Environmental Performance Reviews Croatia
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE Committee on Environmental Policy ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS CROATIA UNITED NATIONS New York and Geneva, 1999 Environmental Performance Reviews Series No. 7 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. 99.II.E.37 ISBN 92-1-116736-1 ISSN 1020-4563 1 Preface The Environmental Performance Review of Croatia began with the preparatory mission in June 1998. The agreement on the structure of the report was followed by the constitution of the review team, in which national experts from Armenia, Israel, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom participated together with the ECE secretariat, experts from UNEP and from the Bilthoven Division of the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health. The costs of the participation of experts from countries in transition, as well as the travel expenses of the ECE secretariat, were covered by extrabudgetary funds from Austria, Italy and the Netherlands. All contributions were essential for the conclusion of the project. This report was prepared on the basis of the team’s review mission to Croatia in March 1999. Its draft was submitted to the ECE Committee on Environmental Policy at its annual session in Geneva on 22 September 1999. A high-level delegation from Croatia attended this evaluation, which was prepared in-depth by two reviewing countries, the Netherlands and Slovakia. At the end of its evaluation, the Committee approved the recommendations as set out in this report. The review of Croatia’s environmental performance identified a number of strengths and weaknesses in the implementation of environmental policy and management. The systematic and professional preparation of environmental management measures in the State Directorate for the Protection of Nature and the Environment is often impressive. However, their implementation and enforcement suffer from a lack of institutional weight and cooperation throughout State institutions. Therefore, improving the cooperation with all key partners is an important task. Furthermore, greater involvement of the general public in environmental management might help to strengthen the overall recognition and results of environmental management. Finally, the review also found impediments to better performance with regard to remediation of the environmental consequences of the war – a problem that can be successfully dealt with only if sufficient funds are allocated for that work. The ECE Committee on Environmental Policy and the ECE review team wish the Croatian Government success in their tasks, including the implementation of the recommendations contained in the present report. iv LIST OF TEAM MEMBERS Mr. Andreas KAHNERT (ECE secretariat) Team Leader Ms. Martina PALM (UNEP) Chapter 1 and Project Coordinator Ms. Cvetka KRAJIC-TOMIN (SLOVENIA) Chapter 2 Mr. Mervyn RICHARDSON (United Kingdom) Chapter 3 Ms. Sabine HOEFNAGEL (UNEP) Chapter 4 Ms. Katarina MAGULOVA (SLOVAKIA) Chapter 5 Ms. Catherine MASSON (ECE secretariat) Chapter 6 and Project Coordinator Mr. Branko BOSNJAKOVIC (ECE secretariat) Chapter 7 Mr. Eliezer FRANKENBERG (ISRAEL) Chapter 8 Ms. Zerrin LEBLEBICI (TURKEY) Chapter 9 Mr. Ivan NARKEVITCH (ECE secretariat) Chapter 10 Ms. Nune DARBINYAN (ARMENIA) Chapter 11 Mr. Christophe CLIVAZ (SWITZERLAND) Chapter 12 Mr. Michal KRZYZANOWSKI (WHO/ECEH) Chapter 13 Ms. Marina PENNA (ITALY) Chapter 14 Mr. Lovorko BARBARIC (CROATIA) Technical Advisor The preparatory mission for the project took place from 10-14 June 1998. The review mission was organized from 9 to 19 March 1999. The Peer review was held on 22 September 1999 in Geneva. The ECE Committee on Environmental Policy adopted the recommendations set out in this publication. Information cut-off date: 23 September 1999 v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of figures........................................................................................................................................... viii List of tables............................................................................................................................................. ix List of boxes............................................................................................................................................. xi Abbreviations........................................................................................................................................... xii Signs and measures .................................................................................................................................. xiii Currency................................................................................................................................................... xiv PART I: THE FRAMEWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND MANAGEMENT Chapter 1 Legal instruments and institutional arrangements for environmental protection ............................................................................................ 3 - 18 1.1 The legal framework ......................................................................................... 3 1.2 The policy framework....................................................................................... 6 1.3 Basic structure of environmental management................................................. 7 1.4 Environmental impact assessment .................................................................... 10 1.5 Enforcement...................................................................................................... 11 1.6 Environmental information and monitoring...................................................... 13 1.7 NGOs, public awareness and participation, environmental education.............. 14 1.8 Conclusions and recommendations................................................................... 16 Chapter 2 Economic and regulatory instruments....................................................................... 19 - 26 2.1 Economic instruments for environmental protection........................................ 19 2.2 Regulatory instruments ..................................................................................... 21 2.3 Financing of environmental expenditures......................................................... 22 2.4 Main policy objectives and institutional responsibilities.................................. 23 2.5 Conclusions and recommendations................................................................... 24 Chapter 3 Environmental consequences of armed conflict........................................................ 27 - 36 3.1 Early effects on environmental media and their evolution over time ............... 27 3.2 Effects on environmental protection facilities and industrial safety................. 30 3.3 Possible remediation requirements and strategies............................................. 30 3.4 Relevant management issues for remediation................................................... 34 3.5 Conclusions and recommendations................................................................... 34 Chapter 4 International cooperation............................................................................................ 37 - 48 4.1 General objectives for international cooperation .............................................. 37 4.2 Regional cooperation in the framework of UN/ECE ........................................ 38 4.3 Other regional cooperation................................................................................ 40 4.4 Bilateral cooperation......................................................................................... 42 4.5 Global cooperation............................................................................................ 42 4.6 International funding......................................................................................... 46 4.7 Conclusions and recommendations................................................................... 47 PART II: MANAGEMENT OF POLLUTION AND OF NATURAL RESOURCES Chapter 5 Air management........................................................................................................... 51 - 68 5.1 State and determinants of air pollution ............................................................. 51 5.2 Policy objectives and management practices.................................................... 58 5.3 Conclusions and recommendations................................................................... 64 vi Chapter 6 Management of freshwater resources and quality.................................................... 69 - 88 6.1 Quantity and quality of freshwater resources.................................................... 69 6.2 Water protection and use................................................................................... 73 6.3 Water policy objectives and management practices ......................................... 78 6.4 Conclusions and recommendations................................................................... 84 Chapter 7 Waste