GRANTS

The Sofia spectacle was notable not only for the participation of the Environmental NGO Coalition in the official conference, but also for the parallel nongovernmental conference that was held alongside it. The REC supported preparations for the parallel conference with one of its many grants to environmental NGOs across the region. Three programs target nongovernmental organizations in the region - a local grants program that supports emerging grassroots organizations, an earmarked grants program that provides larger amounts to more advanced organizations, and a topic-specific program that funds Danube-related activities. All REC grants assist the development of environmental civil organizations in the nascent democracies of Central and Eastern Europe.

LOCAL GRANTS The Regional Environmental Center expanded its Local Grants Program in 1995. The three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania held their first advisory board meetings in 1995, and in some countries the maximum amount for a local grant was increased by ECU 1,000. REC awarded 557 grants worth a total of USD 684,665, almost 80 grants and USD 90,000 more than the previous year.

ONE OF THE REC'S local grants to a Polish NGO helped train citizens to monitor water quality in the Baltic Sea.


Local grants aim to increase public participation in environmental issues at the local level by helping NGOs finance the establishment of basic office operations and manage small-scale projects. They make it possible for grassroots NGOs to hold training and educational activities and to conduct local projects and local events, such as Earth Day celebrations and summer camps for children. In 1995, for example, REC local grants helped an NGO in Croatia purchase office equipment, funded an Albanian environmental photo exhibition, and supported an educational program that encouraged citizens to preserve culture and nature in rural Latvia.

This program is "local" in every way. It is administered by the REC's local offices, and applications are accepted in local languages. Local advisory boards, composed of local environmental experts, evaluate applications and make grant decisions. Such indigenous support is crucial since the REC is one of the few sources of funding for grassroots NGOs. This approach enables the REC to extend its financial assistance to NGOs that most need support, such as those located outside capital cities or in countries with less advanced environmental movements. Once NGOs develop sufficient capacity, they become efficient vehicles for increasing public awareness about environmental issues.

EARMARKED GRANTS Many NGOs in the region have outgrown the "grassroots" label and developed into mature organizations capable of conducting large, often transboundary projects with regional implications. The Regional Environmental Center's Earmarked Grants program focuses on these organizations, providing financial assistance to NGOs that are tackling important regional environmental problems and promoting regional cooperation.

The Earmarked Grants Program supported forty-five projects in 1995 for a total of USD 708,841. At least one project was supported in each of the thirteen countries under the REC's mandate. Earmarked grants are awarded to NGOs in specific environmental categories that have been recommended by the NGOs themselves, and that address priorities they have indicated need urgent attention. Traditionally, four categories are offered annually, but in 1995 an additional category, public participation, was added to classical nature conservation, sustainable rural development, industrial problems and energy conservation, and urban and community problems.

GREEN BALKANS, a Sofia-based NGO, used a REC earmarked grant to help protect Bulgaria's threatened bat population.


These grants, available to a maximum of ECU 20,000, supported projects that act as models in the region, promote regional cooperation, and encourage planning for sustainability. Projects funded in 1995, for example, included conserving habitats for threatened birds in Bulgaria's Conotrakiiska lowlands, developing a blueprint for sustainable transportation in Central and Eastern Europe, and promoting ecotourism on ecological farms in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia.

In order to facilitate the exchange of experiences among NGOs in the region Grant Project Summaries, Volume Two was published in 1995. It provides detailed information on earmarked grants-funded projects, like those mentioned above, that were completed between 1991 and 1994. This informative volume provides models for future projects and prevents duplication or repetitive efforts; makes the REC's grant-giving activities transparent; and disseminates information about the types of NGO activities underway in Central and Eastern Europe.

By supporting such effective, transboundary projects, the REC hopes to develop the strong civil organizations that will participate in the region's environmental debate as it heads toward the next "Environment for Europe" conference in Copenhagen.

DANUBE GRANTS The drainage basin of the Danube River includes territory from sixteen countries, many of them from Central and Eastern Europe, making it one of the biggest transboundary environmental problems in the region. In order to address this problem, the Regional Environmental Center's new Danube Grants Program provided USD 172,000 in grants to NGOs during 1995. Projects funded in 1995 include an information campaign to enhance public participation in improving the quality of the Morava River in the Czech Republic, and a water monitoring project in Heves County, Hungary that is promoting the involvement of the public in finding alternatives for polluters.

INSULATING WINDOWS AND DOORS in towns near the Temelin nuclear power plant, in the Czech Republic, was part of a project to educate citizens on energy efficiency.


The funds are provided to the Danube Project Coordination Unit in Vienna by the Global Environment Fund (GEF), and are distributed by the REC to NGOs from Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia that are working on Danube-related projects. These grants are intended to enhance the institutional capacity of NGOs and to strengthen their commitment to solve the Danube dilemma. The transboundary nature of this problem provides a perfect opportunity to help NGOs solve local environmental problems that will have a beneficial impact on the environmental health of the entire region.

REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER * ANNUAL REPORT 1995