INTRODUCTION
All of the Regional Environmental Center's activities supported the Sofia process, and much of the hard work and dedication that has marked the Center over the last five years was recognized at Europe's biggest-ever environmental conference. Nineteen-ninety-five was a turning point in the Regional Environmental Center's bid to develop a long-term presence in Central and Eastern Europe. The Center was expanded and improved, and it was officially recognized as an international organization by its peers and donors.
SPECIAL STATUS At the Sofia conference in October, delegates from all over the world gathered together at a signing ceremony to witness the REC's transformation: The government of Hungary granted the Center a special status under Hungarian law. Hungarian Environment Minister Ferenc Baja sealed the deal by saying, "The Regional Environmental Center has proven that Central and Eastern Europe can benefit from environmental cooperation between both governments and NGOs, and the Hungarian government continues to regard the REC as an international organization with an international mission."
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD BEDRICH MOLDAN and Hungarian Minister of Environment Ferenc Baja transformed the REC into an international organization at the Sofia conference.
The arrangement was the first of its kind in Hungary; in order to extend these new privileges the Hungarian government had to pass a special decree. The new status offers the REC many practical advantages, making it easier for the REC to fulfill its mandate through its representatives and offices in thirteen Central and Eastern European countries.
A NEW HOME Part of the new agreement was a donation by the Hungarian government of a campus-like head office in Szentendre, a picturesque little town twenty minutes north of Budapest. The property will be the new home of the growing Regional Environmental Center, and will have a direct influence on the REC's activities. The extensive facilities will provide a venue to hold in-house conferences and seminars, events that will encourage environmental stakeholders in the region to get together and work out solutions to environmental problems.
THE HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT'S two-million-dollar donation that the REC will soon call home is a campus-like facility that includes a conference center, an administration building and several small residences.
The donation, valued at USD 2 million, is also the first big step in the REC's quest for financial sustainability. The Regional Environmental Center hopes that governments and organizations who have supported the Center in the past will follow Hungary's lead and contribute the resources needed to start an endowment fund. Such a fund would provide the Center with long-term financial stability. The REC's increased conference activity, and the increased visibility this will bring, will also draw financial support from donors interested in hosting specific events.
Even with a new face and a new home, the REC will continue to do what it has always done: promote public participation in environmental decisionmaking and encourage cooperation among regional stakeholders, such as NGOs, governments and businesses, to improve the health of the environment. Ferenc Baja, Hungary's Minister of Environment, believes "the new international status of the REC and the donation of the Szentendre site together represent a formal recognition of the REC's activities carried out over the last five years." They also place the REC on another, higher plane, one that will allow it to broaden its vision and improve its activities for years to come.
OUTREACH During 1995, the Regional Environmental Center expanded its scope to other needy countries in the region. For the first time, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were added to the REC's constituent countries. In the Baltics alone, ECU 65,000 was distributed through the REC's Earmarked Grants Program in 1995, and some ECU 63,000 was provided via the Local Grants Program. The Center increased the number of its local representatives from nine to thirteen, and the number of offices from nine to ten. A local coordinator was hired in the Czech Republic and an additional office was opened in Riga to cover REC activities in their respective countries.
ESTONIA, LATVIA AND LITHUANIA signed the REC Charter at the 1995 General Assembly, making the Baltic States eligible for REC support.
A decentralization strategy was introduced in 1995 that allows local offices to run more efficiently and with more independence. Decentralizing the local offices intensifies their involvement in the REC's programs by bringing a stronger local perspective, a process that encourages local governments and businesses to work together with NGOs to solve environmental problems and build democratic institutions. This invites stakeholders in each country to cooperate at the national level while preserving the regional links that make the REC a unique and effective organization improving the health of the environment in Central and Eastern Europe.
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER * ANNUAL REPORT 1995