalmar tasks in Baltic 21 and one of the main Nordic Council of Ministers. The aim Web: http://www.ubc.net of the SAIL-project is to spread aware• efforts at the moment is to implement s. ness to foster the implementation of them at the local level. o s (a 2

naluropa n*89 / 1999 International organisa

Local Agenda 21 :

a world-wide campaign

Municipalities heading for sustainability and new governance

Imagine that you visit any town in Austria, France and Switzerland are in our municipalities towards an Europe, walk into the market place the countries with most recent efforts active involvement of the entire com• and ask any citizen: "Do you know at the national level. munity, i.e. all stakeholders, in policy• what Local Agenda 21 is?" It is most making and implementation. likely that he or she would shrug their shoulders and say: "Never heard of It". European campaign This is essential to developing our If, however, you had done so year on When supporting the Danish City of cities and towns towards sustainabili• year, you would have noticed that Aalborg in organising the first ty. Sustainable development provides more and more European citizens can European Sustainable Cities & Towns chances but also requires sacrifices. and will tell you about LA21. Conference held in 1994, ICLEI catal• Some of our traditional positions have ysed the process to make the con• to be given up. Resources need to be cluding declaration the key Local shared with poorer regions in the Rapid development Agenda 21 Charter in Europe. By sign• world and with future generations. All Local Agenda 21 - the notion of par• ing the Aalborg Charter", local and this may require that old privileges ticipatory processes to engage citi• regional authorities make a commit• are given up. A Local Agenda 21, zens and stakeholders in long-term ment to engage in a LA21 process and which addresses such necessities, will action planning towards sustainability join the European Sustainable Cities & only have the potential for actually - is one of the few real political suc• Towns Campaign to promote local getting implemented if it is supported cess stories in this decade. In early sustainable development planning. by a broad consensus among all 1997 ICLEI completed a world-wide The key guidelines, the European groups of the local community. survey of Local Agenda 21 activities in Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide, for By bringing about strong, responsible co-operation with the UN CSD. The example, have been published in 1 8 governance at local level, the Local survey revealed that more than I 800 European languages. Agenda 21 movement bears another local governments in countries, 64 A European LA21 round table was ini•potential, namely to support the thereof almost I 600 in Europe, had tiated in 1997 to facilitate the institu• desired decentralisation of decision• started Local Agenda 21 planning. We tion of a multi-stakeholder discussion making in countries with highly cen• estimate that today more than 2 500 forum for the implementation of Local tralised government to justify a devo• local authorities, some 2 000 of them Agenda 21. lution of power that already might in Europe, have been undertaking the have taken place in other countries. process. Never before have so many Thus the Local Agenda 21 campaign is communities all over the world taken North south and west-east links a broad movement in line with the the initiative to engage in sustainable Local Agenda 21 raises awareness of spirit expressed by the European development planning. the impacts of our standard of living Charter of Local Self-Government. The idea of Local Agenda 21 was on people in other parts of the world. launched by 1CLE1 in 1991, prior to Therefore many municipalities inves• the 1992 UN Conference on tigate their "ecological footprint" on Konrad Otto-Zimmermann Environment and Development in Rio Earth or re-orientate their twinning Deputy Secretary General for Europe de Janeiro. The Earth Summit formal• schemes towards municipal interna• International Council for Local Environmental ly endorsed the initiative in Chapter tional co-operation towards sustain• Initiatives (ICLEI) 28 of Agenda 21, stimulating numer• ability. The Local Agenda 21 Charters Eschholzstraße 86 ous Local Agenda 21 projects by inter• Project, for example, pairs six cities in D-79II5 Freiburg national agencies, national associa• Africa and four in Latin America with E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.iclei.org tions of local government and NGOs. ten cities in Europe and North (I) See article by Messrs Payne and Loffler on This has led to a real, world-wide America to support each other in the the Aalborg Charter, page 4. movement of cities, towns and coun• implementation of the LA21 action ties towards sustainability. plans. The project is run by ICLEI in The highest number of Local Agenda 21partnershi p with the International processes were counted in countries Union of Local Authorities (IULA) and where national LA21 campaigns or Towns & Development. programmes exist. Meanwhile, sup• port activities for local sustainable New governance development planning have been The most important value of Local undertaken by many national munici• Agenda 21 is probably that it leads pal associations and national govern• local governments to pilot a new ments, from United Kingdom to scheme of governance. If LA21 is suc• Portugal, from Finland to Germany. cessful, it changes the political culture naturopa n°89 / 1999 26 ions and p r o g r a m m e s

The main milestones

In order to set key criteria for local • prepare and obtain municipal planning processes to meet the council approval of a Local basic requirements and earn the Agenda 21 action plan with clear title Local Agenda 21, the following goals, targets, and work activi• performance milestones, to which ties; a municipal council must formally • begin implementation of Local commit itself, were set out: Agenda 21 action plan; • establish a procedure for peri• • establish a multi-stakeholder odic evaluation of community partnership group for Local performance in achieving sus• Agenda 21 planning and imple• tainable development goals and mentation; targets. • implement a Local Agenda 21 planning process that reflects the In Europe, signing up to the more principles of sustainable develop• explicit Aalborg Charter covers the ment; commitment to these milestones.

The activities of the CLRAE

Over the years, the Council of Europe mental efforts. More and more local Whilst the report deals with the man• has contributed to the development of and regional authorities realise the agerial responsibilities of these author• a consciousness about the signifi• necessity of taking greater initiatives in ities for environmental matters, it also cance of environmental protection. this area and of taking an ecological notes that their policy-making power Environmental questions have been perspective on their activities. Their is limited and there are a number of pondered by central government decisions will need to be more sensitive important sectors where there is little experts, by a specialised committee of to conditions within the ecosystem. or no direct local accountability. the Parliamentary Assembly, and, at infrastructural investments will have to the level of municipalities and regions. be more resource-efficient, policies will by the Congress of Local and Regional have to be prevention-oriented. Drinking water and the green Authorities of Europe (CLRAE). During house effect The report on the quantity and quality the past few years the CLRAE has of drinking water in Europe (1992) been highlighting and reinforcing the found that, in most countries, respon• means available for local and regional sibility for water supply is one of the authorities to protect their own envi• main functions of local authorities, ronment by preparing reports, resolu• which are closest to users. Urban con• tions and recommendations and centration, the poor condition of the organising conferences on specific supply and distribution system, and environmental problems. the insufficient use made of surface Environmental responsibilities water are the main causes of problems The report on municipal and regional connected with the water supply. The environmental policy in Europe (1993) report not only highlights the prob• investigates the way in which local lems of the quantity and quality of and regional authorities organise drinking water, but also suggests mea• themselves to meet their environmen• sures for solving them. It urges all lev• tal responsibilities. In most parts of els of authorities to become totally Europe, the platform for decision-mak• committed to an issue considered to ing with regard to the environment is be of vital importance to European cit• shifting to the local level and there are izens. various signs of a movement in the More and more local authorities are The report on combating the green• direction of localisation of environ• increasing their efforts for the environment house effect and protecting the ozone Interna t i o n a I organisa

layer (1 993) focuses attention on these Other activities Sustainable Cities & Towns campaign. problems and urges local and regional The report on European Nature The report encourages appropriate authorities to take practical action. Conservation Year (1995) takes stock local and regional government initia• Different policy options are recom• of the activities organised at local and tives aimed at making sustainable mended to help avert climatic cata• regional level in the different member development a key objective in policy• strophe: promoting the reduction of States in support of this campaign. It making. It also contains a declaration carbon dioxide emissions, energy-sav• encourages local and regional authori• expressing local and regional authori• ing programmes and the use of alter• ties to implement suitable projects ties' commitment to pursue the imple• native energy types, encouraging the aimed at preserving biodiversity. The mentation of the sustainability con• development of public transport and CLRAE also organised a conference in cept in different fields of the environ• restricting the use of CFCs. December 1995 on the role of local ment. and regional authorities in protecting In 1996-97 the CLRAE and the nature in towns and villages outside International Council for Local Regional reports protected areas. In 1994 the Congress adopted two Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) car• reports dealing with the problems of In June 1997 the CLRAE organised a ried out a survey on the use of eco• the environment in two specific parts conference on nuclear safety and nomic instruments by European local of Europe. The environment in central local/regional democracy to investi• and regional authorities. The resulting and eastern Europe focuses on the gate the implications of nuclear power report describes these instruments physical state of the environment in installations on local communities. and suggests different ways for their these countries, the situation of envi• These include security problems, envi• implementation. Many local and ronmental protection and the possibil• ronmental impacts, social and psycho• regional authorities in Europe already ities for new approaches. It also inves• logical factors and consequences for implement economic instruments tigates the questions of raising public local business communities. The con• which affect the environment: fees are awareness, mobilising support and ference was followed by a report call• levied, subsidies are given and some• education for the environment and the ing for rights of consultation, access to times taxes are raised. However, perspectives of multilateral co-opera• information and accountability from awareness of economic instruments is tion. The report on environmental co• the European nuclear industry to local still very low within local and regional operation between local and regional and regional authorities (see page 32). authorities and, consequently, they are authorities in the eastern Baltic region not used to their full potential. gives an account of local authority Towards sustainable For this reason the CLRAE and ICLEI policies for the environment in the development decided to collect innovative examples countries in question and their mech• By adopting the report on sustainable of good practice from European anisms for co-operation. It also points development at local and regional lev• municipalities and to use them as a out the deficiencies in monitoring and els (I 997). the CLRAE has lent its polit• basis for a guide on economic instru• supervising activities that are harmful ical support to the European ments for local and regional authori• for the environment.

se CLRAE, in collaboration with ICLEI. has published a guide on economic instruments for local and regional authorities naturopa n'89 / 1999 ions an d programmes

ties. The guide is now ready and gives background information about the European Urban Charter environmental, financial and employ• ment impacts of economic instru• ments, and shows how such instru• ments can be effectively implement• ed at the local and regional levels. It also contains case studies that describe how a certain economic instrument was introduced and how it succeeded, giving evidence of good practice.

A draft Convention Several years of work within the CLRAE resulted in the adoption of the draft European Landscape Convention in 1998. This initiative offers European citizens an international legal safeguard to satisfy their demand for protecting the landscape. It aims to fill the legal vacuum caused by the absence of a comprehensive standard devoted entirely to the con• servation, management and enhance• help cities to implement ment of the European landscape. local authority good practice

Gyorgy Bergou The European Urban Charter is a The Charter is a distillation of this Secretary to the CLRAE Working Group on series of principles and guidelines for work and a guide for local authorities. the Environment and Sustainable local authority good practice on It is translated into several European Development urban policies, produced by the languages and continues to be widely Council of Europe CLRAE with an encouragement by distributed. The Chamber of Local E-mail: gyorgy [email protected] the Chamber of Local Authorities to Authorities believes that its incorpo• Web: http://www.coe.int/cplre urban municipalities throughout ration into municipal practice would Europe to use it as an inspiration for be a considerable assistance in dealing with their own physical and achieving what should be the objec• social environment. tive of all public authorities through• It was the fruit of a programme of out Europe - a better and more work by the CLRAE established since secure life for all our citizens. the European Campaign for Urban Herwig Van Staa Renaissance in the early 1980s - a Mayor of Innsbruck programme which over recent years Town Hall has covered questions such as social A-6010 Innsbruck cohesion; environmental improve• ment; sustainable urban develop• ment; reduction of noise, air and water pollution; strengthening public transport; promoting peaceable co• existence of all street users; the retention of historic heritage; the revitalisation of cities which have lost their industrial base through the cata• lyst of environmental, social and physical improvement; reduction of

Such activities are aspects of a work programme which, in harmony with the overall vocation of the Council of Europe, seeks to emphasise quality of life considerations and the rights of man in the built environment. Prospects

Towards the next millennium

Local and regional authorities have a Since the beginning of this century, have made significant progress crucial role in environmental protec• the percentage of global urban popula• towards sustainability. tion: they have a range of important tions has almost quadrupled and the functions through which they may con• trend is set to continue. The implica• Fortunately, many local and regional tribute to sustainable development and tions of such a rapid transformation of authorities have started taking single- help to improve the quality of life of human habitat has given cause for handed initiatives to address the caus• their communities. They are also concern. Can planners, administra• es of environmental decline. There are major employers and consumers in tors, politicians and ordinary citizens many fascinating initiatives already their own right, with a responsibility to create a sustainable and acceptable taking place throughout Europe. All organise their own business in a sus• life in a world composed principally of kinds of projects are underway, involv• tainable way. large cities? ing local and regional authorities, vol• untary organisations, community Most important of all, local and With 79% of its population living in groups and businesses in new partner• regional authorities are democratically urban areas, Europe is the most ships. From recycling systems and accountable. Through their powers to urbanised region in the world. The traffic-reduction programmes to local plan, invest, regulate, manage and environmental impact of European bans of CFCs and city-to-city partner• enforce, they come closest to the peo• cities and their potential to contribute ships, local and regional governments ple who are affected and they can to the "sustainability transition" has of are serving as laboratories for policy respond most directly to local views late focused the minds of European invention in the environmental arena. and wishes. Local government is the policy-makers. The concrete innovations that they are pivotal point where the community's testing are often providing models for views and aspirations can be translat• The leading role of local author national-level policies and pro• ed into public sector policies and pro• ities grammes. grammes and thus given practical Sustainability is about protecting the These projects place great faith in the effect. environment, involving people in deci• conviction that individual municipali• sions about it and sharing out ties and regions can do much to Galloping urbanisation resources more fairly. It is a new way improve conditions in their areas and Although local and regional authorities for communities and individuals to that they can be key players in the sus• vary a great deal in structure and move towards a more sustainable way tainability movement. They offer authority from country to country, the of life. There may be a challenge at inspirational examples, innovative environmental problems they are first, as local and regional authorities approaches and practical tips to faced with are similar. Urban areas are develop new ways of working and new demonstrate how much can be done larger, more energy-consuming, more ways of thinking about solving prob• to protect the environment in cities resource-depleting, more waste-emit• lems. It may sound daunting to review and regions. ting and more populous than they all existing policies in order to produce Nowadays there is a profound change have ever been. Human civilisation is a sustainable action plan for the 21st in the context of governance. This is rapidly becoming an urban one. We century. But as this issue of Naturopa by no means uniform across coun• will enter the new millennium with a demonstrates, a great number of tries, but the overall trend is indicative large majority of people living in authorities across Europe have found of the changing role of local and cities. that the effort pays dividends as they regional authorities, placing many new demands on them. Many of them are responding to this with vision and creativity, initiating comprehensive programmes to conserve energy and water, to build bicycle paths and devel• op public transport, to recycle waste and to avoid using materials that threaten the environment.

A difficult task The big question is whether all local and regional governments will be able to follow suit and, if not, what obsta• cles lie in the way and how can they be tackled. On the whole, pan- European action is challenged by a Since the beginning of the century, European landscapes have become more and more widely varying "playing field" for urbanised. Here, the Bay of St Tropez by Andre Dunoyer de Segonzac, early in the 20th centuractiony . European local and regional

naturopa n • 8 9 / 1999 30 authorities are marked by the diversi• ty of responsibilities, competencies, capacities, organisation and power. In a number of countries, local and regional politicians have reason to complain that they hold too little regu• latory and financial authority to deal with the global effects of their activi• ties, and that they are less and less able to manage the increasingly com• plex problems they are faced with: waste disposal, energy and clean water provision, air pollution, traffic congestion, noise pollution, etc. In many cases the transfer of respon• sibilities has not been accompanied by the corresponding resources and powers. Lack of finance and insuffi• cient political will are perceived to be the major stumbling blocks to making the "sustainability transition" real. While most European local authorities raise revenue through taxes, fees, and A challenge to be met levies, and receive central government On the other side of the coin, local funds, the degree varies considerably. and regional authorities themselves will have to undergo a process of transformation. The bottom-up pres• Necessary reforms sure for change is coming from citi• Local action is often limited by zens' groups and other social forces national and international frame• calling for a larger voice in communi• works. That is why the Congress of ty decision-making and accountability Local and Regional Authorities of from the tier of government closest to Europe has called upon governments them. This will necessitate changing to reform their policies at national bureaucracies and organisational cul• and international level to bring mar• tures, working on an equal footing ket price signals in line with sustain• with community groups and delegat• ability. This will require shifts of taxa• ing authority to them. tion from labour to resources, encour• This is not a minor challenge: different agement of longer-term patterns of levels of government and citizens' investment and regulation to pro• groups will have to find ways to work mote more environmentally efficient together to meet people's needs in a resource use and production systems. manner which puts less pressure on It will also require greater powers for the environment in the next millenni• local and regional authorities to um. attain sustainable development at local and regional level. They have to Rinaldo Locatelli be suitably empowered to discharge Head of the Secretariat effectively their new roles. This not Congress of Local and Regional Authorities only involves the devolution of rele• of Europe vant powers and responsibilities but Council of Europe also the financial means appropriate E-mail: [email protected] to the tasks entrusted to them. In Web: http://www.coe. int/cplre addition to these changes, the CLRAE has also called for new tools and sys• tems to enable local and regional gov• ernment to do more, such as ecologi• cal tax reform and progressive pric• ing structures for utilities.

naluropa n • 8 9 / 1999 31 _J Y.

NEWS - COUNCIL

COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Nuclear safety and local/regional democracy Following the Conference on Nuclear Safety and Local/Regional Democracy, held in Goteborg in the summer of 1997, the CLRAE adopted a resolution and a recommendation on this topic at its 1998 plenary session. These documents stressed that we will be faced with nuclear electricity pro• duction for a long time, despite wide• spread endeavours to curb its develop• ment. The modernisation of ageing reactors is necessary to make this type of energy production viable under improved safety conditions. There is scope for introducing integrated energy production systems (natural gas, solar energy, distance heating, etc) combined with energy-saving measures of every possible kind. The CLRAE recognised the "serious concerns for public health", posed not only by nuclear accidents, but also by nuclear power generation, fuel repro• cessing and waste disposal. The only way to reach a sound consensus on these issues is on the basis of three The documents send a clear signal to the frontier co-operation, factor in social principles: transparency, participation nuclear industry and national govern• cohesion and political stability in and diversified economic develop• ments that local and regional authorities Europe" which will take place in ment. Congress delegates were united are determined to secure legally enforce• Timisoara on 28-30 October 1999. It is in their call for rights to consultation, able rights to information and consulta• intended for national, regional and local access to information and account• tion on the safe management of the elected representatives, which will ability from the European nuclear industry. They call for the introduction of attempt to evaluate the development industry to local and regional authori• a genuine European procedure for moni• strategies for promoting transfrontier co• ties. toring the safety of all nuclear installa• operation in Europe. Representatives of tions, which should ensure complete border regions from across Europe will The absence of European neutrality and full independence from discuss their experiences. It is expected Parliamentary control over nuclear energy producers. that members of the European affairs within the EU, the ineffective• Parliament, the European Commission ness of citizens' rights to environmen• and the Association of European Border tal information in many countries, and Transfrontier regional Regions (AEBR) will take part. The fol• the exclusion of local communities co-operation lowing themes have been selected: from nuclear safety decision-making illustrates the lack of accountability and • old and new borders: possibilities for leads inevitably to mistrust between The Committee on the Environment, transfrontier co-operation; local and regional government, citizens Regional Planning and Local Authorities • subsidiarity and the relations between and the nuclear industry. of the Parliamentary Assembly has been central government and regional actively involved in promoting transfron• authorities; Transfrontier safety can be managed tier regional co-operation. Together with • minorities and transfrontier co-operation; through bilateral commissions between the Congress of Local and Regional • the impact of the European Union's States, provided that they are coupled Authorities of Europe and in collabora• policies on the development of co• with local or regional committees tion with the Timi Region in Romania, it operation in the wider Europe; responsible for monitoring compliance is organising the 7th European • the Euroregions strategy and the future with safety measures. Conference of Border Regions "Trans• of divided cities. naluropa n ° 8 9 / 1999 OF EUROPE - NEWS

Mountain regions The report on further action to be taken by the Council of Europe in environmen• A parliamentary conference on sustain•tal protection (rapporteur: Mr Rise) will able development of mountain regions examine international legal instruments was held in September 1998 in Rodez in referring to environmental liability and France. The purpose of the conference transfrontier pollution and propose legal was to discuss the guiding principles for and practical measures to overcome the defining a pan-European policy for gaps in current provisions. mountain regions. Having considered the main challenges facing mountain regions The second report on the implementation in Europe, the conference focused on the (see article on page 9) of the Convention management policy tools that could be on access to information, public participa• developed at the pan-European level, tion in environmental decision-making and notably by the Council of Europe. and access to justice (rapporteurs: Mrs Langthaler and Mr Toshev) will look into a In May 1999, the Committee on the set of concrete measures to assist national Environment, Regional Planning and parliaments in the process of ratification of Local Authorities and the Romanian del• this important convention. Sustainable egation to the Parliamentary Assembly development in Europe will only be effec• will organise a conference on the specif• tively achieved if the public becomes an ic problems of the Carpathians in the active and full partner in decision-making town of Suceava. The conference will at national, regional and local level. address the problems of the mountain regions in the different countries con• cerned (Hungary, Moldava, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Ukraine) as part of the pan- European policy for this area. It is intend• ed for parliamentarians, elected repre• sentatives of local and regional authori• ties, government representatives and non-governmental organisations from the countries concerned, as well as vari• ous bodies of the Council of Europe involved in this field and other European institutional or non-governmental organ• isations, such as the Assembly of European Regions (AER), the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), the European Association of Elected Representatives of Mountain Regions (AEM) and other relevant organisations.

Environment: strengthen• ing international co-oper• s • SE 1 ation '«•' ' « h • «Ï8RI The Assembly believes that the interna• tional co-operation for the protection of the environment needs to be strength• ened and will therefore examine con• crete measures to be taken at the level of the Council of Europe. The Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities is currently prepar• A parliamentary conference on sustainable development of mountain regions was held in France in ing two reports in this regard. September 1998

naturopa n " 8 9 / 19 National Agencies of the

Albania Cyprus Hungary Malta Environmental Protection and Mr Antonis L. ANTONIOU Mrs Louise LAKOS Mr John GRECH Préservation Committee Environmental Service Department of European Integration Environment Protection Department Ministry ol Health Ministry ol Agriculture, Natural and International Relations M-FtORIANA and Environmental Protection Resources and Environment Ministry for Environment and Fax 356-24 13 78 Rruga "Bajram Curri" CY-1411 NICOSIA Regional Policy e-mail: [email protected] AL-TIRANA Fax 357-2 77 49 45 P 0 Box 351 Moldova Fax 355-42 652 29 Czech Republic H-1394 BUDAPEST Mr Alecu RENITSA e-mail: [email protected] Dr Bohumil KUCERA Fax 36-1 201 28 46 Ecological Movement of Moldova Andorra Agency for Nature and landscape e-mail: Republican Periodical Publication M. Casimir ARAjOL FARRAS Conservation [email protected] "Nature" Ministeri de Relacions Exteriors 4-6 Kalisnickâ Iceland 13 S. tazoSlr. c/Prat de la Creu 62-64 CZ-130 00 PRAGUE 3 Mr Sigurdur A. THRÂINSS0N 2004 CHISINAU AND-ANDORRA LA VELLA Fax 420-2 27 24 60 Ministry for the Environment Fax 373-2 23 71 57 fax 376-86 95 59 e-mail: [email protected] Vonarstraeti 4 e-mail: [email protected] Austria Denmark ISt-150 REYKJAVIK Netherlands Mr Michael KHÜN Ms Lotte BARFOD Fax 354-562 45 66 Drs Peter W. BOS Verbindungsstelle National Forest and Nature Agency e-mail: Ministry of Agriculture, Nature der Bundesländer beim Ministry of the Environment sigurdur. [email protected]. is Conservation and Fisheries Amt der Niederösterreichischen Haraldsgade S3 Ireland Division for International Nature Landesregierung DK-2100 COPENHAGEN 0 Ms Anne GRADY Management Affairs Schenkenstrasse 4 Fax 45-39 27 98 99 Education and Marketing Officer PO Box 20401 A-1014 WIEN Estonia Dachas The Heritage Service N1-2S0O EK's GRAVENHAGE Fax 43-1 535 60 79 Mr Kalju KUKK Department of Arts, Culture, Fax 31-70 378 6146 e-mail: Ministry of the Environment Gaeltacht and the Islands e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] 24 Toompuiestee 51 St Stephen's Green Norway Belgium EE-0100 TA1UNN IRL-DUBLIN 2 Ms Sylvi OFSTAD Flemish Region: Fax 372-62 62 801 Fax 353-1 66 16 764 Ministry of Environment De Heer Koen DE 5MET Finland e-mail: [email protected] Myntgaten 2 AMINAL-Atd. Natuur Ms Leva ISOTAtO Italy PO Box 8013 DEP Graaf de Serrans Gebouw Ministry of the Environment Dr.ssa Elena MAMMONE N-0030 OSLO Emile lacqmainlaan 156 - Bus 8 P O Box 399 Chef de Cabinet Fax 47-22 24 95 60 B-1000 BRÜSSEL FIN-00121 HELSINKI Ministère de la Politique agricole e-mail: [email protected] Fax 32-2 553 76 85 Fax 358-9 1991 9453 18 via XX Settembre Poland Walloon Region: M. lacquese-mail STEIN: eeva . isotalo@vyh. fi 1-00187 ROME Mr Marcin HERBST Ministère de la Région Wallonne France Fax 39-06 48 84 394 National Foundation for DGRNE - Service de la Conservation Mme Sylvie PAU Latvia Environmental Protection de la nature Direction de la Nature Mr Uldis CEKULIS ul Krzywickiego 9 Avenue Prince de Liège 15 et des Paysages Head, Public Relations Pt-02 078 WARSAW B-5100 JAMBES (Namur) Ministère de l'Aménagement and Education Division Fax 48-22 656 6801 Fax 32-81 32 12 60 du territoire et de l'Environnement Ministry of the Environment and e-mail: [email protected] Brüssels Region: Mme NAULAERS20 avenu e de Ségur Regional Development Portugal Institut bruxellois pour la gestion de F-75302 PARIS 07 SP 25 Peldu Str Prof. Eugenio SEQUEIRA l'environnement Fax 33-1 42 19 19 92 LV-1494 RIGA tlga para a Protecfao da Natureza Gulledelle 100 Germany Fax 371-782 0442 Estrada do Calhariz de Benfica 187 B-1200 BRUXELLES Mrs Helga INDEN-HEINRICH e-mail: [email protected] P-1500 LISBOA Fax: 32-2 775 7611 Deutscher Naturschutzring eV Liechtenstein Fax 351-1 778 3208 Bulgaria Am Mlchaelshof 8-10 Mrs Regula IMHOF Romania Division des Relations Internationales D-S3177 BONN liechtensteinische Gesellschaft für Mrs Adriana BAZ Ministère de l'Environnement Fax 49-228 35 90 96 Umweltschutz Directorate for Biological Diversity 67 rue W. Gladstone e-mail: [email protected] Im Bretscha 22 Conservation and Management ol BG-1000 SOFIA Greece FL-9494 SCHAAN Protected Areas Fax 359-2 52 16 34 Mr Donald MATTHEWS Fax 41-75 237 40 31 Ministry of Waters, Forestry and Croatia Hellenic Society for Nature Protection Lithuania Environmental Protection Dr Ante KUTLE 24 Nikis Street Dr Kestutis BALEVIÈIUS Bd tibertatii 12, Sectors State Directorate for the Protection GR-105 57 ATHENS Ministry of Environmental Protection RO-70S42 BUCURESTI of Nature and Environment Fax 30-1 32 25 285 luozapaviciaus 9 Fax 40-1 41 00 282 naturopUlica a gradn'ta Vukovar! /a 78199 9 e-mail: [email protected] LT-2600 VILNIUS HR-10000 ZAGREB Fax 370-2 72 8 0 20 e-mailFax 385-: [email protected] 537 203t LuxembourgMMinistèrFa1-29118.x lean-PauMonté352-48e 1UXEMBOUR de0e ld 0 l'Environnemene4FE1TGE la 1 0Pétruss GN e t la nouvelle maquette de la revue Naturopa, :re que vous allez apprécier ce nouveau style, en facilite la lecture. j Conseil de l'Europe depuis 1968. Elle est et novembre et est entièrement illustrée en en cinq langues (français, anglais, allemand, rient dans toute l'Europe. laque numéro traite d'un sujet et en étudie ique, juridique, financier, etc. Le thème de ce nales et environnement».

întaires et suggestions au sujet de cette nou- mtacter via notre adresse électronique: [email protected] ire nos prochains numéros, je vous prie de ssurance de ma considération distinguée.

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We are pleased to present to you the new la^ been used for the first time in this issue, N° i giving a more modern image to our magazin

Naturopa has been the environment magazir is published three times a year, in April, Aug colour. Since 1998 it appears in five langua< Russian) and it is distributed free of charge e

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Russian Federation "The Former Yugoslav Ukraine Dr Nina DOBRYNINA Republic of Macedonia' Dr Tetiana HARDASHUK international Co-operation Office of the National Agency Green Ukraine NEWS Department "Naturopa" National Ecological Centre State Committee Ministry of Environment P O Box 89/7, 39 Predslavynska St The National Agency of Poland of Environmental Protection Dresdenska Str. 52 252025 KYIV B. Crusinskaya str. 4/6 MK-91 000 SKOPJE Fax 38-044 269 9925 123812 MOSCOW Fax: 389-91 366 931 United Kingdom The National Agency for Poland Fax 7-095 254 82 83 Turkey Mr John LINCOLN was established in March 1992, e-mail: [email protected] Dr Osman TASKIN English Nature San Marino Turkish Association for the Northminster House after the Republic of Poland M. Leonardo LONFERNINI Conservation of Nature GB-PETERBOROUGH PE1 1UA became a member of the Directeur de l'Office agricole et and Natural Resources Fax 44-1733 455 103 Council of Europe in November forestier Menekse sokak 29/4 e-mail: Via Ovella 12 TR-06440 KIZILAY-ANKARA John. lincoln@english-nature. org. uk 1991. Valdragone Fax 90-312 417 95 52 Since the very beginning, the RSM-47031 SAN MARINO Polish National Agency has been Fax 378-885 115 CORRESPONDENTS Slovakia run by the National Foundation Mrs lana ZACHAROVÁ Belarus Monaco for Environmental Protection Mr Vladimir F. LOGINOV M. Patrick VAN KLAVEREN Department of Nature and and is financed through an Landscape Protection Institute for Nature Resources Conseiller technique du Ministre Ministry of the Environment Exploitation and Ecology Plénipotentiaire chargé de la annual contract by the Ministry Nam. L. Stura 1 Staroborysovkyi trakt 10 Coopération Internationale pour of Environmental Protection, 220023 MINSK l'Environnement et le SK-812 35 BRATISLAVA Natural Resources and Forestry. Fax 421-7 5956 20 31 Fax 375-172 64 24 13 Développement e-mail: [email protected] Israel Villa Girasole The National Agency gives Slovenia International Affairs 16 boulevard de Suisse important support to the Centre Ministry of the Environment MC-98000 MONACO Mrlanko ZERIAV Naturopa's publications by Ministry of Environment and P O Box 34033 Fax 377-93 50 95 91 Physical Planning 95464 JERUSALEM e-mail: [email protected] organising their translation and Dunajska cesta 48 Fax 972-2 653 5934 USA production in the Polish lan• US Fish and Wildlife Service SL-1000 L/UBLIANA guage. Since 1994 and starting Fax 386-61 1787 422 Department of the Interior Spain WASHINGTON DC 20240 with issue No. 74, Polish supple• Mme Carmen CASAL FORNOS Fax 1-703 358 2849 ments of Naturopa have been Ministerio de Medio Ambiente published containing the list of Secretaria General Técnica Centro de Documentación contents and abstracts of all arti• ambiental cles, an initiative encouraged by Despacho BS 09 the Ministry. PlazSwedea Sann Jua n de la Cruz s/n ME-2807r Ingva1r MADRIBINGMAD N Following the enormous interest Head of Information Department in the Questions and Answers Swedish Environmental series and in close co-operation Protection Agency Blekholmsterassen 36 withI nth eorde Polishr Ecologicato receivl Clube , S-106 48 STOCKHOLM PolisNaturoph versionas o orf thtoe obtaiseries' nfirs t Fax 46-8 698 14 85 further information on four brochures have also been e-mail: [email protected] the Centre Naturopopaa published. Switzerland or the Council off Mme Marie GARNIER AllEurope these, nationalplease con versions-itact t of the Pro Natura Centrthe Naturopa'Nationas l publicationAgennccy s Wartenbergstrasse 22 for your country CH-4052 BALE have(se meet witlisht opposite)great success. . Fax4l-61 317 91 66 e-mail: [email protected] naturopa n ' 8 Î / 1999 Council of Europe Centre Naturopa F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex Fax: 33-(0) 3 88 41 27 15 E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.nature.coe.int The Council of Europe celebrates its 50th anniversary! Created in 1949, just after the war, this intergovernmental organisation works towards a united Europe, based on liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. With its 41 member States, the Council of Europe is a privileged platform for international co-operation in many fields - education, culture, sport, youth, social and economic affairs, health - including environment and regional planning. The aim of the Centre Naturopa, information and documentation centre on nature conservation in Europe, is to raise awareness among Europeans. At the origin of important information campaigns, it also produces several publications, including the magazine Naturopa. Naturopa is published three times a year in five languages: English, French, German, Italian and Russian. In order to receive Naturopa regularly, please contact the National Agency in your country (see addresses on pages 34-35). Next issue's theme: Health and environment

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4? ISSN 0250 7072