Transylvanian Conservation Volunteers
Romania

Project No. 20555: Ecoforum Campaign Promoting the Freedom of Access to Information on the Environment in Romania

Background

Transylvanian Conservation Volunteers (CET), a registered NGO since 1992, has 60 active members and more than 500 supporters in the region. Since 1992, CET's public advisory service has contributed markedly to the effectiveness of the available legal and institutional framework for public participation. In 1994, a CET-organized public protest campaign (i.e., signature collection) compelled the city government of Cluj-Napoca to modify a development plan which had threatened a park. CET members are now involved in the work of the city's Commission on Housing.

The latest development is the Ecoforum project, which brings together citizens, local government officials, specialists, NGOs and other organizations and institutions in an effort to find the most feasible solutions to local environmental problems.

Project Goals

To develop a model for settling problems related to the issue of access to environmental information and to use this model to increase public participation in environmental decisionmaking
To increase public awareness about public participation in environmental decisionmaking and identify mechanisms to facilitate free access to environmental information
To create a network of NGOs, local communities, public authorities, local governments, other organizations and institutions, media and businesses
To provide support to build up coalition among different sectors and improve cooperation among NGOs

Objectives

Improve the Ecoforum Advisory Service and extend its activities
Compile, publish, and distribute a set of materials on public participation, including user's guides entitled Freedom of Access to Information on the Environment in Romania and Manual on Public Participation in Environmental Decisionmaking
Support two case study projects

Amount Awarded

8,398 ECU

Implementation

A working group was established with 15 members, each of whom leads a working team - meaning that altogether the working group has about 40 people. The first session was a training seminar focusing on the role of public participation in the development of civil society. Posters and folders were prepared to publicize the project.

The campaign to publicize the project focused on the conditions and criteria of public participation in environmental decisionmaking at the local level. The project was accorded air time on local radio and television and was also publicized by newspaper articles and two Ecoforum public debates. As a result of the media campaign, Ecoforum and CET members have been invited to participate in the work of the local environmental committee.

A workshop was held on access to environmental information. The workshop included detailed discussion of both the existing formal and nonformal means of public participation in Romania and of the brochure Freedom of Access to Environmental Information in Romania - A User's Guide. As a result, the project leader was invited by the most widely read local daily newspaper to write a full-page piece once a week on environmental and public participation issues. Two thousand copies of the User's Guide were published in Romanian.

Working group members participated in several public forums, where they voiced the need for a clearer framework for public participation in environmental decisionmaking.

Support was given to two case study projects run by the Ecoforum Advisory Service, one on waste management and the other on the protection of green spaces. The support included a media campaign, distribution of promotional material, organization of two model activities and the establishment of a "Green Phone" for citizens.

A memorandum on the extension of urban green spaces, featuring 5,000 signatures, was sent to the Cluj-Napoca City Council.

CET and the Focus Eco Center, another Romanian NGO, jointly organized the first-ever Romanian national seminar on public participation and access to environmental information. The national seminar was held July 12-14, 1996, in order to create a regional network to promote public participation in the decisionmaking processes.

The seminar's main goal was to analyze the current situation of public participation in environmental decisionmaking and to work out strategic plans for how to implement the mentioned ideas. Another main objective of the seminar was to present the legal framework for public participation in Romania and to prepare a comparative analysis on current practices in the region. The organizers sought to elaborate the idea of collaboration among Romanian environmental NGOs and to encourage common activities in a national NGO public participation network.

The main success of the seminar was attracting representatives from many different sectors, including the Ministry of Environment, Environmental Protection Agencies, local governments and NGOs. The large number of participants (62) represented diverse interests, thus demonstrating the importance of the issue, the commitment of the participants and the success of the project's endeavors to disseminate information.

Citizens of Cluj-Napoca collected 5,000 signatures supporting a memorandum on the extension of urban green spaces.

Target Groups

NGOs, citizens, local and national governments and the media. Unexpectedly, local governments and the local representatives of political parties have demonstrated interest as well.

Relationship with NGOs, the Public and the Government

CET has developed a good relationship with other organizations and with the general public, as shown by the large number of participants at its activities and by the 5,000 signatures it collected in the drive for urban green space. Participants of the project attended several meetings which, in most cases, resulted in the development of a cooperative relationship with government officials at various levels of state administration.

Lessons

The project's major successes were the public debates, which established a link between local authorities and the public in the search for solutions to local environmental problems. Also, materials prepared and published during the project form a solid basis for future public participation initiatives.

Overall Evaluation

At the national seminar, the project successfully established a National Working Group on Public Participation in environmental decisionmaking and access to information. The group will focus on practical assistance and the development of initiatives in environmental issues.

Also, the Ecoforum Advisory Service became an important factor in assisting the public and in providing a framework for dialogue between the public and local authorities.

Sample Case

The Ecoforum Monthly Public Debate, New Local Initiatives for an Ecological City

CET invited local officials and the newly elected leaders of political parties represented on the Cluj-Napoca City Council to explain to the public their initiatives concerning the development of the city in an ecological context. A week before, CET had submitted a questionnaire to all local legislators to gauge their interest in developing a relationship with the public and with NGOs. Forty percent responded. A debate on this issue was recorded on videotape and broadcast two days later on a local TV station.

Above all, the debate fortified the relationship of CET with the new local administration and raised the legislators' interest in the development of public participation. Indeed, as before, the public was quite aggressive in addressing environmental problems, invariably citing a perceived lack of responsibility on the part of the authorities concerning the dissemination of information. This provided CET a foundation from which to request support to run the Ecoforum Advisory Service as a link between the public and the local authorities in addressing and solving environmental issues.

Contact

Cristian Pop: Club Ecological Transylvania; str. Sindicatelor 3/6; 3400 Cluj-Napoca; Romania; Tel/fax: (40-64) 157-018

REC * PUBLICATIONS * ADVISING CITIZENS * ROMANIA

Transylvanian Conservation Volunteers Romania