Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
it is a great and unexpected honour for me to address the participants of this conference on behalf of the Czech Ministry of Environment. My name is Jaroslav Benes, I am the Director of the Environmental Strategies Department at the Ministry of Environment, and am responsible for environmental reporting and updating, and environmental policy concepts. I would like to excuse the Deputy Minister, Mr. Erik Geuss who was not able to participate in this conference, and excuse myself for not speaking on behalf of the entire CEE region. Rather, I will summarise the experiences gained by the Czech Republic, with the firm belief that these conditions are very much similar or identical to the other countries of the region.
Prior to 1989, Czechoslovakia could be characterised by extensive economic development which took place at the expense of the environment and nature protection, and confidentiality of most state of the environment data. A good set of environmental laws had been established, but due to political pressure, there were thousands of violations and exemptions. Emissions from huge power stations were released to the atmosphere, untreated sewage poured into surface waters, and groundwaters were polluted by nitrate contamination.
The pressure exerted by environmentalists and concerned citizens was a strong element in the overall effort to bring down the communist regime. Numerous alarming environmental issues were published in an illegal ăsamizdat" newspaper. The first systematic and realistic report on the state of environment was published by the Biological Society of the Academy of Science and distributed not long before the ăVelvet Revolution" of 1989.
Since November 1989 all barriers have fallen and the environment has become an important political theme. Within a few weeks of the Revolution, the Ministry of Environment was established and the spontaneous upheaval of official and NGO activity attempted to bridge the existing gaps in environmental protection. The Ministry and the Federal Committee prepared a whole range of new environmental laws which were adopted by Parliament. Research institutes and monitoring systems were strengthened, while the Czech Inspection Agency and the State Fund of the Environment were established.
The first Statistical Yearbook on the Environment of the Czech Republic was published in 1990 by The Centre for Environmental Information. The structure adopted for this is the now generally accepted review for driving forces, pressures state, impacts, responses or the DPSIR scheme.
In accordance with our accession to the European Union, serious and systematic changes in our environmental management system were also launched. ISAP, the Information System for Law Approximation, deals with European Union (EU) environmental legislation and the level of harmonisation of national legislation with the legislation of the EU, the Acquis Communautaire.
Our activities in the near future are defined by the EU's Agenda 2000 document. This evaluation of our application for accession to the EU reveals the most serious gaps and deficiencies in our environmental management system. The issues of air and water quality, waste management, insufficient use of economic tools, and poor implementation of environmental laws are among the priorities listed.
The Commission has also given special attention to the number of topics that are highly relevant to the theme of this conference. In particular, the serious shortcomings in the fields of awareness to environmental problems, environmental education, insufficient public participation in the decisionmaking and environmental management processes, and obstacles in public access to environmental information. These are exactly the problems that an improved telematic and integrated environmental information system might help to solve.
Let us analyse in detail the field of environmental information systems and environmental reporting. I am not, due to my age, an expert in information technology, their potentials and perspectives, but I do believe I serve a good representative of the demand side. Effective monitoring and information systems should always be demand driven. The support of an integrated information system for environmental management can be demonstrated by the DPSIR scheme.
In summarising the present state of environmental monitoring and information systems, and environmental reporting in the Czech Republic, modern, expensive, but effective specialised monitoring systems for air and water quality and radiation safety have been established. Monitoring in this respect is defined as the continuous measurement giving real-time information and data, with the possibility to intervene with the investigated processes and implementation of necessary measures in case of emergency. Information system is defined as the collection of data and information with the perspective of later evaluation, analysis and utilization. Numerous other information systems covering energy, industry, transportation, agriculture, forest management, health statistics and the data of the State Statistical Office are today at our disposal. An integrated meta-information system, compatible with the European EIONET system is currently being established with the assistance of the PHARE Programme.
Immediately following the downfall of the totalitarian state, the first Report on the State of the Environment appeared. At present the following types of reports appear annually:
Of course, all these reports are available in print, but many of them now also appear in electronic form (Internet, CD-ROM).
The Commission's opinions within Agenda 2000 enabled us to recognise the existing deficiencies. Ensuring the free flow and sharing of data still faces many technical and organisational obstacles although the new Law on Environmental Information will help to overcome some of these. Currently being approved by the Czech Parliament, it envisages the free access to the environmental information for any NGO or even individual citizen, without giving reason or announcing the purpose for which this information is required. In order to prevent central and local authorities being overburdened with the collection and dissemination of information in complying with these expected requirements, if necessary to implement well designed and efficient telematics systems on environmental information. This system must cover not only physical, chemical, social and economic data, but also the whole array of laws, administrative documents, decisions and correspondence.
There are two parallel trends in gathering and disseminating environmental information. On the one hand there is as an ever growing requirement to increase the number of investigated phenomena, to bring new data on new factors, and new aspects of environmental changes, and to relate the resulting impacts of environmental changes. On the other hand, there is a trend to concentrate on a few representative indicators, that would facilitate the understanding of the main trends and would enable mutual comparison on an international scale. We cannot avoid following both trends, and to use the proper one for each intended purpose.
The EU approximation process is defined by the National Programme - Access of the Czech Republic to the European Union. There is much to be accomplished in all sectors, but energy, agriculture and ecology are considered to be the most difficult among them. The review of environmental issues indicates some short and medium-term objectives in the raising of environmental awareness, education and in providing public access to information. The relevant tools facilitating them will be the approved new Law on Environmental Information, the Concept of Environmental Education and Information (currently being discussed by various sectors), and the organisation of professional courses for regional environmental administrations. All these measures can be enhanced by the use of improved telematics information systems.
To conclude, the Czech Republic witnessed the birth of a pan-European approach to environmental management and environmental reporting, when at the initiative of the late Mr. Vavrousek, the Environment Ministers of all European countries met for the first time in 1991, in Dobrís in the Czech Republic, and helped draft the first report on the European environment, (the so-called Dobrís Assessement: Europe's Environment). Since then, Environment Ministerial conferences have taken place in Luzerne, Sofia and most recently Aarhus, Denmark, where Dobrís +3 was presented. The Czech Republic maintains its position in supporting the ongoing collection and dissemination of environmental information. Integration with the EEA and the nucleus of the pan-European telematics information system, the EIONET, will serve as a driving force for this, further facilitating the European integration processes and improving our own national performance in environmental reporting and environmental management.