The project will include the following activities: Needs Assessments have been prepared for Hungary (in printable PDF) and Slovenia (in printable PDF), identifying the legal, institutional and practical barriers and opportunities for public access to environmental information and public participation. These assessments have drawn on existing research and analysis conducted by the REC and NGOs, as well as by the Hungarian and Slovenian governments with respect to the implementation of existing national legislation, the Aarhus Convention, other international agreements, and the existing practices. The needs assessments focus on additional public access to environmental information and public involvement measures that are needed to achieve transboundary results.   Case studies involving sources of transboundary pollution of the Danube have been identified. The case study for Slovenia is Krsko Papermill Plant; the case study for Hungary is the Tisza River. Both case studies focus on relevant hot spots identified through the Danube Transboundary Pollution Reduction Programme and by the two countries, and thus provide a concrete set of circumstances in response to which public involvement measures will be developed ad field tested. Two Policy Workshops will be held in the course of the pilot project. The first workshop, held in October 2000 in Szentendre, Hungary, resolved how the project activities would be focused according to the needs and priorities of the two countries, and the selection of the case studies. The second workshop, to be held towards the completion of the project, will evaluate the project's results and finalize the recommendations developed throughout the project. Capacity building workshops are organized to enable officials from relevant public authorities and civil society members to develop specific legal, institutional and practical mechanisms for establishing, maintaining and operating effective public access to environmental information systems in support of the goals of reducing nutrients and toxic discharges to the Danube. The workshops will be held with the participation of NGOs from the two countries and the Danube River Basin. The first workshop was held in January 2001 in Szolnok, Hungary. Technical assistance is to be provided throughout the course of the project by the REC, NYU and RFF to government officials and civil society members with environmental and water management responsibilities to strengthen the institutional and legal framework for public access to environmental information and public participation A study tour of the Netherlands (as a representative EU Member State) and the United States (New York and Washington, DC) has recently been conducted for Hungarian and Slovenian representatives from government and civil society. In the course of the study tour the participants had the opportunity to consult directly with public participation and environmental information specialists and water pollution experts in the Netherlands and the United States. The participants were able to review legislative, regulatory, policy measures and gain a practical understanding of how to institute environmental information regimes. Country specific recommendations will be developed identifying successful, replicable elements of the pilot project and recommend measures for implementing public access to environmental information and public involvement regimens that could be applied to other Danube countries in the CEE region. These measures may take form of legislation, administrative regulations, institutional and practical arrangements and other strategies in support of pollution reduction. The results, lessons learned and materials from the project will be disseminated through reports and publications (which will be provided in hard copy and electronic form).

Needs Assessment in Hungary   (39 page PDF file.) Needs Assessment in Slovenia   (35 page PDF file.) Case Study:  Krsko Papermill Plant in Slovenia Case Study: Tisza River in Hungary Back to the Project Home Page