Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Fri, 17 Apr 1998 10:38:48 -0700 (PDT)
Government and Environment Directory for CEE online
Available online at: http://www.rec.org/REC/Databases/GovDir/GovDirFind.html
In an effort to address environmental issues more effectively, Central and
East European (CEE) governments have been reorganizing on several
different levels. Some environmental responsibilities have shifted to the
regional or local level or are now shared among several national and
regional agencies. In many cases, governmental departments outside the
respective Ministry of Environment have acquired significant influence over
environmental issues.
This restructuring has made it difficult for laypeople and academics alike
to identify the governmental body or organization responsible for
particular environmental issues, and to track down important information,
accurate data or a well-informed expert. In order to find the right person
or obtain the correct information, it is essential to understand the
organizational structure of the government agencies with environmental
responsibilities.
For this reason the REC has compiled Government and Environment: A
Directory for Central and Eastern Europe. We also hope this Directory will
help facilitate the exchange of information and experiences between
governments on the topic of environmental protection. Some countries have
more advanced organizational structures, while others seem to be more
effective in handling certain environmental responsibilities. This
Directory addresses the issue of structure by providing information
according to the most important institutional elements of environmental
protection: administrative bodies, environmental monitoring, public access
to environmental information, and enforcement and control.
These models can be helpful to governments across the region that are
interested in improving their respective environmental protection
organizations.
How to use this Directory
-------------------------
The Directory presents all the ministries and governmental organizations
with significant environmental responsibilities in 15 Central and East
European countries. Each country chapter is divided into five main
sections: an introductory profile section, administrative bodies,
environmental monitoring, public access to environmental information, and
enforcement and control. The latter four sections each offer key contacts,
while an annex includes any organizational charts collected during the
survey.
In some cases, information under a particular heading does not appear.
This is because it was unavailable or simply does not exist. In every case
all available information has been provided. Should any significant
omissions have occurred, we do apologize and hope to eliminate these in
future editions. It should also be noted that the exchange rates used are
those in effect at the time of publication.
What's new in this Edition?
---------------------------
This fourth edition of the Government and Environment Directory includes
several new sets of data as well as an update of the existing sections and
the addition of a fifth introductory section.
Firstly, two new countries have been added; Bosnia-Herzegovina and the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FR Yugoslavia). Given the volatile
situations there, obtaining contact information proved difficult and was
further complicated by the fact that additional levels of environmental
responsibility have been established within each country. Thus in FR
Yugoslavia you will not only find data applicable at the Federal level but
also for the Republics of Serbia and Montenegro. Similarly, in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, significant state level data has been included in
addition to that which has been collected for the Federation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina (including ten cantonal ministries) and Republika
Srpska.
Second, in view of the increasing drive for EU accession in many of the
region's countries, those persons within Ministry of Environments
specifically responsible for EU integration issues have been listed. Where
individual responsibility has been assigned, these persons can be found in
the 'Key Contacts' section.
Thirdly, owing to the growth in number of central environmental protection
funds across the CEE region and their value as a source of funding to
different environmental stakeholders, these have also been added to the
Directory. Thus, all known off-budgetary funds which collect revenues from
polluters' fees and fines are included in the 'Sub-national Structures'
section under the main body to whom the Fund is subordinate to (usually the
Ministry of Environment).
Finally, to help serve as a guide to each of the countries included, a
short 'Country Profile' section has been included to the beginning of each
chapter. This includes a brief table of statistical data (offering the
country's population, area, GDP, exchange rate etc.), and a country-map
showing the capital and other significant towns. For Bosnia-Herzegovina
and FR Yugoslavia, a short note has been added to clarify the political
situations in those countries
All other data including the format and country chapters maintain the same
structure as before and has been checked and updated.
In order to help us keep the Directory up-to-date, any notices of changes
or additions are welcomed. And as readers, we would also like to encourage
you to comment on how we might improve future editions. Comments can be
sent to Jerome Simpson, email: [email protected]
A fully searchable online version of this Directory can also be found on
the REC's Internet homepage at:
http://www.rec.org/REC/Databases/GovDir/GovDirFind.html
/\_/\
"Cyberspace is where..|@ @|..the WILD things are!">
/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~QQQ~~(_)~~QQQ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\
| Rossen Roussev |
| Information Systems Project Manager Tel: (36-26) 311-199 |
| Regional Environmental Center Fax: (36-26) 311-294 |
| for Central and Eastern Europe e-mail: |
| Ady Endre ut 9-11 [email protected] |
| 2000 Szentendre, Hungary http://www.rec.org/ |
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