Environmental Performance Reviews Romania
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ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE Committee on Environmental Policy ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS ROMANIA UNITED NATIONS New York and Geneva, 2001 Environmental Performance Reviews Series No. 13 NOTE Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city of area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No. E.01-II-E.28 ISBN 92-1-116795-7 ISSN iii ___________________________________________________________________________ Preface The Environmental Performance Review of Romania began with a preparatory mission in April 2000, during which the structure of the report was established. Thereafter, the review team of international experts was constituted. It included experts from Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, together with experts from the secretariat of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Centre for Environment and Health of the World Health Organization (WHO). The review mission took place in October 2000. A first draft of the EPR report was submitted to the country for updating in March 2001. In September 2001, the draft was submitted for consideration to the EPR Expert Group of the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy. During this meeting, the Expert Group discussed the report in detail with representatives of the Romanian Government, focusing in particular on the conclusions and recommendations. The EPR report, as amended by the Expert Group, was then submitted for peer review to the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy at its annual session in Geneva on 25-26 September 2001. A high-level delegation from the Government of Romania participated in the peer review. The Committee adopted the recommendations as set out in this report. The review of Romania’s environmental performance is evidence of the effort that the country is devoting towards EU accession and the approximation of its legislation. This legislative process has accelerated substantially in the recent past, particularly in the area of environment. Environment-related strategies and action plans, begun before the approximation process, have been reinforced during it. However, the report also points out a number of shortcomings in implementation and enforcement, and it calls for improving cooperation among all ministries and other key partners that have competencies and responsibilities in environment management and protection. The UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy and the UNECE review team wish Romania success in carrying out the tasks before it to meet its environmental objectives, including implementation of the recommendations contained in the present report. UNECE would also like to express its deep appreciation to the Governments of Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for their support, and to the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization for participating in this Environmental Performance Review. iv LIST OF TEAM MEMBERS Ms. Catherine MASSON (ECE secretariat) Project Leader Mr. René NIJENHUIS (ECE secretariat) Project Coordinator Mr. René NIJENHUIS (ECE secretariat) Introduction Ms. Vanya GRIGOROVA (BULGARIA) Chapter 1 Mr. Bart CLAASSEN (NETHERLANDS) Chapter 2 Mr. Arne Wieldandt JACOBSEN (DENMARK) Chapter 3 Ms. Michelle DOBRE (FRANCE) Chapter 4 Mr. Harold EGERER (UNEP) Chapter 5 Ms. Katarina MAGULOVA (SLOVAKIA) Chapter 6 Mr. Pavel BLASZCZYK (POLAND) Chapter 7 Mr. Ivan NARKEVITCH (ECE secretariat) Chapter 8 Mr. Ljubco MELOVSKI (TFYR OF MACEDONIA) Chapter 9 Ms. Karin REQUIA (BRAZIL) Chapter 10 Ms. Elisabeth CLÉMENT-ARNOLD (SWITZERLAND) Chapter 11 Mr. Stefan ANDERSSON (SWEDEN) Chapter 12 Mr. Hans AAROE (DENMARK) Chapter 13 Mr. Michal KRZYZANOWSKI (WHO-ECEH) Chapter 14 The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. In particular, the boundaries shown on the maps do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. The preparatory mission for the project took place from 17 to 19 April 2000. The review mission was organized from 17 to 26 October 2000. An updating mission took place in Bucharest from 26 to 30 March 2001. The Peer review was held on 25-26 September 2001 in Geneva. The ECE Committee on Environmental Policy adopted the recommendations set out in this publication. The Environmental Performance Review is a programme of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Division for Environment and Human Settlements. The Team Leader is Mary Pat Silveira. Information cut-off date: 28 September 2001. v CONTENTS List of figures ......................................................................................................................................... viii List of tables............................................................................................................................................... x List of boxes ............................................................................................................................................. xii Abbreviations, symbols and measures ................................................................................................. xiii Currency ................................................................................................................................................. xvi INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1 – 6 I.1 Geography.................................................................. 1 I.2 People and demography ..................................................... 3 I.3 Economy ................................................................... 4 I.4 Institutions.................................................................. 5 PART I: ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND MANAGEMENT Chapter 1: Legal and policy framework, institutional arrangements and environmental regulations ................................................... 9 - 24 1.1 Legal framework for environmental protection ................................................... 9 1.2 Objectives of the environmental policy ............................................................. 10 1.3 Institutional arrangements ..................................................14 1.4 Environmental regulations.................................................. 17 1.5 Conclusions and recommendations.................................................................... 21 Chapter 2: Spatial planning ............................................................................................................ 25-34 2.1 The framework for territorial development........................................................ 25 2.2 Spatial planning policies and strategies ............................................................. 26 2.3 Related legislation, institutions and the planning system .................................. 29 2.4 Conclusions and recommendations.................................................................... 31 Chapter 3: Economic instruments and privatization – their impact on environmental protection ...................................................................................... 35 - 46 3.1 Economic instruments and their impact on environmental protection............... 35 3.2 Privatization and its impact on environmental protection.................................. 41 3.3 Conclusions and recommendations.................................................................... 44 Chapter 4: Environmental information and public participation in decision-making ...................................................................................................... 47 - 56 4.1 Environmental awareness in Romanian civil society......................................... 47 4.2 Environmental information................................................................................ 47 4.3 Public participation in environmental policies and procedures ......................... 49 4.4 Environmental education, research and training................................................ 52 4.5 Conclusions and recommendations.................................................................... 52 vi Chapter 5: International cooperation ..................................................................................57 - 67 5.1 International cooperation to protect the environment and strengthen institutions ............................................................................... 57 5.2 Cooperation on global environmental issues ..................................................... 58 5.3 Regional and bilateral cooperation .................................................................... 61 5.4 Main international donors and partners.............................................................