For the past two years the SIEI Secretariat has served environmental policy makers in CEE, NIS and the West by providing analysis of specific economic instruments and broader environmental integration strategies. Highlights of SIEI work have been the Sourcebook on Economic Instruments for Environmental Policy, the report Improving Environment and Economy - The Potential of Economic Incentives for Environmental Improvements and Sustainable Development in Countries with Economies in Transition, which was translated into Russian, Estonian, Croatian and Romanian, and the Green Budget Reform Newsletter. Our website at the REC homepage has been updated, and each of these publications can be downloaded directly (www.rec.org/siei).
For the period 1999-2001 a new work program has been initiated with the continued support of the Danish EPA and the chair of the Initiative, The Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic. A series of activities will be carried out over the next two years which will respond to priority concerns in Central and Eastern Europe. In the coming weeks, the secretariat will launch two major studies: "The Role of Economic Instruments in the Water Sector in Central and Eastern Europe" will provide an analysis of water pricing and charge systems with specific reference to financing water supply and treatment. The second report, "The Fiscal Relevance of Economic Instruments" examines economic instruments within the overall national tax and spending policies in selected countries.
In addition to this work, the key pricing/charge indicators developed under the 1999 edition of the Sourcebook on Economic Instruments will be revised and updated. Through the continued effort of a network of experts throughout the countries of CEE, a database of environmental charges and taxes will be updated and posted on the web for easy referencing. Look for the first update in the summer of 2000. For more information on upcoming activities please check the website or contact us at the REC:jmcnicholas@rec.org.
The Green Budget Reform Newsletter will continue to be distributed to approximately 1000 people in CEE, NIS, and Western Europe. We plan to change the structure of the Newsletter in the sense that we will introduce a new section for which we particularly welcome contributions from interested parties. Our intention of this new section is to give you the opportunity to inform fellow readers of the latest development in the area of economic instruments and Green Budget Reforms. Project and conference announcements, policy developments, and opinion articles are especially encouraged. We hope that these changes will make the Newsletter more attractive for the readers and will disseminate the latest information in the area of environmental economics and policy in the region.
--Stefan Speck
SIEI Program Manager