Through six years of experience, the REC has recognized the complexity of environmental problems in the region and the sometimes widely differing viewpoints of the stakeholders. The REC programs therefore have developed a unique multi-stakeholder approach to the issues involving economic, political and social contexts. In 1996, much of the program department's work involved assessing public participation, developing local environmental strategies, and conducting surveys among environmental businesses.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROGRAM As the countries of the region strengthen their capacity to address local and national environmental problems the very nature of these issues, which are not limited to country borders, will make international cooperation a critical next step. Building on the REC's research on the successes and failures of public participation in the region during its transition, the Public Participation Program expanded the analysis in 1996 to include the international and transboundary aspects of public involvement in environmental decisionmaking. In September, the program produced the third volume in the Public Participation series, Beyond Boundaries: The International Dimensions of Public Participation for the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe. This report provides practical guidance for citizens and NGOs in using legal and non-formal instruments to encourage governments to fulfill their international environmental obligations.
The Public Participation Program also released Advising Citizens: Grants for Public Participation Advisory Services. This publication highlights the results of a special grants initiative to enable nine NGOs to establish advisory services and to promote public participation through more efficient use of legal and non-formal instruments in environmental decisionmaking.
In addition to legal rights, true participation requires an active public with the motivation to exercise those rights. In 1996, the REC added a new dimension to its Public Participation program with a special initiative to address this issue. The Public Participation Training Project started with a pilot program in Bulgaria and Romania. Working with teams of environmental law, training and technical experts in each country, the REC developed two country-specific training modules for citizens, NGOs, and government and business leaders. Workshops were held in both countries followed by joint training-of-trainers workshops.
On a grander scale, public participation is shaping up to be the key issue at the fourth ministerial conference on environment in June 1998 and efforts by the REC to support the preparations are already underway. The REC was invited to participate in the Executive Committee for the Ad Hoc Preparatory Working Group and has been assisting with the drafting of a Public Participation Convention to be presented at the conference.
In 1996, the assistance program focused on developing environmental protection plans at the local level. Results of the research in five CEE countries were published in the report Developing Local and Regional Environmental Action Plans in Central and Eastern Europe: Case Studies of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic. The most visible result of developing Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPS) according to the study is the strengthened identity of the citizens with their communities. "Individuals are discovering for the first time that they can actually participate in planning the future of their own municipality," says Tomas Hak, who lead the REC's work on the project.
BUSINESS INITIATIVES Finding practical solutions to environmental problems is not in the hands of government and NGOs alone. As the link between economics and the environment is increasingly apparent, the business sector must be involved in the debate if sound environmental policies are to be developed. The REC's Business Initiatives works to assist environmental enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe and to encourage sustainable development practices among the business community at large.
According to the REC's Environmental Markets Surveys, environmental businesses are a rapidly growing industry. The original survey from 1995 indicated that there are more than 1500 environmental goods and services providers in the four Visegrad countries alone. Work was conducted in 1996 to expand the study to Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia. These publications provide an important resource to business and government leaders involved in procurement and technology decisionmaking as well as to the interested public.
The REC's Environmental Business Directory will also be expanded to include these four countries. The directory provides valuable contact details and information about environmental firms and facilitates partnerships between Western and CEE businesses.
In addition, this program continued to operate its fee-based research service for the business sector. In 1996, information services were provided to more than 50 commercial clients and work included eight comprehensive research projects for large companies such as Kodak and the Hungarian oil company, MOL.
