Project co-financed by the EU SARD-M Report for the Carpathian Convention Member States Assessment of Policies, Institutions and Processes Regional Synthesis for Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Republic of Serbia, Slovak Republic and Ukraine This publication has been produced in the framework of the Carpathian Project under the INTERREG III B CADSES Neighbourhood Programme and co-financed by the European Union. European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen Institute for Regional Development and Location Management Bolzano/Bozen, July 2008 Authors: Flavio V. Ruffini, Christian Hoffmann, Thomas Streifeneder & Kathrin Renner Institute for Regional Development and Location Management European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen Viale Druso 1 I-39100 Bolzano/Bozen, Italy www.eurac.edu Commissioned by: UNEP Vienna – Interim Secretariat of Carpathian Convention within the INTERREG CADSES CARPATHIAN PROJECT Vienna International Centre PO Box 500 A-1400 Vienna, Austria www.carpathianconvention.org/index.htm Supervision of: Harald Egerer – Head and Pier Carlo Sandei – Associate Programme Officer In the framework of the SARD-M project coordinated by: Jean Gault Project – Coordinator SARD-M Department ES Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome, Italy English proofreading: Peter Farbridge 3904 Laval Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H2W 2J1 www.ideefeconde.ca/en/home.htm Disclaimer: The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union, of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), of the Carpathian Convention or of the partner institutions. Citation: Ruffini F. V., C. Hoffmann, T. Streifeneder and K. Renner 2008: SARD-M Report for the Carpathian Convention Member States. Assessment of Policies, Institutions and Processes, Regional Synthesis for Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Republic of Serbia, Slovak Republic and Ukraine. European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen, p. 63. ISBN: 978-88-88906-46-1 Bolzano/Bozen, July 2008 4 July 2008 SARD-M Report for the CC Member States Contents Contents ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Figures ................................................................................................................................................ 6 Tables ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Abbreviations..................................................................................................................................... 7 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 9 1.1 The SARD Initiative ............................................................................................................... 9 1.2 FAO and SARD ................................................................................................................... 10 1.3 The SARD-M Report for the Carpathian Region ................................................................10 1.4 Project Area ........................................................................................................................ 12 2 Background Information on the Carpathian Countries and Regions ................................... 17 2.1 Land Use ............................................................................................................................. 17 2.2 Population ........................................................................................................................... 20 2.3 Employment ........................................................................................................................ 22 3 SARD-M Policy Programmes and Related Institutions ..........................................................25 3.1 Policy Frameworks and Policies for SARD-M .....................................................................25 3.1.1 Policies of Rural Development ................................................................................................ 26 3.1.2 Policies on Agriculture ............................................................................................................. 27 3.1.3 Policies on Biodiversity, Nature Conservation and the Environment ....................................... 29 3.1.4 Forestry Policies ..................................................................................................................... 31 3.2 Governance Structures and Institutional Settings for SARD-M Policies ............................. 32 3.2.1 National Level ......................................................................................................................... 32 3.2.2 Regional and Local Level ........................................................................................................ 35 3.2.3 NGO Initiatives involved in SARD-M in the Carpathian Mountains ......................................... 36 4 Strengths and Weaknesses of Policies, Institutions and Processes .................................. 37 4.1 Impact and Perception of Policies & Processes for SARD-M .............................................37 4.1.1 Special EU Policy Programmes for Rural Development .......................................................... 39 4.1.2 Rural Development Programmes ............................................................................................ 40 4.1.3 Socio-Economic Aspects in Rural Areas ................................................................................. 42 4.1.4 Agricultural Programmes ......................................................................................................... 44 4.1.5 Environment, Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Strategies .............................................. 48 4.1.6 Forestry Programmes ............................................................................................................. 50 4.2 The Effect of Institutions in Charge of the SARD-M Process ............................................. 51 4.2.1 National Level ......................................................................................................................... 51 4.2.2 Regional and Local Level ........................................................................................................ 53 5 Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 55 5.1 Recommendations related to the Carpathian Convention .................................................. 55 5.2 EU related Recommendations ............................................................................................55 5.3 Policy and Process related Recommendations ..................................................................56 5.4 Recommendations: Institutional Perspectives ....................................................................59 5.5 Future Prospects and Challenges .......................................................................................61 5.6 SARD-M Strategies in Line with CC Articles ......................................................................62 6 References .................................................................................................................................. 65 SARD-M Report for the CC Member States July 2008 5 CONTENTS Figures Figure 1: Cross-Linking the SARD-M Process with the Carpathian Convention. The Results of the SARD-M Synthesis Report will be considered by the Working Group of Sustainable Rural Development, Agriculture and Forestry. ................................................................................ 11 Figure 2: Administrative Units considered in the National Carpathian SARD-M Reports (Map: Kathrin Renner, EURAC). ............................................................................................................... 14 Figure 3: The National Delimitation of the Carpathians Regarding the NPs (162,000 km2). ........................... 15 Figure 4: The Distribution of Forest and Agricultural Areas within the NP of the CC (RUFFINI et al., 2006). .............................................................................................................................................. 18 Figure 5: According to the NP, almost 60% of the Carpathians are covered by forest (RUFFINI et al., 2006). ........................................................................................................................................ 19 Figure 6: Distribution of the Country-wide and Carpathian-wide Agricultural Land Use Types (Sources: National Agrarian Area: EUROSTAT 2003; the Carpathian Agrarian Area: National SARD-M Reports, Hungarian Carpathians: EUROSTAT 2005 – NUTS3)......................... 19 Figure 7: Land Use and Land Cover in the Carpathians (CLC 1990, PELCOM; RUFFINI et al., 2006). .............................................................................................................................................. 20 Figure 8: Population Density at the Municipal Level (LAU2) (RUFFINI et al., 2006). ........................................ 22 Figure 9: Proportion of Employees per Sector (Map: Kathrin Renner, EURAC). ...........................................