2nd PROGRESS REPORT ON COMPONENT 3.4 DANUBE
REGIONAL PROJECT
ENHANCING ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION MAKING
IN
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, BULGARIA, CROATIA, ROMANIA,
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
DECEMBER 2005
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This Report is prepared for component 3.4 of Objective 3 of the Danube Regional
Project (phase 2).
The overall focus under Objective 3 is to enhance awareness-raising in civil
society and reinforce the participation of NGOs and other interested parties in
water management and pollution reduction (nutrients and toxic substances) with
particular attention to trans boundary cooperation and river basin management
in the context of the Water Framework Directive.
Report prepared by
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of Component 3.4 is to support emerging processes of improved public participation in
environmental decision making, with emphasis on better access to environmental information and
public participation in decision making on hot spot prevention and cleanup. The project builds
capacity in government officials who are the "front lines" of access to information and responsible
for implementing public participation, using targeted training and technical assistance activities
carefully tailored to the needs and circumstances of each country. National and local NGOs and the
public involved in the Danube and water-related issues are considered critically important
stakeholders and partners of the officials. Engaging all of them actively in capacity building will
support full and effective public involvement in planning in the context of the EU Water Framework
Directive (WFD) and cleanup and prevention of future Danube hot spots. As noted by the funder,
these impacts should last long after the Danube Regional Project (DRP) has been completed.
This report covers the period mid-July through mid December 2005 (the previous report was
completed in mid-July 2005). In this five-month period, the major accomplishments of the
Consortium of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), Resources
for the Future (RFF) and New York University School of Law (NYU) are:
managed the preparation and initiation of country activity plans in each of the five countries;
managed the preparation and initiation of demonstration (pilot) projects in each of the five
countries;
completed a second Study Tour (this time to the Netherlands to learn about European
experience);
conducted a regional (plenary) meeting involving all of the countries;
initiated various activities for communication and dissemination of the results of the project;
and
engaged in other planning activities for future phases of the project.
In all these, the Consortium has completed a number of milestones and deliverables, and reached
substantial results.
This report has three parts. The first part describes in detail the activities over the past five months
since July 15, 2005 when the first progress report was filed. It does not deal with those activities
which have been already covered in the Inception report submitted in December 2004 or the first
progress report. Part I will provide the project donors and the overall DRP and ICPDR management
with an overview of the most important steps taken, findings and decisions made, results achieved
in the past five months of the project.
The second part of the report describes the activities that will be undertaken in the next six months
and the various work products or deliverables that are prepared for these activities or will result
from them. Part II starts with a short description of these activities. It also provides an overview of
the detailed work plan, which lists all the activities, those that have been already completed and
those ahead, as well as the proposed changes in their timing.
Part III includes a financial report for the period of June 1, 2005 and October 31, 2005, and a
request for budget reallocation by the Consortium after consideration of the proposed country
activities to be carried out by the project countries.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive summary
Part I.
1.
Activities over the past 6 months
1.1
Country
Plans
for
all
countries
p.
7
1.2 Demonstration Project Plans for all countries
p. 12
1.3
Second
regional
workshop
p.
19
1.4
Dutch
study
tour
p.
20
1.5
Further follow up by participants on study tours
p. 24
1.6
Capacity
building
activities p.
30
1.7
Project
partners
meeting
p.
31
1.8
Completion of details on log frame and indicators
p. 31
1.8
Communications on project component activities
p. 31
1.9
Lessons learned in this reporting period
p. 32
Part II.
2.
Activities to come in the next 6 months
2.1
Second round of national workshops
p. 33
2.3
Carrying out country activities
p. 34
2.4
Dissemination Activities
p. 34
2.5
Carrying
out
demonstration
projects
p.
35
2.4
Work plan and suggested changes
p. 37
2.5
Second Steering Committee meeting
p. 43
Part III.
3.
Financial
report
p. 43
3.1 Explanatory
note
3.2
Table in Excel -separate from main document
Annexes
p. 45 - 105
a) Summary of Participants' Comments on USA Study Tour
b) Program of the Netherlands Study Tour
c) List of Participants for Netherlands Study Tour
d) Agenda for 2nd Regional Workshop in Novi Sad, Serbia
e) List of participants in 2nd Regional Workshop in Novi Sad, Serbia
f) Finalized Country Activity plans
o Bosnia and Herzegovina
o Bulgaria
o Croatia
o Romania
o Serbia
g) Demonstration Project Plans
o Bosnia and Herzegovina
o Bulgaria
o Croatia
o Romania
o Serbia
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1. Activities over the past 6 months
1.1 Country Plans for all countries
The Inception Report and the 1st Progress Report explain in detail the purpose of
the country activity plans. Since the date of the inception report, the process
described there has been completed.
The purpose of this section is to provide brief information about the preparation
of the country activity plans and how they connect with the Needs Assessments
prepared earlier in the project and the outcome of the national workshops
(discussed in the Inception Report and the 1st Progress Report) and with the
Demonstration Projects, which are discussed below.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria will accomplish four main activities:
1. Assess and improve the rules and regulations for confidentiality of
environmental and water related information
This will start with an assessment to find out the current situation for water
related confidentiality issues in Bulgaria and a comparison with some EU
practices.
A Working Group of officials and NGO experts will be created to discuss and
develop proposals. Based on the assessment described above, a guidance
material including a set of recommendations for improvements in the current
situation will be drafted.
The recommendations, which could include proposals to amend existing
legislation, will be discussed with a wide range of stakeholders including
representatives of interested and affected businesses, and relevant government
officials.
Capacity building workshops for officials will be organized to present and discuss
practices in EU Member States on access to environmental information and their
potential application in Bulgaria. Guidance materials on how to address the issue
of confidentiality in environmental information provision will be drafted. The
purpose of the guidance material is to provide recommendations to officials,
individuals and organizations on how to act when access to information is denied
on confidentiality grounds. Feedback about the preliminary draft guidance
material will be obtained during the 2nd National Workshop.
2. Training and capacity building for authorities
As a first step, good practices and failures to implement the existing procedures
for active/passive access to information will be identified with special focus on
water related environmental information. During the training the officials will
gain information about the identified techniques and options to improve practice.
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In addition, a report for promotion of good practices and recommendations will
be prepared. This list of good practices and recommendations will be part of the
guidance material mentioned under activity 1 (the guidance document will
contain the outputs from Activities 1 and 2). The report will also contain the
training materials and discussion topics of the capacity building workshop.
3. Enhancing the active dissemination of information on environment and water
through the web page
A new, more user-friendly web page for the River Basin Directorate that is
responsible for the Danube river basin in Bulgaria will be developed and possible
improvements and/or changes in the other relevant web pages will be made. The
web page will also contain online material in the form of frequently asked
questions (FAQ). (This activity will be done in close cooperation with an ongoing
German twinning project in order to avoid redundancy and take advantage of
synergies.)
Additionally, easy to understand guidance material on access to information will
be developed in web format and posted on this website.
4. Brochure for NGOs and the general public
The plain language brochure will be targeted at NGOs and the general public and
will contain details on how to access and where to find environmental and
specifically water related information. Opinions will be obtained from experts and
NGOs on the draft text and the text will be discussed in a roundtable meeting
format to obtain a wide range of views and suggestions for improvements before
it is finalized.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina will accomplish three main activities:
1. Contribute to development of bylaw(s) and procedures to implement relevant
provisions of the new Water Law
In this activity, participants will draft procedures for implementing rights and
duties concerning access to information and public participation to be part of
mandatory bylaws to the new Water Law. When developing the bylaws,
knowledge obtained about best practices of public involvement will be used.
2. Contribution to the development of Water Data Base
Project participants will assess the existing situation of available information and
data collected by various responsible authorities. The assessment includes
finding out which authority collects what information and how that information
can be accessed. Based on the findings of this inquiry, a basic information
system (database) will be developed and discussed with the governmental
officials, experts and NGOs. The goal of the database is to facilitate access to
information for the public, in part by identifying which are the authorities holding
this information and the ways of accessing the information. In addition to
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improving current practices, the activities will serve as starting point to start
discussions on developing a more ambitious database in a future project.
3. Guideline/manual for authorities
The manual will help improve the currently differing abilities and skills among
authorities in terms of how they manage and handle access to information and
public participation. It will focus specially on officials on the municipal level and
provide an overview of legal requirements as well as practical advice on how to
deal with access to information and public participation issues in the context of
water. It will explain how to conduct various kinds of public involvement
procedures, answer information requests, and actively disseminate information,
and what are the possibilities for access to justice should the rights not be
implemented correctly. The manual can also be used by a variety of stakeholders
and gives them an overview of their rights and how to practice them.
The manual will be drafted by experts and discussed in working groups and
roundtable meetings as well as in the 2nd national workshop.
NGOs led by DEF will organize a workshop to assess community needs with
regard to drinking and bathing water information. Based on the findings, NGOs
will provide input to the manual for officials on the issues of format, style and
content of active/passive information dissemination. NGOs also anticipate
providing input with regard to confidentiality issues.
4. NGO brochure on access to information
An informational brochure or leaflet for NGOs will also be drafted. The brochure
should help NGOs to assist the public to find water-related information sources,
and to increase their capacity to interpret the data provided by authorities.
Overall, these measures will help NGOs participate more effectively in the
decision making procedure for water-related issues.
Croatia
Croatia will accomplish three main activities:
1. Developing a water information Protocol
Croatian participants will create a "Protocol" (a legally binding instrument) whose
purpose is to define requirements for authorities in the water sector on how to
organize their internal procedures and activities to improve their ability to carry
out their obligations to provide public access to water related information and to
disseminate information. Croatia is the only of the countries contemplating a
legally binding instrument.
The basis for the proposed Protocol is previous analyses of the situation in EU
countries and in Croatia as examined by experts and discussed by a working
group of officials, experts and NGOs as well as in the second national workshop.
The draft protocol will be finalized only after seeking and responding to
comments. It is anticipated that a new model based on the Protocol will be
presented and used during the trainings outlined in activity 3. The Protocol will
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be accompanied by a set of non-binding examples and practical advice,
somewhat like the manual or desk-book that is contemplated in the other
countries.
2. Brochure on Access to Water Information (for the general public and NGOs)
A brochure will be created, targeted for the public and environmental NGOs, to
help them more easily find information about water. It will contain an overview
of relevant laws, conventions, regulations and references to web pages, as well
as explanations of the rights of the public regarding public access to information.
Information will be supplemented with cases and practical examples, a tool kit on
how to participate in decision-making processes, how to write requests, and
other critical information, and other means to support the role and opportunities
of civil society representatives.
The brochure will be drafted by NGOs (under the leadership of DEF), discussed in
broader circles among interested NGOs, and presented to the public in spring
2006.
3. Training program/materials to build institutional capacity building for public
officials and relevant stakeholders
Two 2-days trainings will be focused on practical knowledge about the process of
providing water related information. The training will address relevant
procedures, obligations and rights for state officials, as well as acquaint them
with international experiences and best practices.
Romania
Romania will accomplish three main activities:
1. Improvement in the functioning of the River Basin Committees (RBCs)
The activity starts with an assessment on how RBCs are currently functioning
with regard to communication, information dissemination and public
participation. The next step is to identify and share good practice examples of
RBCs and develop draft recommendations and solutions for the RBCs to improve
their work with regard to access to information and public participation.
Based on identified needs and priorities, a capacity building training for the RBCs
will be conducted.
2. Development of manual for authorities
The manual is meant to provide guidance to government officials with regard to
the rules on public access to water related information. The manual will also be
used to share good practices of public involvement in water related decision
making. The draft will be written by country consultants and discussed with
relevant stakeholders during the 2nd National Meeting in April.
3. Development of Brochure for wider public and NGOs
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The brochure will provide information for the wider public and NGOs on
where/what/how information on water related issues can be accessed and how
the public can be part of the decision making process. The draft will be discussed
during the 2nd National Meeting. Experience obtained under the issues identified
under activity 1 and during the demonstration project will also be integrated into
the brochure.
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro will accomplish 4 main activities:
1. Development of Manual for Officials
The manual will focus on access to environmental and water related information
for the representatives of the public authorities, emphasizing new legislation,
relevant international agreements and other relevant EU legislation. It will also
provide advice on practical implementation, including good examples. It will
cover a wide range of subjects, including legal framework, actions to facilitate
requests for environmental and water-related information (procedures to log,
route and file requests, guidance for answering various kinds of often-repeated
information requests, fees, fee waivers and fee reductions, and appeals) and
active dissemination of information (methods and tools). The draft will be
discussed by a working group of officials and NGOs in the 2nd national workshop.
2. Development of a Brochure for NGO and Public
This product will be a plain language summary of the information on access to
water related information provided in the manual (activity 1), adapted for the
wider public and NGOs, focusing on their perspective. It will use easily
understandable language and an attractive, accessible format. The draft will be
discussed and revised as necessary during the capacity building workshop for
NGOs (activity 4).
3. Capacity Building workshops for officials
Two 2-day capacity building workshops are planned to present the draft manual
for officials and collect their input, suggestions and feedback to improve the final
draft, as well as to present the new laws and draft laws related to environmental
and water related information and especially their practical implementation. The
capacity building should increase the chances that authorities will use the
materials in their daily jobs.
4. Capacity Building workshop for NGOs
One capacity building workshop for NGOs is planned, possibly back-to back with
a session for officials. During the workshop, the draft brochure for NGO and
citizens will be presented and input and suggestions from NGOs will be collected.
Also, the preliminary lessons from the Demonstration Project and good practices
on sharing water related information and public participation from NGOs from
Slovenia and Hungary will be presented. The workshop will also provide practical
knowledge for NGOs concerning implementation of the new laws.
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1.2 Demonstration Project Plans for all countries
We will not repeat previous reports to the DRP that discuss the purpose of the
demonstration projects, the process for identifying appropriate locations, and the
issues that will be examined in the context of the demonstrations. In this
reporting period, the Consortium engaged in an intensive effort of soliciting,
receiving, reviewing and refining proposals for demonstration projects from
each of the five countries. The lengthy process was designed to assure that
the activities fit the needs of Component 3.4, could be achieved in the time
period, and would further the specific purposes of the project.
The process began when the Consortium received solicited proposals from
NGOs in each of the countries. The proposals were written by those NGOs
with the active assistance and involvement of the appropriate REC country
office, and reflected decisions made in earlier national and regional meetings
of the project. However, the proposals marked the first time that project
proponents presented details about their purposes and how they proposed to
achieve them.
Each of the proposals went through a number of drafts. Each was reviewed
(sometimes several times) by the particular country office and by the
Consortium. In some instances, we decided that the proponent's plans were
too ambitious or not entirely in keeping with the purposes of the project. In
an active back-and-forth, the plans were refined and made workable. The
process was complicated by the five countries involved, a wide variation in
skill levels, and by the Consortium's desire to keep the demonstration
projects highly focused.
In general, as noted below, the common elements of the demonstration projects
include: a focus on severe local pollution ("hot spots) that is not currently well
documented or understood in their communities; various devices to increase
information about the pollution and their sources and to share that information
within the communities, including creation of data bases, roundtable discussions
and meetings, capacity building and training; and connections with media and
other tools for dissemination and raised public awareness. All of the proponents
of the demonstration projects seek to take what they have learned and share it
within broader groups in their countries, to assure that the lessons inform future
public policy. Another set of goals is to ensure strong and effective
implementation of the Aarhus Convention, the EU Water Framework Directive
and other EU directives on access to information and public participation. This
will increase access to information on local hot spots and help to empower
citizens to meaningfully participate in the WFD planning process with respect to
their own geographic area.
BOR, SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO: Managed By Ngo Association Of Young
Researchers Bor, Toplica Marjanovic (Project Leader)
This demonstration project focuses on the pollution to the Bor and Krivelj Rivers
from Bor, an industrial center in east Serbia. The pollution sources are industrial
discharges from mining and metallurgy that leaches from pits, some of which
also contaminate ground water, and domestic sewage. Bor has no wastewater
10
treatment. Despite adoption of various action plans, little progress has been
made toward improving water quality.
The project aims to increase public information about wastewater problems and
bring about a greater likelihood of public participation to solve these problems. It
does this through a series of activities including stakeholder identification,
capacity building, NGO networking and training, roundtables and other kinds of
outreach to the general public. The project will work to improve the skills and
capacity of local authorities in collecting and disseminating water related
information. The steps to achieve this include:
· Initial meetings with relevant organizations and institutions, followed by a
roundtable format to assess the interests of participants, their
expectations, and their current sources (if any) of information on water
issues in the region;
· Priority setting for public information access and distribution and
development of public information materials;
· On-going efforts toward developing media coverage;
· Creating and facilitating the operation of collection points for gathering,
processing, and distributing information about water issues to the public,
building on previous projects; special attention will be paid to the
competence of municipal authorities to take an active role in collection and
maintenance of information;
· Creating a database of information on wastewater and drinking water
information to increase the level of public information about environmental
problems;
· Establishing a dedicated network through mailing lists, discussion forums,
and the web to facilitate maximum information exchange between
interested parties in regions affected by the Bor pollution and with other
regions facing similar problems; and
· Training local authorities for regional and national level implementation of
Water Framework Directive and the Aarhus Convention (the demonstration
project will not hold extra training sessions, but would like to send officials
for training that is held pursuant to the Serbian country activities).
The anticipated results are increased awareness, electronic networking, improved
capacities of NGOs and local authority to apply for and respond to access to
information requests respectively, and the development of concrete methods and
procedures for securing public access to information.
It is hoped that the lessons learned in this experience can be transferred to other
municipalities facing similar problems, so that access to information and the
public participation components of the WFD and AC are well incorporated into
Serbia and Montenegro practice.
TIRGU MURES, ROMANIA: Managed By Focus Eco Center, Zoltan Hajdu
(Project Leader)
This demonstration project seeks to improve the flow of information and public
involvement in water management by building the capacity of diverse interest
groups. The specific focus is the Mures River Basin and the city of Tirgu Mures,
which are severely impacted by pollution from industrial plants and agricultural
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and rural runoff, including artificial fertilizers and residue from pig farms in
Gornesti. Tirgu Mures' own Reghin water treatment station also contributes to
the problem. Residents in Tirgu Mures and Iernut get their drinking water from
the river and rural areas of the basin use wells that draw from contaminated
groundwater. The cost of drinking water in Tirgu Mures is one of the highest in
Romania because of the cost of purifying the water.
The Mures River Basin is also a technical pilot area for Romanian implementation
of the WFD. Although relevant decision-making is done in accordance with
Romanian legislation, public participation and access to information are deficient,
a problem that has been noted by the NGO community who have expressed
concerns about selection time and consultation. Romania's likely 2007 accession
to the EU suggests the significant need for fine-tuning and improving the public
participation and access to information components so as to ensure compliance
with the WFD.
This project will create a better integrated model for NGO participation in river
basin committees (RBCs) throughout Romania based on improvements tested in
the Mures RBC. It will improve public information dissemination about
environmental pollution, including specific information about discharge points,
diffuse pollution sources, levels and types of pollutants, and the effects of
pollution on environmental and human health.
The specific activities will include:
· Collection of information about EU water management best practices,
about how the Mures RBC actually works, and distribution of this
information to relevant stakeholders;
· Using persuasion and proposals made to the RBC to improve NGO
selection criteria and recommend alternative procedures. To facilitate this,
a guide entitled "How to work together," will be created describing best
practices in integrated water management based on successful case
studies;
· Training of NGOs and water authorities on effective WFD public
participation procedures by means of workshops and other means
(separate financing will be obtained for parallel workshops concerning
technical implementation of the WFD); and
· Actively informing and involving NGOs and the public. This will be
facilitated by the creation of a database of affected parties (including a
variety of NGOs, CBOs, small communities, private companies, etc.).
Groups will be encouraged to participate in information dissemination and
take an active role in the decision-making processes, particularly with
regard to future NGO representation on RBCs. Special attention will be
paid to the Niraj River basin (a sub-basin of the Mures River), where
stakeholders are in the process of working out water management plans.
Awareness raising will include an event on Water Day 2006.
Several results are anticipated: (1) a network of stakeholders, particularly from
the NGO sector, with an interest in water basin management; (2) the
development and testing of a better model of public engagement and NGO
selection for participation in RBCs; (3) capacity building for NGOs and civil
servants to make them more effective in transparent water management,
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accessible information, and efficient public participation; and (4) testing and
sharing of good practices that can provide a model for possible use in the other
10 Romanian river basins.
Osijek Water Forum, Croatia, managed by Green Osijek Ecological
Association, Jasmin Sadikovic (Project Leader)
In Osijek, Croatia, untreated wastewater is pumped daily directly into the River
Drava. There has been discussion of building a treatment plant, but no clear
plans have emerged, a fact that is a source of some concern for Osijek residents.
Cepin, nearby, has an oil factory that, before 2002, pumped its wastewater into
drainage canals, impacting local agricultural production and drinking water. This
was reformed when Green Osijek alerted the local and national media. However,
current information on oil company practices is not publicly available, and the
reforms gained through the intervention of Green Osijek didn't include resolving
the larger structural problem in the form of widespread lack of wastewater
management, civic transparency, and public participation in environmental
decision-making in the region.
The demonstration project will address the need for improvement in access to
information and public participation as follows:
· Establish a transparent and efficient planning process for decisionmaking
about the construction and operation of a wastewater treatment plant,
including effective ways to monitor and control pollution in the Drava
River;
· Support the harmonization of Croatia's water laws with the Water
Framework Directive including provisions that require informing the public,
and in the drafting and implementation of river basin management plans
and future programs;
· Promote implementation of Aarhus-consistent legislation that ensures
access to environmental information and moves Croatia further towards
the Convention's ratification.
The specific activities will include:
· Establishing an Osijek Water Forum to build a basis and mechanisms for
public involvement and information sharing, beginning with three
roundtables with identified stakeholders. Participants would include state
institutions responsible for water management issues, local government,
private sector representatives (including the Cepin Oil Factory),
environmental NGO's and educational institutions. On the local level, the
Water Forum could ensure public participation as aimed for in the WFD
and the Aarhus Convention.
· Establish and finalize protocols of conduct for Forum activities, including
activities to ensure effective use of the possibilities for participation
available under the WFD and the Aarhus Convention, with the approval of
stakeholders and the responsible water authorities. It is expected that the
Forum will grow to become a permanent platform for Osijek regional
communication about water issues. Green Osijek will facilitate between
interest groups until a permanent secretariat can be developed;
13
· Develop public outreach in the form of a poster prepared by Green Osijek
and local authorities to raise awareness about existing pollution problems
in the area, possible solutions (including the need for a wastewater
treatment plant) and awareness about where information can be found
regarding these issues and the rights the public has to obtain certain
information under the WFD, other EU directives and the Aarhus
Convention. The poster will be disseminated to public institutions, schools,
NGOs and similar interested institutions and bodies. It is designed to spur
public interest and potential involvement in water management issues;
· Media outreach to increase public understanding of the Water Forum
project, facilitated by Dalibor Radman, a journalist from the Glas
Slavonije, a daily newspaper in the region; and
· Increase local awareness by connecting local activities with International
Water Day (March 22, 2006); undertake a "street action" including a
kiosk/panel displaying promotional project and water-related materials.
Citizens will receive information on how to save water, facts and figures on
communal water, examples of good European practice, and how and
where to access information. A variety of water-related institutions would
be asked to make presentations, describing their work and role in water
management, problems and possible solutions.
The anticipated results include enhanced public participation in the decision-
making process through the establishment of a functional Water Forum to assure
discussion and communication on essential water issues; public education and
access to water-related environmental information; better information about the
role of a waste water treatment plant; and concrete steps toward achieving the
goals set out in the three pillars of Aarhus Convention and the Water Framework
Directive's goal to improve Europe's waters by 2015.
Lovech & Troyan Counties, Bulgaria: managed by Association for Useful
Activities "Ecomission 21 Century," Nelly Miteva (Project Leader)
The Osam River, which travels through Lovech and Troyan Counties, is the most
polluted in Bulgaria. While industry is not the only cause of pollution, it is
believed that Lesoplast Plant, which operates without an IPPC permit, contributes
significantly to the problem. Another plant contributing to the pollution, Actavis
in Troyan, has recently been issued a permit but the public has not been
informed of the conditions and effects of this permit. There is little public
understanding of the sources of pollution and how to manage them.
The project seeks to address these problems through assessment, awareness
raising, and capacity building. The steps to achieve this include:
· Identifying barriers to access to environmental information that exist
despite the fact that the Bulgarian Law for Access to Information has been
in operation since 2000. Preliminary assessment would identify gaps in
how the law is implemented at the local level and suggest improvements.
Workshops will be conducted to help NGOs understand how to access
information, and improve the capacity of local authorities to respond to
requests;
· Improving public participation by improving access procedures and
informing the public of water-related concerns
14
The steps to achieve this include:
· Conduct a preliminary assessment by making a request for information to
the Municipalities of Lovech and Troyan, the Regional Inspectorate of
Environment and Water-Pleven and the Danube River Basin Directorate,
and the Regional Inspectorate of the Protection and Control of Human
Health; request would seeking data on water quality and human health,
pollution sources and risks, a copy of the IPPC permit of Actavis and
information on the monitoring of fulfilling permit requirements;
· Conduct a workshop, which would include representatives of the
appropriate country governments and water authorities, to discuss the
current state of access to information based on the trial access request,
and discuss and formulate suggestions for improvement, leading to a draft
proposal for improvement;
· Conduct a second access request to test improvements, followed by
another workshop to formalize proposed changes. Details on results will
be distributed via CDs to other municipalities, and through internet
networks and a brochure; and
· Public outreach and communication to assure that data concerning water
quality, human health, and access difficulties will be communicated to the
public, using media coverage to increase awareness of water issues facing
communities.
This project will propose concrete steps to improve the Bulgarian Law for Access
to Information, and related capacity building. It hopes to improve
communication between NGOs and governments. Local governments will be
encouraged to improve their mechanisms for public participation, and the
resulting good practices and proposals for transparent water management and
access to information will be presented at the national level for use in other
counties and water basins.
BOSNIA (LUKAVAC CITY): Managed By Ecological Association Of Citizens
"Eko-Zeleni" Lukavac, Husejin Keran (Project Leader)
Modrac Lake, an artificial lake fed by the Spreca and Turija Rivers, is polluted by
untreated waste from several Lukavac City industrial sites and domestic sewage
from surrounding villages. The lake also receives pollution from untreated waste
sent from the city of Spreca to the Spreca River. Modrac Lake is the source of
drinking water for Lukavac residents. When the Spreca River floods (sometimes
combining flood water with Modrac Lake water), drinking water for the
surrounding villages is also contaminated. The local municipalities and other
relevant authorities do not have an adequate or accurate overview of what
pollutants are present in the river, lake, and drinking water, or a clear picture of
what additional information would be useful to understand the impacts of water
contamination, including the effects of pollution on flora, fauna, and human
health.
This project aims to:
· Stimulate and facilitate cooperation among stakeholders to work together
and to map existing and missing water related information;
15
· Assess what information is available from authorities and stakeholders
with regard to water issues in the Lukavac area, establish a system for the
exchange of water-related information between authorities, and develop a
plan whereby such information can be made available (both actively and
passively) to citizens; and
· Improve citizens' participation in water-related decision-making, in part by
stimulating a dialogue that could bring about possible solutions to such
problems as water quality.
The steps to achieve this include:
· Assess the situation through interviews with relevant authorities (including
sessions in which the public will be able to attend and ask questions); a
series of questionnaires posed to local residents to determine their interest
in acquiring water-related information and their level of current
participation in environmental decision-making; and a roundtable with
relevant parties to discuss the findings of interviews and the questionnaire
and brainstorm about possible solutions;
· Identify and consider best practices in other countries;
· Consider whether training for government workers on access to
information provisions will improve the situation;
· If authorities agree, sample and analyze Speca River water to determine
how polluted it is according to national categories (1 to 4). If acceptable,
this would result in following steps -- categorization of the river to help
citizens, NGOs, industry, and government understand the implications of
the sampling results according to BiH law; and workshops to inform all
relevant parties of results obtained, and to assist authorities on how to
process information and make it available to citizens;
· Discuss and if possible implement, changes in information dissemination,
also using a workshop format;
· Make findings of all three activities available to the public through reports
disseminated to the media and through the web and other information
dissemination methods; and
· Raise public awareness through information dissemination of the outcomes
of discussions, capacity building, proposed possible changes, and the river
analysis, particularly through use of a brochure.
It is hoped that the results of these activities will facilitate change through
collaborative means, as a result of enhanced information and information
provided to the public.
1.3 Second Regional workshop
A second regional workshop took place on 5 and 6 December 2005 in Novi Sad
(Serbia and Montenegro). The agenda for the workshop can be found in the
Annex. The goals of the workshop were to:
· build the capacities of the Danube country officials and NGOs and assist
them to address common barriers and problems identified in the Needs
Assessments and during national workshops;
· assist the country partners to carry out the activities defined in the
country activity plans;
16
· provide opportunities for the participants from the project countries to
share their experience and to learn from the experience of other EU
countries;
· discuss how synergies can be built between the demonstration projects
and the country activities; and
· review the progress of the project to date and shape future activities.
The meeting started with a session in which the Consortium provided updates on
Component 3.4 progress and ICPDR and DRP provided updates on their public
participation and communications activities. After the introductory session,
representatives of each of the five country teams presented their country
activities and demonstration projects, followed by questions and discussion.
Special attention was given to synergies between the country activities and the
demonstration projects and to how the Consortium could provide targeted
assistance to both country activities and demonstration projects.
Two types of activities have been initiated in (almost) all of the five countries:
preparation of a manual for government officials on how to assure smooth
functioning of access to information (either as guidance, or in the case of
Croatia, a legally binding document), and a brochure for NGOs and/or the wider
public on how to obtain information. Most of the country teams had prepared
draft outlines for manuals and brochures which were shared during the meeting.
The second half of the first day of the regional meeting was dedicated to working
on these drafts. The participants split into smaller groups -- government
members of the country teams worked on their respective draft manuals
(sometimes called desk-books because it is hoped they will be kept on the desks
of government employees so that they will be working reference materials),
while the NGO representatives of all five countries joined forces to share ideas
and work on brochures. The results of the groups were presented and discussed
the next day.
After this discussion, examples of how to ensure and promote public participation
and/or stakeholder involvement in the context of the EU Water Framework
Directive (WFD) were presented and discussed:
- public participation/stakeholder involvement in the Krka Pilot project in
Slovenia,
- best public participation practices within the EU CARDS project in the Sava
river basin, and
- examples from Bulgaria and Romania on how River Basin Committees and
Directorates can function as vehicles for public involvement under the EU
WFD.
Following this plenary session, the participants could choose to attend one of two
parallel working groups on specific topics: (a) confidentiality of environment and
water-related information or (b) how to work with communications and media to
support project activities. The working group on confidentiality started with two
presentations, one on the current situation in Bulgaria and one on practices in
The Netherlands, followed by a discussion in which participants shared
experiences and difficulties encountered when dealing with the issue of
confidentiality. In the communications working group, the participants worked on
creating a draft communications strategy. The results from the two working
groups were shared with all participants and the second Regional Workshop
17
ended with conclusions and ideas on how to move forward with all activities
planned.
The 43 participants in the workshop included the key members of the country's
operational teams, NGOs, country consultants, experts from REC Headquarters
and Country Offices, experts from NYU and RFF as well as representatives of the
ICPDR and DRP, and experts from Slovenia running the Krka Pilot Project and
from the EU CARDS project in Serbia.
1.4
Dutch
study
tour
Fifteen representatives from the five Danube countries (two government officials
and one NGO representative for each country) involved in component 3.4,
Magdolna Toth Nagy and Orsolya Szálasi, from the REC and Ruth Greenspan Bell
from RFF came to The Netherlands, arriving October 30 and departing November
5, 2005. This section will discuss the substantive and procedural parts of the
study tour, and a preliminary analysis of what was achieved during and as a
result of the trip. A more detailed report, including a compilation of the
impressions of the study tour participants, similar to the report about the US
Study Tour, will be prepared and made available at the end of January and in the
next Progress Report.
Purpose of study tour
The study tour organised in The Netherlands was designed to offer participants
the opportunity to gain practical experience and knowledge with regard to the
problems, obstacles, and good practices of EU WFD implementation. Special
emphasis was given to access to information and public participation as well as
the linkages with and practices developed during the implementation of Aarhus
Convention and other EU Directives. Thus, participants were exposed to
information about successful legal frameworks, institutional arrangements, and
practices to promote public access to water-related information and public
participation in decision-making, all with the purpose of increasing public
involvement in the protection of water bodies.
Study tour design
Government and NGOs representatives attended the study tour with a fairly
consistent set of expectations. They wanted to learn how The Netherlands are
implementing its commitments to the Water Framework Directive and Aarhus
Convention, specifically the water-related components of public participation and
access to information. Participants anticipated that Dutch authorities and
stakeholders would share practical examples of stakeholder selection and public
consultation in environmental decision-making, approaches to River Basin
Management, and technical applications of access to information laws in terms of
the organization, handling and regulation of information. They also expected to
get an overall picture of the interrelationships between all stakeholder groups in
the Netherlands, with a particular interest in the role of government institutions,
NGOs, and the public.
In earlier meetings and activities of Component 3.4 in the five countries
involved, three main areas were identified which these officials and NGOs
18
indicated were their critical areas of interest and the expected focus for their
visit. These were:
· Instruments and mechanisms used at the level of the central government
for information to and communication and involvement with stakeholders
o Current status of EU WFD implementation: main achievements and
problems
o Connection to implementation of other access to information and
environmental public participation-specific legislative and procedural
tools within the Netherlands (implementation of other EU directives
and Aarhus Convention in practice at national level)
o Methods/tools for information dissemination:
What information is provided by whom and what way?
How are confidentiality issues handled?
How the agencies are organized to deal with access and
provision of information?
· Public involvement with regard to EU WFD, how to obtain and consider
public comments on water management plans: good practice examples
(active involvement, information, consultation)
o What are the forms and methods applied?
o Experiences with stakeholder forums, public discussions, meetings,
hearings, etc.
· EU WFD implementation in the Scheldt River Basin, an international river
basin management that includes Belgium, France and The Netherlands
o Experience with pilot cases within EU where EU Guidance on public
involvement has been tested and what have been the lessons
learned
o International and trans-boundary aspects of countries working
together in an international river basin management framework.
The role of the Consortium in specific meetings:
Participants from REC and RFF escorted the study tour participants to every
meeting, and participated actively to assure maximum understanding and
communication, to bridge the gap between the knowledge and experience of the
study tour participants and the presenters, and to facilitate communication.
Study tour results
Considerable effort was expended to assure that each session was not a
"lecture," but offered opportunities for adequate interaction and maximum
comprehension. Each presenter agreed that questions or comments could be
made throughout the presentations, and not held to afterwards. Significant time
was left for questions, comments and discussions after the 20-30 minutes
presentations. As a result, the meetings were marked by frequent questions,
active learning, and a lively exchange of views.
Based on the evaluations from the study tour participants, the Consortium can
conclude that participants gained significant information in the areas of their
interest and the main purpose of the study tour was achieved.
Overall, participants were encouraged by the study tour and left with ideas that
they felt they could apply in their own countries.
19
In addition to generating ideas about how countries can improve access to
information and public participation, the Study Tour was also designed to build
the professional capacity of participants. Participants mentioned that they had
gained a number of useful lessons that they could apply in their jobs. These
include help in determining the appropriate technical methods and tools to
involve relevant stakeholders; better understanding of how to find mutual
solutions between NGOs and stakeholders to avoid conflict and increase
cooperation; ideas about how to make public participation a more accessible
process; the need for context-specific solutions to public participation and
decision-making; the need to involve all stakeholders in order to fully identify
and address problems; and finally, the need to encourage as much
communication as possible between the wide variety of stakeholders and the
public.
Reactions from the study tour participants:
The Consortium received very positive feedback from the study tour participants.
Participants stated that they learned a great deal about a number of issues,
including providing/requesting information on environmental matters, how to do
a better job of organizing better public participation, how to develop general
collaboration between officials and NGO in important problems, best and not so
good practices, and the importance of teamwork.
Hotels and other study tour arrangements
The Study tour participants expressed satisfaction with the physical
arrangements of the study tour including the hotels and venues for the various
meetings.
Follow up by participants
The following is a preliminary list of ways in which participants suggested they
could share information they gained as a result of the study tour with other
colleagues and ensure wider dissemination of the information and knowledge
gained:
· prepare reports to relevant government institutions and authorities with
lessons learned, a list of available materials, and suggestions and
recommendations for future activities. Another thought was to put this
information on the internet.
· share the information obtained in capacity building workshops for government
officials; these could be as part of upcoming events of the project and other
government initiated events;
· transfer information, lessons and materials in informal exchanges with
colleagues, forwarding received brochures to interested parties.
· share experience and information at stakeholders' meetings.
· hold meetings or attending regular staff meetings to present lessons learned.
· prepare presentations on the "Dutch way" to be delivered to the NGO sector
and relevant authorities.
· make all received material available in local language on relevant NGO (in
some cases web content will be shared between different NGO websites) and
government websites.
20
· find ways for continuing exchanges of information with other colleagues
involved in the US study tour.
In relation to how the diverse information and knowledge gained will be applied
in the process of development of country products the participants suggested the
following ideas:
Serbia & Montenegro
The Netherlands tour information will be incorporated into the development of
the planned Manual for Officials and Brochure for NGOs and integrated into
capacity building seminars for officials and NGOs at the national level.
Bulgaria
The lessons learned will be relevant to improving existing procedures for access
to information (using websites, taking business concerns about confidentiality
into consideration, and encouraging NGO participation in decision-making
process).
The NGO representative indicated that an NGO coalition fighting for more
sustainable management of rivers at the national level could be assisted by the
best practices scenario presented during the tour, specifically the presentations
concerning the Scheldt River Basin Directorate and flood risk protection.
Croatia
Since the Croatian environmental sector is very fragmented, the guidance
material from the tour will be used to enhance internal procedures. Also tour
information could aid colleagues in finishing a catalogue of information within the
Ministry, discussing and drafting the proposed internal Protocol of the Water
Management Directorate, and increasing public awareness through ideas gained
in Holland, including using easily accessible materials such as comics and
cartoons. The NGO representative suggested that the OWN best practice could
be applied on a local level to the creation of the Osijek Water Forum.
Romania
Tour information will be used to raise awareness in the Northern part of the
Danube Basin, and improve the functioning of River Basin Committees (focusing
on communication and public involvement aspects).
Bosnia & Herzegovina
The ideas gained concerning public information and public participation will be
applied as the new Water Law comes into force. Ideas associated with greater
cooperation between NGOs and the government sector and well-reasoned
democratic negotiation processes will be further promoted. Finally, enhancing
public information through brochures, a water help desk, and the internet will be
encouraged and/or considered. The NGO representative indicated that they
would try to organize discussion groups on water issues in order to involve the
public as much as possible, and consider including tour information in a
handbook.
The Dutch Study Tour Schedule and List of Participants are found in the Annex to
this report. A detailed report on the Study Tour in The Netherlands will be ready
in January 2006.
21
1.5 Further follow up by participants on study tours
It was agreed that the participants from each country team would prepare an
integrated Study Tour Report that would reflect on what was gained through the
experience. The report below was prepared after the July Progress Report and
summarizes participants reflections following the US Tour (a more detailed
document is in the annex); a detailed summary from the Dutch tour will be part
of the Progress Report filed in July 2006.
a. Useful lessons learned for government officials and actions
(1) record keeping:
How the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and similar state
and city level agencies organize and manage information and data;
The policy and practice behind creating, handling and storing records in
the EPA Records Management System.
(2) How to make records and information available to the public, actively, or on
request:
How to develop effective legal, institutional and practical methods and
tools, including manuals and desk books, for providing public access to
environmental information, and improving public participation in
environmental decision making;
How to determine what is key environmental information of interest to the
public and NGOs, and in what format and level of detail it can be
presented in order to increase public awareness and advance public
involvement in the decision making process;
Internal procedures and best practices within government agencies to
respond to requests and assure more uniform responses among the
various government offices at the national, regional and local level;
Means available to streamline the request process;
Putting information on web-pages to reduce the burden of responding to
numerous specific requests.
(3) Examples of how to go about withholding legitimately confidential
information.
Legal procedures for handling confidential information, including business
information; US rules for what data should/can be protected for disclosure,
how to protect it (information tracking system), what to do in the case of
requests for confidential data; and issues of legal liability for released
confidential data;
How government agencies on the federal, state and city level organize,
manage and protect confidential business information, including good
practices, marginal cases and documents that contain mixed information
(some legitimately CBI, and other not);
Why restricting access to important environmental and health information
on the basis of confidentiality or national security can in some instances
become very dangerous;
The impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on information access in the US.
(4) How government agencies can communicate with the public.
22
Effective means of communication with stakeholders and institutions, and
practical information concerning communication with the environmental
media;
Ways to enhance public attitudes towards legislation with the goal of
achieving better implementation of laws and respect for rights, laws and
courts;
Ways to develop user friendly, interactive web-based ways of reporting to
the public on environmental related data;
(5) Internal organization of government agencies.
The utility of the U.S. Federal Register to provide the public with the
details of what government is contemplating doing and for obtaining
feedback;
The need in each department or ministry for a dedicated unit or at least
one trained official with specific responsibility for processing information
requirements (initially, with the hope of growing and adding more to
respond to demand);
The utility of establishing Public Affairs Divisions as independent units
within ministries or agencies and Docket Centers with public records
rooms;
Using web based training for government employees.
b. Lessons applicable to NGOs and the larger public
The perspectives of environmental and other NGOs (which were
sometimes at odds with the government perspective), whether and how
these NGOs get the information they need and want from the government,
and how they use it to influence public policy.
What NGOs do when the government denies requests for information;
How NGOs can raise money and make their activities sustainable;
How citizens and NGOs can reinforce the governments role in
environmental enforcement;
How NGOs can organize themselves and then grow to serve local
community needs;
The role of NGOs as facilitators of government efforts to convey
environmental messages to the general public in a non-technical and
understandable manner.
c. Lessons concerning cooperation between government agencies and other
stakeholders (including NGOs)
How, even when interests between NGOs and government agencies, or
between NGOs, may be adversarial, they can find common ground on
which to combine efforts to achieve narrow goals of mutual interests and
to develop mutual trust and understanding;
Increased understanding of the relationship between NGOS and
government, including specifics of how various NGOs interact with the
government; the importance and role of watchdog organizations; the
importance and actual utility of public involvement in environmental
projects in achieving a better public outcome; the need to transform
scientific data to common language in order to develop public
understanding and support and set the stage for their influence on reforms
23
involving specific water bodies; animating people to contribute to the safe
environment; possible content of web-pages; useful links;
How to establish teams of lawyers, scientific experts and communication
professionals from NGOs, government agencies or both, to work toward
the same goals (such as developing guidelines, manuals, and clear
procedures regarding public access to environmental/water information)
from their different perspectives, and how this creates a better
understanding of the subject matter. Such teams can be long-term but
also short-term and issue-specific;
Practical examples of how efforts to protect shared water bodies are
organized to manage the inherently complex problems; how to build
alliances and involve the public in the implementation of complex issues
such as dredging Hudson River PCBs project and managing the
Chesapeake Bay watershed.
d. Other lessons learned
How to organize web-sites in different institutions (including government,
research and academic institutions and the NGO sector) and the
possibilities for access to information through Internet;
How the environmental press obtains documents and information, how it
uses and disseminates that information and the different problems and
opportunities in educating and informing journalists on environmental
issues;
How to develop educational materials about water-related to data in order
to build public support and interest;
Benefits from public participation are mutual throughout society because
in the end they can improve public and environmental health;
How to create broader support for environmental controls by explicitly
linking environmental problems and pollution to health issues;
Where communication and cooperation fail, the utility of law suits against
polluters or government agencies (acknowledging this would require a
change in the legal culture of the countries involved).
The participants indicated intended follow up activities in their own countries
(including staying in contact and regularly exchanging information with other
participants):
a. How participants propose to go about disseminating lessons learned during the
Study Tour
To prepare a list of the available information from the Study Tour and to
provide it to the NGO community, the water related government agencies,
other interested institutions and the media;
To make all materials available on web-pages;
To give presentations to fellow NGO representatives and fellow
government officials and/or superiors and presentations in the context of
other venues such as DEF;
Use the vehicle of a full issue of an NGO bulletin to share experiences
gained and lessons learned;
24
Join other NGOs to seek funding to conduct a workshop to transfer the
knowledge gained in the Study Tour to other members of the NGO
community;
Write a detailed report including a list of websites about the Study Tour for
my superiors and colleagues; if interest is expressed about specific topics,
to prepare presentations within our Ministry/Directorate;
b. Follow up plans
To use the information gained in other ongoing projects and activities;
To integrate information and experience from the Study Tour into plans for
the national activities and demonstration projects in the context of
Component 3.4, in part through discussions with the representatives of the
operational team;
To encourage legal assistance NGOs to support, on a pro bono basis,
citizens in appeals and in legal proceedings against government
institutions and public or private polluting companies, in case of a violation
of the law that does not lead to enforcement action;
To undertake activities for early involvement of the public and
stakeholders (through radio shows, bulletins, leaflets) in processes of
planning, projecting, monitoring and evaluation so that the public voice is
at each step, from the beginning to the end of the process.
To use opportunities under component 3.4 to establish a network of
working group of officials and other stakeholders dealing with collection
and dissemination of water related information, to support them and
encourage regular contact and discussion.
To create informative materials (including lessons learned and important
aspects to be considered) and promote these through an environmental
discussion list; the waters intranet; River Basin Committees, and through
publication of an article on Component 3.4 in a technical magazine;
c. Plans for improving processes of passive access to information
Make a comparative analysis between relevant existing legislation for
clarifying general requests and specific requests regarding
environmental/water information;
Use the perspective gained to help shape how government will collect and
report data to meet future user requirements;
Use what was learned to improve work on internal rules for providing on
information, including:
o Creation of a database of information requests to keep track of the
requests and make sure they are answered in a timely fashion,
o Creation of a catalogue of what information is available in the
Ministry,
o Nominating a person to be responsible for handling of all kinds of
information requests and ensuring timely response, and
o Seeking review from colleagues to improve the document as a guide
for handling information requests, using that input to catch
mistakes or areas that lack clarity.
To use learning about confidential business information to make changes
to existing laws and recommend creation of a written guidance document
with uniform procedures for government employees to better define which
25
kinds of information are exempt from disclosure and why, and to organize
workshops and trainings on confidential information.
d. Databases
Using the lessons learned during the Study Tour to make a detailed study
of ongoing processes for creating water databases and suggest
amendments where necessary;
Create one database with water related information (such as daily updated
information concerning water level, hot spots, level and type of pollutants,
laws, treaties, conventions, plans for action, international and regional
connections and links, forum, FAQ, Q&A) and disseminate it on different
levels: to the public, the water bodies, and Environmental Agencies and
Basin Directorates, or create links at different levels between the existing
government run environmental and water databases;
e. Questionnaires as an instrument to obtain information from stakeholders
A questionnaire for NGOs and others on how river basins information
reaches the public;
A questionnaire to create a primary list of stakeholders and, as a follow-up
a list with all stakeholders interested in taking part in the public
participation processes on water issues;
A questionnaire on how the information from River Basin Committees
reaches the public, to be sent out to the public, including NGOs.
Training to ensure that government officials use the rules on public participation
and access to information properly and efficiently, as well as for journalists and
NGOs.
f. Manuals, desk books, guidance documents
Participants proposed different kinds of written materials to incorporate the
experiences gained during the Study Tour. Their proposals included:
Prepare and issue guidance for government employees on how best to
conduct their tasks and fulfill legal requirements;
Publish leaflets, booklets and similar information materials for citizens,
targeting a wide range of stakeholders including ordinary citizens,
members of NGO's, people in media, journalists, and others;
Work actively to prepare administrative staff manuals and guidelines on
access to EWI, based on US examples.
g. Drafting or adapting laws
A few participants indicated that they would strive to incorporate the lessons learned
during the study tour in future law drafting in their countries.
1.6 Capacity building activities
Capacity building is a major task of the Consortium in Component 3.4. This has
been achieved using a variety of methods.
26
Capacity building needs were first identified in the Needs Assessment Reports,
and were examined in more detail in the discussions in national workshops and
also during the 1st regional plenary meeting after the country teams proposed
and discussed their country activity plan.
The Consortium also analyzed the needs based on these documents and
designed the agenda of the Novi Sad 2nd regional workshop to respond to the
various needs identified. Specifically, the workshop was designed to address the
following needs:
- Helping participants understand the nature and role of a variety of
approaches to the development of manuals, brochures, deskbooks, etc.
(note that we use the words deskbook and manual interchangeably,
referring to practical documents containing guidance for government
officials on access to information and public participation, or as noted
above, in some cases in the form of a legally binding document), the
process of their development, as well as their possible content (the
content can vary widely) and use;
- Providing experience and information about methods of ensuring public
participation in river basin management planning and the WFD
implementation including approaches from Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia
and the EU Sava CARDS project
- Confidentiality of environment and water-related information: practical
solutions and mechanisms including issues and recent progress within the
project in Bulgaria and experiences from The Netherlands
The Dutch and US study tours were capacity building exercises. Country
participants identified their needs and what they wanted to learn before the
study tours and the Consortium designed the study tour programs with the aim
of meeting these needs. At the conclusions of both study tours, the participants
evaluated what they learned, how they will use the knowledge in their country
activities and/or how they will share the information with their other colleagues.
Each country activity plan includes capacity building efforts. Among these are the
skills necessary to develop protocols, deskbooks, manuals and other aids for
officials on how to organize and manage public access to information and public
participation processes, and brochures for NGOs on how to access information
regarding environmental and water related issues. Additionally, almost all of the
countries participating in the component have planned for various kinds of
training on practical implementation of the public access to information
mechanisms and stakeholder involvement. Similarly, the demonstration projects
also include a number of capacity building training or workshops to prepare
stakeholders for the tasks of developing/discussing improvements in public
access to information mechanisms or public participation practices in the
community. The Consortium will be involved in supporting capacity building
workshops and training through a variety of means, including helping to develop
the agenda, participation in the meetings and the activities, and by providing
expert input.
1.7 Project partners meeting
The day after the second Regional Meeting, the project partners had a one-day
meeting in the REC headquarters in Szentendre (Hungary). The partners
27
discussed the second regional meeting, identifying those sessions that were
successful and possible improvements. Evaluation forms filled in by participants
show that they were very satisfied with the meeting.
We also discussed what lessons have been learned thus far. The partners
discussed how, during the course of the project as well as after that, lessons
learned on the three `levels' in the component (regional, national and local) could
be shared effectively between all participants in all countries. Each country was
evaluated and some useful ways of sharing lessons learned were identified. In
addition, thoughts were developed on how to organize the last regional meeting
(Fall 2006) which will be dedicated to sharing lessons learned, not only among
the five countries participating but also with other interested Danube countries.
A related issue that was discussed was how to disseminate the lessons learned in
the project as well as the project deliverables. For each level (local, national and
regional) specific ideas were developed on how to enhance dissemination.
The final subject on the agenda was the issue of communication between the
project participants. The project partners decided on ways to facilitate
communications between the participants, including a listserv were they can
share messages and the feasibility of developing a restricted-entry website
where they can share and discuss draft documents.
1.8 Completion of details on log frame and indicators
In the reporting period, agreement was reached between the Consortium and the
DRP on the elements of the log frame, signaled by an email message sent from
Rayka Hauser on 9/30/05 indicating that the DRP considered it finalized, leaving
open only objective 3 for input from the ICPDR. It was agreed in subsequent
discussions that a small amount of work remains to be done, principally filling in
indicators for Objective 2, which could not be completed until the Consortium
contracted and initiated the demonstration projects. That task will be completed
in early January.
1.9 Communications on project component activities
The Consortium has made considerable effort to increase communication on project
component activities, both among the participants of the project and between the project
and individuals and groups that should be informed about the project and can learn from
it. To increase communication between participants, we created and are using a listserv.
This listserv can be used by anyone in the project to convey information and ideas. We
have encouraged participants to use it when useful and necessary in national language.
The address of the listserv is: danubeparticipation@mailinglists.rff.org
The Consortium has also made considerable efforts to provide information about
Component 3.4 to as many audiences as possible. These have included a consistent
policy of putting project documents on the REC web site and, to the extent possible, on
the web sites of REC country offices, linked to DRP, RFF and NYU. Magda Toth Nagy has
made presentations about Component 3.4 in meetings throughout Europe in Aarhus
Convention, Danube basin, and Water Framework Directive-related events. Reports on
the project were published in an issue of the electronic journal, European Water
28
Management News and in the REC's publication, Green Horizons, a magazine published in
approximately 5000 copies that reaches about 20,000 readers.
Finally, project participants have themselves been active in disseminating information
about the project. For example, Nenad C. Buzanin, a Bosnian NGO participant in the US
study tour and Executive Director of the ecological-promotion Association Eco Zone -
Sipovo, devoted a special issue of his NGO's newsletter, Eko Zona - Sipovo, to the study
tour and what he learned from it.
The Consortium has also forged connections with Paul Csagoly, Communications Director
for the DRP, and anticipates working closely with him to develop a dissemination and
communication plan for the balance of the project.
1.10 Lessons learned in this reporting period
The previous progress report listed 10 lessons learned in the first 9 months of
the project. The following are additional lessons, not listed in order of
importance.
1. Working collaboratively on the project activities, government officials and NGO
representatives have gotten to know one another and we are already seeing a
growing mutual understanding between the representatives of the two groups in
several of the project countries as well as increased interest in cooperation to
work together during the lifetime of the project
2. There is a clear added value in sponsoring frequent personal contacts between
the members of the national and operational teams, including the persons
involved in the demonstration projects, and between the members of the
operational teams and the Consortium members. Meetings like the second
regional meeting, where participants discuss country activities and
demonstration projects and learn from each other, are extremely helpful in
accelerating and improving the processes that Component 3.4 aims to enhance.
3. The need to ensure that the members of the country operational teams,
including the persons working on the demonstration projects, make full use of
the knowledge and experience of the Consortium members. Access should be
made as easy as possible. The Consortium will encourage and facilitate regular
conference calls and frequent e-mails between operational team members and
Consortium members to enable such access.
4. Conference calls and e-mails between operational team members and
Consortium members will also enable the Consortium members to keep track of
progress made in the project countries, to ensure timely identification of
problems and help in resolving on these problems.
5. Sharing information on best practices and problems and difficulties
encountered, between the members of the national teams as well as between the
national teams of the countries involved, is an important way to enhance the
learning process aimed for in this project. As noted, the Consortium will
encourage the use by the team members of the already existing listserv and, if
feasible, of a website where they can share, discuss and comment on draft
documents.
29
6. The study tours to the Netherlands and the United States, national
experiences in the project countries, and presentations on best practices from
other countries during the second Regional workshop show that there are a
variety of ways to ensure public participation in the context of the European
Water Framework Directive (WFD). Project countries should choose from these
options ways that fit national legal and political structures, the level of
institutional development of these structures, the culture, and the human and
financial resources available.
7. The government representatives and NGO representatives involved in
Component 3.4 are overloaded with work. Most of them do the work for
Component 3.4 in addition to their other full-time daily activities. It is therefore
important to make the most of the limited time they have available. This means
that the Consortium partners have to make sure that the time of project
participants is devoted to the actual substance of Component 3.4 and that
spending time on peripheral activities is avoided as much as possible.
Part II.
2. Activities to come in the next 6 months
2.1 Second round of national workshops
A second round of national workshops are planned in late winter, early spring
2006; the dates will be finalized in early January 2006. Members of the
Consortium will meet with the members of the national teams in each country to
discuss progress on both the country activities and demonstration projects.
National workshops will be used to share experiences, to discuss draft results of
the country activities and demonstration projects, to identify best practices as
well as problems and barriers (in as far as these have not been identified and
discussed before during regular phone calls and emails that will be exchanged
between the members of the operational teams and the Consortium members)
and to search together for ways to continue best practices and ways to overcome
problems and barriers.
In these meetings lessons, further lessons learned will be discussed, including
those that can be used not only during the project's lifetime but also after, and
to discuss synergies between the country activities and the demonstration
projects.
The meetings will also be used to discuss and plan the further course of all
activities that are to take place in the course of the project.
2.2 Carrying out country activities
During the next 6 months, each participating country will be largely focused on
carrying out the plans agreed in the country activity plans. Country activities will
be carried out under the guidance of the operational teams and the Consortium.
Country consultants will be hired to prepare draft materials and products based
on the agreed terms of reference and these drafts will be commented by the
30
Operational Team, REC Country Offices and a working group of officials, experts
and NGOs who have relevant expertise in the field. The Country Offices and the
Operational Teams as well as the Consortium will be closely involved in
monitoring the development of the country products and outputs.
The Consortium will closely follow the country activities throughout the different
phases, will provide comments on draft outlines (which will be translated to
English) and will provide input and specific technical assistance when needed or
when requested by the consultants or the Operational Team. The Consortium
will participate in major events where the draft materials will be discussed, will
participate in the discussion, and will provide examples in the form of options
and other input to make the country products more complete. The
representatives of the Consortium will also be present at the second national
workshops where the draft materials will be discussed.
The Consortium will also help with capacity building activities, will help to
develop the content and agenda of the trainings and capacity building
workshops, will comment on the trainers, facilitators, experts, and resource
persons invited to these events and will participate in them.
During the country activities, special attention will be given to make sure that
synergy is built with the demonstration project activities, so they mutually are
supporting each other, and to assure that the results of the demonstration
projects are channeled into the country activities and the lessons learned on
national level will support the local level activities The project managers of the
demonstration projects will be invited to the country events relevant to the focus
of the project and to the trainings/capacity building workshops.
Efforts will be made so that when the country activities will be carried out,
similar ongoing project activities are taken into account; accordingly, relevant
project managers should be invited to the national workshops and in discussions
on various products and outputs, to maximize the possibility of overlaps.
2.3 Dissemination activities
The Consortium anticipates a number of dissemination activities in the next reporting
period that will assure wide understanding of the goals, purposes and results of the
project and its various activities. These will include the late winter/early spring national
workshops in each of the participant countries. Also, in the recent meetings in Novi Sad,
the Consortium spoke at length with both Paul Csagoly, Communications Director for the
DRP, and Rayka Hauser about future communications. The dissemination activities
should happen at regional, national and demonstration project levels. We anticipate
working closely with Paul Csagoly in January to get his input on the development of a
communication/dissemination plan, which will set our activities and goals for the balance
of the project.
2.4 Carrying out demonstration projects
The Consortium in cooperation with the Project Managers in the REC Country
Offices will play a continuing strong role in the implementation of the
Demonstration Projects. One part of this will be close monitoring. Additional
opportunities for monitoring and supervision will come in the second round of
31
National Meetings, as country officials and stakeholders meet face to face with
the representatives of the NGOs that are in charge of the Demonstration Project.
The Consortium will also attend the most important events that have significance
for the success of the Demonstration Projects. Regular briefings about the
progress of the implementation process, sometimes through regularly scheduled
phone calls, will ensure communication and enable the team to give appropriate
fine-tuned assistance on issues as they come up. We will assure that specific
needs will be covered and that the lessons learned will be incorporated in the
NGO brochures and the other country products or activities.
Thus, specific assistance will be continuous and will take place during the whole
process of the implementation of the activities. The Consortium will also respond
to requests that may come up on an ad hoc basis.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
"Inclusion of citizens, NGOs, industry and relevant authorities in making
decision process related to water information in Lukavac" carried out by
the Ecological Association of Citizens, "Eco-Green" Lukavac
As noted earlier, the project as proposed will assess obstacles to public access to
information regarding water pollution issues and work to achieve improvements
in the process of information flow among authorities as well as between the
authorities and the public. It will use methods of public participation during the
development of improvements.
Targeted assistance by the Consortium will focus on activities that are relevant
for achieving the main objectives of the project. We will:
· Provide support for the facilitation of discussions on the findings regarding
the situation of access to water related information;
· Assist the design of the roundtable discussions so they will facilitate
brainstorming and find options and possible solutions;
· Provide input for the capacity building activities that will improve skills and
knowledge of representatives of the authorities, NGOs and community in
general regarding participatory approaches; and
· Transfer the lessons learned and the approaches that are found useful in
solving the local issues into the materials developed for the NGO
community on the national level, and mirror the good practices and other
recommendations in the materials that will be prepared for the authorities.
Bulgaria
"The Right to Know and to Participate in Water Management" carried out
by the Association for useful activities "Ecomission 21 century," Lovech
The Consortium will provide assistance in conducting the following activities:
· Assist in finding practical solutions to identified barriers to access to water-
related information;
32
· Contribute with respect to design and process in the effort to increase the
knowledge of diverse institutions and local authority representatives, with
specific reference to methods and measures that can improve information
access and the participatory approaches;
· Provide ideas and other good practice input for the dissemination of
identified solutions, summing up the recommendations;
· Assist in transferring the experiences gained to the national level
authorities, incorporating the most relevant ones into the country
products.
Croatia
Osijek Water Forum Enhancing public involvement in wastewater
management, carried out by the Green Osijek Ecological Association
The project will establish a broad stakeholder body, the Water Forum, as a
vehicle for improving communication within the community concerning
development of a waste water treatment plant. The activities will also further
the implementation of the Croatian Water Law consistent with the EU Water
Framework Directive and improvement of current practices under the Law of the
Right to Access to Information. The activities will supply a much-needed step
towards reinforcing the first pillar of the Aarhus Convention and ratification of the
Convention.
Specific assistance by the Consortium will include:
· participate in roundtables and trainings to establish the Osijek Water
Forum, provide assistance and, if needed, assist with concrete
methodology to facilitate the identification of relevant stakeholders and for
developing the mechanisms for public involvement and information
sharing;
· assist and facilitate transfer of experiences from other countries and
provide assistance with networking related to establishment of the Water
Forum;
· be available for discussions and support regarding the public and media
outreach activities.
Romania
"Taking Care Of The River Together With Its Beneficiaries " carried out
by the Focus Eco Center, Tirgu Mures
The project aims at improving the flow of information and public involvement in
water management through capacity building of diverse interest groups using the
EU WDF. It will design a selection process for improved NGO participation in
River Basin Councils (RBC) through development of a Mures River model.
Specific assistance will include:
· Addressing the problems identified in communication with Mures River
RBC;
33
· Help develop a process/and methodology which will enable the NGO
community to elect representatives within the RBC that will ensure their
improved representation;
· Assist in the preparation and implementation of the capacity building
exercise that will target NGOs and the diverse groups represented in the
Mures River RBC;
· Share good practice examples and the lessons learned during the testing
of the participatory process in relation to the development of one part of
water management plant of the Niraj River with other RBCs.
Serbia and Montenegro
"Demonstration Project In Bor" carried out by the Association Of Young
Researchers
The project goals are to increase public access to information about wastewater
problems and the utility of public participation in their successful resolution. This
will be achieved through a series of activities, including awareness raising
campaigns, electronic networking and sharing of information, improving the
capacities of NGOs and local authority to apply for and respond to access to
information requests respectively, and developing concrete methods and
procedures for securing public access to information.
Specific assistance will include:
· supporting and assisting capacity building events for the local authorities
and for local NGOs;
· providing support and, where necessary, instructions on how to establish
collection points for gathering, processing and distributing information;
· helping to set up the wastewater/drinking water information database and
network to share information.
2.5 Work plan and suggested changes
This work plan lists activities for the entire duration of the project. Activities
completed so far have been marked with **. Changes of dates most of them
pertaining to the next 6 month period, December 2005 June 2006 (compared
with the work plan as provided in the first progress report of 15 July 2005), have
been highlighted.
ACTIVITY RESPONSIBLE
DEADLINE
1. SELECTION AND HIRING OF NATIONAL CONSULTANTS:
Feedback on draft TOR
DRP
23 November 2004
**
Finalized TOR
Consultant 30
November
2004
**
Collection of CVs and
Consultant
5-10 December 2004
proposal on selected experts
**
34
to DRP
Approval of nominated
DRP/ICPDR A
week
after
experts
submission **
Contracting of experts
Consultant Upon
approval **
2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL TEAMS:
Serbia and Montenegro
Consultant
12 October 2004 **
national workshop
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Consultant
14 October 2004 **
national workshop
Croatia national workshop
Consultant
22 October 2004 **
Romania national workshop
Consultant 16
November
2004
**
Bulgaria national workshop
Consultant 26
November
2004
**
Letters to key institutions
Consultant 1-22 December
with workshop minutes and
2004 **
requests for nominations
Nominations of members for
Stakeholder
31 December 2004-
national and operational
organizations
January 31 2005 **
teams
3. NATIONAL NEEDS ASSESMENTS:
Feedback on draft NA outline DRP
23 November 2004
**
Submission of draft
Consultant
5 December 2004 **
questionnaire
Feedback on draft
DRP 15
December
2004
questionnaire
**
Finalized NA outline
Consultant
5 December 2004 **
Finalized outline
Consultant 10
December
2004
**
Guidance for local experts
Consultant
December 2004 **
Draft NA reports, BG, SiM
Consultant
31 January 2005 **
Draft NA reports, HR, RO and Consultant 15
February 2005 **
BiH
Translation, distribution,
Consultant
February, mid- to
national consultations
end of March 2005
**
Final Needs Assessment
Consultant 31
March 2005 1st
Reports
week of June 2005
**
4. INCEPTION REPORT:
Draft Report
Consultant 17
December
2004
**
Feedback from DRP
DRP
January 7, 2005 **
Final Report
Consultant
End of second week
of January 2005 **
35
5. ICPDR ASSESSMENT:
Draft review and analysis of
Consultant 31
December 2004
models for Observers and PP
**
Feedback from ICPDR on
ICPDR
January 13, 2005 **
draft
Draft observer questionnaire
Consultant
1 December 2004
**
Feedback from ICPDR on
ICPDR 17
December
2004
draft observer questionnaire
**
Final draft paper on PP
Consultant (NYU)
27 February 2005
models with
**
recommendations to the
ICPDR
Draft ICPDR assessment of
Consultant (RFF)
31 December 2004
access to information
**
mechanisms
Final ICPDR assessment of
Consultant 20
February 2005 **
access to information
mechanisms
Final design of reform
Consultant No
longer
required
measures for ICPDR
by ICPDR
Assistance to ICPDR in
Consultant/ICPDR No
longer
required
implementing
by ICPDR
recommendations on access
to information and
observer/PP models
6. FINALIZATION OF LOGFRAME AND INDICATORS:
Comments on TOR for TA
Consultant 26
November
2004
**
Feedback from DRP
DRP
10 December 2004
**
Start of cooperation with TA
Consultant, DRP
January 2005 **
Methodology for indicator
Consultant, NHL
15 January 2005 **
development and other TA
planned
Draft logframe with outcomes Consultant, NHL
24 May 2005 **
and outputs
Completed logframe and
Consultant September
2005
**
indicators
7. LOCAL DEMONSTRATION SITES:
Selection criteria and a
Consultant
Inception Report **
concrete proposal for
selection, planning and
implementation process
Feedback on selection criteria DRP
15 January 2005 **
and processes
Review of potential hot spots Consultant 29
February 2005 **
and project ideas
Discussion at national
Consultant
February and April
36
workshops
2005 **
Submission of proposals to
Consultant April
2005
**
3.4 SC
Selection of local sites and
3.4 SC
April-June 2005 **
demonstration projects
Draft TORs for local experts
Consultant
July 2005 **
Feedback on TORs
DRP
July 2005 **
Contract local experts
Consultant July
2005
(Upon
approval) **
Implementation Plans for
Consultant September
2005
**
demonstration projects
Start of demonstration
Consultant October / November
projects
2005 **
Capacity building workshops
Consultant October / November
at local sites
2005 balance of
project 2006 (on an
ongoing basis)
Technical Assistance to
Consultant October / November
demonstration projects
2005 balance of
project 2006 (on an
ongoing basis)
End of demonstration
Consultant
September 2006
projects
Draft report on lessons
October 2006
learned from demo projects
Final report on lessons
Consultant
November 2006
learned from demonstration
projects
8. MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS:
Plan/prepare for first set
Consultant January-February
National Workshops
2005 **
National workshops--first set Consultant
February-April 2005
**
Plan/prepare for second set
Consultant
January-February
National Workshops
2006
National workshop--second
Consultant
March April 2006
set
Plan/prepare for First Plenary Consultant
March-April 2005 **
Meetings
Regional Plenary Meetings--
Consultant
25-26 April 2005 **
First
Plan/Prepare for Second
Consultant September-October
Plenary Meetings
2005 **
Regional Plenary Meeting --
Consultant
5, 6 December 2005
Second
**
Plan/Prepare for Final Plenary Consultant
August September
Meeting
2006
Regional Plenary Meeting--
Consultant
First two weeks of
Final
October 2006
3.4 Steering Committee
Consultant/DRP
27 April 2005 **
37
Meeting--first
3.4 Steering Committee
Consultant/DRP
March- April 2006
Meeting--second
3.4 Steering Committee
Consultant/DRP
First two weeks of
Meeting--Final
October 2006
Kick-off Meeting of Project
Consultant/DRP November 2004 **
Partners/DRP
Meeting of Project Partners
Consultant
28 April 2005 **
Meeting of Project Partners
Consultant/DRP/ICPDR 7 December 2005 **
Meeting of Project
Consultant/DRP/ICPDR First two weeks of
Partners/ICPDR/DRP, as
October 2006
needed
9. STUDY TOURS:
Selection of participants for
Consultant/National
February 2005 and
U.S. and EU Study Tours
Teams
September 2005 **
DRP feedback on participants DRP
February 2005 and
September 2005 **
Final agenda for U.S. Study
Consultant 15
June 2005 **
Tour
U.S. Study Tour
Consultant
11-24 June 2005 **
Draft agenda for EU Study
Consultant
October 2005 **
Tour
DRP/ICPDR Comments on
DRP
October 2005 **
agenda
Final agenda for EU Study
Consultant
October 2005 **
Tour
EU Study Tour
Consultant
November 2005 **
U.S. Study Tour lessons
Country teams
September 2005 **
learned reports
EU Study Tour lessons
Country teams
January 2006
learned report
10.TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE / CAPACITY BUILDING:
Technical assistance to
Consultant September
2005-
national teams as needed
September 2006 on
an ongoing basis
Report on design of national
Consultant
Second progress
capacity building activities
report
Practical Work Products (e.g., Consultant
To be determined
Best Practices Materials)
based on needs
researched/drafted/translate
identified in national
d
workshops and
regional plenary
meetings
Practical work products
Consultant
October 2006
completed
11.NATIONAL MEASURES / PRODUCTS:
Identification of
National
February-March
measures/products
teams/Consultants
2005, in national
38
workshops **
Preliminary design of
National
30 June 2005 **
measures/products
teams/Consultants
Draft national reform
National
September 2006
proposals and/or other draft
teams/Consultants
measures/products
Final national reform
National
November 2006
proposals and/or other final
teams/Consultants
measures/products
12.DISSEMINATION:
Draft dissemination plan Consultant
January 2006
Final dissemination plan Consultant
February 2006
Dissemination of project
Consultant
Ongoing
products
13.WEBSITE:
Project website established
Consultant
November 2004 **
Posting of project
Consultant November 2004-
products/articles and periodic
February 2007 on an
updates
ongoing basis
14.FINAL REPORT / LESSONS LEARNED:
Draft Final Report
Consultant
November 2006
Final Report
Consultant December
2006
15.REPORTING:
First 6-month report
Consultant
15 July 2005 **
Second (Annual) 6-month
Consultant December 2005 **
Report
Third 6-month report
Consultant July
2006
Fourth (Annual) 6-month
Consultant December
2006
report
External mid-term evaluation Indep. Contractor
December 2005
16.ARTICLES:
Draft articles
Consultant
Ongoing
Finalize/begin to place
Consultant
Ongoing
articles for publication
2.6
Second Steering Committee meeting
The 2nd Steering Committee Meeting will take place in March, back to back with
one of the national workshops. The Consortium proposes March 13, 2006,
immediately before the national workshop in Serbia and Montenegro, which is
projected for March 14-15, 2006.
All project countries will be invited to be represented in the meeting. It is
anticipated that each country will be represented either by the ICPDR Head of
39
Delegation or his/her representative. Representatives of DEF, ICPDR, DRP and
the implementing Consortium will also be present. The representatives of 4
countries will have to be brought to Serbia, while several other Steering
Committee participants will be attending the national workshop in Serbia.
The objectives of the meeting will be to:
- Review and discuss the overall progress of the project component to date;
- Inform the Steering Committee about the achievements of the country
activities and demonstration projects;
- Present the Dissemination Plan for the results of the project component;
- Present and discuss the plans for the Final Dissemination Workshop;
- Present and discuss future activities; and
- Provide further support and strategic direction for the implementation
of the project component.
The draft agenda will be proposed to the DRP and ICPDR by mid-February, and
after discussion and agreement will be sent out to the country Heads of
Delegations as well as DEF.
Part III
3. Financial Report - Two excel spreadsheets containing the financial
report and reallocation table are sent as separate files along with this
document.
3.1 Explanatory note
As the Consortium reported in our first progress report, during the finalization
process of the country activities it became apparent that in order to ensure an
appropriate impact of the project activities, some changes need to occur within
the distribution of the budget that was allocated under the Consultancy for the
country activities.
Beside developing country products that request consultants to develop
materials, bylaws, recommendations, guidelines, manuals and brochures, etc.,
other type of direct cost expenses will also be needed. These needs are mostly
due to the meetings of working groups or consultation meetings while developing
the country products to ensure broader input for the materials and support for
the work of consultants, as well as will assure higher quality results.
In some cases in order to improve knowledge, skills and practice of authorities
and NGOs, capacity building activities, trainings were requested as to support the
impact of the developed materials and project.
40
Annexes
41
Summary of Participants' Comments on USA Study Tour
DRP Component 3.4 - Enhancing Access to Information and Public Participation in
Environmental Decision Making
In the context of the Study Tour that took place in the United States (Washington D.C. and
New York City) from 11 to 24 June 2005, participants from each of the five participating
countries prepared a report. The following is a consolidated summary of these reports.
I
Participants, their backgrounds and interests
For each country, two government representatives and one representative of an NGO were
selected. The government representatives that attended the study tour had experience and
responsibilities that included the field of environment, water quality and quantity management
(including the different aspects of the Water Framework Directive), access to information,
communication and public participation, implementation of international instruments on water
protection and/or cooperation with international bodies in the field of water. The NGO
representatives came from NGOs that are actively involved in ecological and environmental
issues, with a focus on water and Danube related issues, and that cooperated actively within
NGO networks.
Most participants had specific interests and expectations for participating in the Study Tour
and came to Washington and New York with detailed questions on the US institutional, legal
and policy framework for access to information and public participation (both in general and
specific to water related issues), on the practical use of these frameworks by US government
officials and NGOs and on the cooperation and other relationships between the different
actors involved in these issues.
II
Lessons learned during the US Study Tour
In their respective country reports, the participants identified a large number of lessons they
had learned during their stay in the US, which they could take home and communicate to their
colleagues and other interested persons.
In the interest of clarity, the lessons learned as reported by the study tour participants have
been divided into four broad categories:
a. lessons learned with regard to government officials and actions
b. lessons learned with regard to NGOs and the larger public
c. lessons learned on the cooperation of government agencies and other stakeholders
(including NGOs)
d. other lessons learned
a. lessons learned with regard to government officials and actions
With regard to record keeping, the participants indicated that useful lessons had been learned
with regard to:
How the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and similar agencies on a
State and city level organize and manage information and data;
42
The policy and practice behind creating, handling and storing records in the EPA
Records Management System.
The participants had also learned valuable lessons about how to make records and information
held available to the public, actively, or on request:
How to develop effective legal, institutional and practical methods and tools,
including manuals and desk books, for providing public access to environmental
information, and improving public participation in environmental decision making;
How to determine what is key environmental information of interest to the public and
NGOs and in what format and level of detail it can be presented so as to increase
public awareness and possible further public involvement in the decision making
process;
Internal procedures and best practices within government agencies for responding to
requests and to assure more uniform responses among the various government offices
at the national, regional and local level;
Means available to streamline the request process
The idea of reducing the burden of having to respond to numerous specific requests by
putting information on web-pages.
At the same time, the Study Tour provided ample information and examples of how to go
about withhold certain confidential information. The participants indicated they learned more
about:
What the legal procedures are for handling confidential information, including
business information, learning the US rules for what data should/can be protected for
disclosure, how to protect it (information tracking system), what to do in the case of
requests for confidential data, and issues of legal liability for released confidential
data;
How the different government agencies on the federal, state and city level organize,
manage and protect confidential business information, including good practices, on
marginal cases and on documents that contain mixed information (some legitimately
CBI, and other not);
Why restricting access to important environmental and health information on the basis
of confidentiality or national security, can in some instances become very dangerous;
The impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on information access in the US.
Participants also stated that they had learned a great deal about how government agencies can
communicate with the public. They learned about:
Effective means of communication with stakeholders and institutions, and very
practical information concerning communication with the environmental media;
Ways to increase public attitudes towards legislation, with the goal of achieving better
implementation of laws and respect for rights, laws and courts;
Ways to develop user friendly, interactive web-based ways of reporting to the public
on environmental related data;
In the field of the internal organization of government agencies, lessons were learned with
regard to:
The utility of a generally available document like the U.S. Federal Register to provide
the public with the details of what government is contemplating doing and for
obtaining feedback;
43
The need in each department or ministry for a dedicated unit or at least one trained
official with specific responsibility for processing information requirements (initially,
with the hope of growing and adding more to respond to demand);
The utility of establishing Public Affairs Divisions as independent units within
Ministries or agencies and Docket Centers with public records rooms;
Using web based training for government employees.
b. lessons learned with regard to NGOs and the larger public
Participants indicated that during the US Study Tour they learned the following lessons with
regard to NGOs and the public:
The perspectives of environmental and other NGOs (which were sometimes at odds
with the government perspective), whether and how these NGOs get the information
they need and want from the government, and how they use it to influence public
policy.
What NGOs do when the government denies their request for information;
How NGOs can raise money and provide sustainability to their activities;
How citizens and NGOs can reinforce the governments role in enforcement of
environmental requirements;
How NGOs can organize themselves and then grow to serve local community needs;
The role of NGOs as facilitators of government efforts to convey environmental
messages to the general public in a non-technical and understandable manner.
c. lessons learned on the cooperation of government agencies and other stakeholders
(including NGOs)
Participants learned many valuable lessons on the different positive aspects of cooperation
between NGOs and government agencies:
Relationships between NGOs and government agencies and how, even when their
interests may be adversarial, they can find common ground on which to combine
efforts to achieve narrow goals of mutual interests and to develop mutual trust and
understanding;
Increased understanding of the relationship between NGOS and government,
including specifics of how various NGOs interact with the government; the
importance and role of watchdog organizations; the importance and actual utility of
public involvement in environmental projects in achieving a better public outcome; the
need to transform scientific data to common language in order to develop public
understanding and support and set the stage for their influence on reforms involving
specific water bodies; animating people to contribute to the safe environment; possible
content of web-pages; useful links;
How to establish teams of lawyers, scientific experts and communication professionals
from NGOs, government agencies or both, which work toward the same goals (such as
developing guidelines, manuals, and clear procedures regarding public access to
environmental/water information) from their different perspectives, and how this
creates a better understanding of the aspects approached. Such teams can be long-term
but also short-term and issue-specific;
Practical examples of how efforts at shared water bodies are organized to manage the
complex problem of restoring water quality, how to build alliances and involve the
44
public in the implementation of complex issues such as dredging Hudson River PCBs
project and managing the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
d. Other lessons learned
Other lessons that the participants indicated they had learned:
How to organize web-sites in different institutions (including government, research
and academic institutions and the NGO sector) and the possibilities for access to
information through Internet;
How the environmental press obtains documents and information, how it uses and
disseminates that information and the different problems and opportunities in
educating and informing journalists on environmental issues;
How to develop educational materials about water-related to data in order to build
public support and interest;
That benefits from public participation are mutual throughout society because in the
end they can improve public and environmental health;
How to create broader support for environmental controls by explicitly linking
environmental problems and pollution to health issues.
The idea that where communication and cooperation fail, it might be useful to allow
law suits against polluters or government agencies. This would however require a
change in the legal culture of the countries involved;
III
Activities participants plan to recommend or accomplish in their countries, to
follow up on lessons learned
a. How to go about disseminating the lessons learned during the Study Tour
In the Study Tour reports, the participants presented a variety of ways to communicate the
lessons they had learned to their colleagues, counterparts and other stakeholders. Some of
these were:
To prepare a list of the available information from the Study Tour and to provide it to
the NGO community, the water related government agencies, other interested
institutions and the media;
To make all materials available on webpages;
To give a presentation to fellow NGO representatives and fellow government officials
and/or superiors and presentations in the context of other venues such as DEF;
Devote a full issue of an NGO bulletin to the experiences gained and lessons learned
during the USA Study Tour;
Seek funding, together with other NGOs, to conduct a workshop to transfer the
knowledge gained in the Study Tour to other members of the NGO community;
To write a detailed report including a list of websites about the Study Tour for my
superiors and colleagues; if interest is expressed about specific topics, to prepare
presentations within our Ministry/Directorate;
A number of the participants vowed to stay in contact with the participants of the other
countries and to regularly exchange information with them.
b. Plans to follow up on lessons learned
On a general level, participants proposed inter alia the following actions:
45
To use the information gained in other ongoing projects and activities;
To integrate information and experience from the Study Tour into plans for the
national activities and demonstration projects in the context of Component 3.4, in part
through discussions with the representatives of the operational team;
To encourage legal assistance NGOs to support, on a pro bono basis, citizens in
appeals and in legal proceedings against government institutions and public or private
polluting companies, in case of a violation of the law that does not lead to enforcement
action;
To undertake activities that support early involvement of the public and stakeholders
(through radio shows, bulletins, leaflets) in processes of planning, projecting,
monitoring and evaluation so that the public voice is at each step, from the beginning
to the end of the process.
To use opportunities under component 3.4 to establish a network of working group of
officials and other stakeholders dealing with collection and dissemination of water
related information, to support them and encourage regular contact and discussion.
To create informative materials (including lessons learned and important aspects to be
considered) and promote these through an environmental discussion list; the waters
intranet; River Basin Committees, and through publication of an article on Component
3.4 in a technical magazine;
IV. Plans for improving processes of passive access to information
Various participants indicated that they would:
Make a comparative analysis between relevant existing legislation for clarifying
general requests and specific requests regarding environmental/water information,.
Use the perspective gained to help shape how my government will collect and report
data to meet future user requirements ;
Use what was learned to improve work on internal rules for providing on information.
This could potentially include:
o the creation of a database of information requests to keep track of the requests
and make sure they are answered in a timely fashion,
o the creation of a catalogue of what information is available in the Ministry,
o nominating a person to be responsible for handling of all kinds of information
requests and ensuring timely response, and
o seeking review from colleagues to improve the document as a guide for
handling information requests, using that input to catch mistakes or areas that
lack clarity.
To use what was learned about confidential business information to make changes to
existing laws and recommend that a written guidance document with uniform
procedures for government employees is created to better define which kinds of
information are exempt from disclosure and why, and to organize workshops and
trainings on confidential information.
2. Databases
Using the lessons learned during the Study Tour to make a detailed study of ongoing
processes for creating water databases and suggest amendments where necessary;
Create one database with water related information (such as daily updated information
concerning water level, hot spots, level and type of pollutants, laws, treaties,
conventions, plans for action, international and regional connections and links, forum,
46
FAQ, Q&A) and disseminate it on different levels: to the public, to the water bodies,
to Environmental Agencies and Basin Directorates, or create links at different levels
between the existing government run environmental and water databases;
3. Questionnaires
Based on their experiences, the participants indicated they would use the instrument of a
questionnaire to find out certain information from stakeholders:
A questionnaire for NGOs and others on how river basins information reaches the
public;
A questionnaire to help create a primary list of stakeholders and, as a follow-up a list
with all stakeholders interested in taking part in the public participation processes on
water issues;
A questionnaire on how the information from River Basin Committees reaches the
public, to be sent out to the public, including NGOs.
4. Training
From the Study Tour the participants learned that in order to ensure that government officials
use the rules on public participation and access to information properly and efficiently, these
official would need to be trained. A number of them indicated such trainings as follow-up
actions to the US Study Tour. Some also proposed trainings for journalists and NGOs.
5. Manuals, desk books, guidance documents
Participants proposed different kinds of written materials to incorporate the experiences
gained during the Study Tour. Their proposals included:
Prepare and issue guidance for government employees on how best to conduct their
tasks and fulfill legal requirements;
Publish leaflets, booklets and similar information materials for citizens, targeting a
wide range of stakeholders including ordinary citizens, members of NGO's, people in
media, journalists, and others;
To work actively to prepare administrative staff manuals and guidelines on access to
EWI, based on US examples;
6. Drafting or adapting laws
A few participants indicate that they would strive to incorporate the lessons learned during the
Study Tour in the drafting procedures for new laws in their countries.
The following are additional thoughts the participants had with regard to their experiences in the
Study Tour:
From all the examples offered during the US Study Trip, the aspects regarding communicating
and cooperating with different partners even when you do not agree with their point of view
were the ones that will help me improve my abilities to work in this field and to contribute, so
that my NGO becomes more efficient and professional in this field.
The study tour gave me a good view of the institutional framework in the USA for environment
and water, and the possibility to compare it with ideas we are elaborating now in my own
country, considering structure, responsibilities, enforcement measures, deadlines, etc. It allowed
47
me to expanded my perspectives of how a stable institutional framework should look, one not
influenced by the results of every forthcoming election;
I've come to understand that access to documents is as important as access to data;
As an engineer, I've become aware of the benefit of sharing ideas and discussing environmental
and water related topics with environmental lawyers. I've discovered what an advantage it could
be to have lawyers and technical experts working together.
As a government employee, the experience led me to thoroughly understand the role of NGOs.
I've learned that we in government can gain power by working with NGOs to achieve the EU
WFD objectives and the importance of public participation in this process. But the partnership
needs to be carefully analyzed and organized, to avoid it becoming a mere formality or even its
own contradiction;
As a result of the study tour, I have clear picture about competencies and responsibilities of
government in public participation process, but also a wider understanding that public
participation in making decisions and implementing decisions is crucial in our ratification of the
Aarhus convention, but even more generally important in our process of democratizing our
society;
Even through I work within the governmental structure, I was really impressed by the good and
strong collaboration established between authorities and NGOs in order to mutually identify and
promote solutions for environmental issues (e.g., the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the
environmental protection authorities, Pogo Project, OMB Watch activities);
We can use what we learned in strengthening our EIA and SEA permit procedures; by
incorporating a new approach of NGOs relations, a sustainable partnership will be beneficial for
the environmental authority and NGOs activities, and also for public.
The Study Tour enhanced my communication and collaboration skills, openness, ability to better
hear and respect other (different than my) opinions, and also to respect my personal feelings and
thoughts; all of mentioned factors are needed in better facilitation of enhancing public
participation in my own society.
Although I know it would be difficult to manage in two weeks, I wish we had seen how the
matters we were talking about could be accomplished in reality or some practical work (e.g.
public hearing);
The study tour had additional benefits as it allowed an opportunity for superb communication,
internal support and team spirit between the members of the our national group, providing a
positive model for a country that is still recovering from major divisions and violence between
groups within the country;
It would be worthwhile to try to make a contact with willing lawyers and encourage them to aim
at becoming "environmental lawyers" as a career, and with technical experts willing to acquire
knowledge from legislative point of view. With respect to environmental education in general,
we should try to initiate establishment of the "environmental lawyers" group in our country.
48
Program of the study tour in the Netherlands
for
Delegations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Romania, Serbia and Montenegro
"ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION"
within the
EUROPEAN WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE
29 October 5 November, 2005
(Version 20051027)
49
Monday 31st October
Venue: Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment ( VROM )
Rijnstraat 8; 2515 XP The Hague (T +31.70. 339 4568)
Meeting room A 04.21
·
Introduction to Public Information Act (WoB), Aarhus Convention, European Water Framework Directive (EU WFD)
·
Role of governments and non-governmental organizations within EU WFD
Time
content
organisation
remarks
9:00-10:00
Introduction of the program to the participants
10:00 11:00
Public Information Act
Mr M. van Loop
Public Information Act (WoB); regulates the right to gain insight into governmental documents.
Ministry of Domestic Affairs
T +31.70.426 85 23
11:00 11:15
Coffee break
11:15 12:15
Aarhus Convention
Mr. W.J. Mesters
The Århus Convention establishes a number of rights of the public with regard to the environment. Public
authorities at national, provincial or local level are to contribute to allowing these rights to become effective. The
Ministry of Housing, Spatial
Convention provides for:
Planning and the
- the right of everyone to receive environmental information that is held by public authorities
Environment (VROM)
- the right to participate from an early stage in environmental decision-making.
- the right to challenge, in a court of law, public decisions
T +31.70.3394047
12:15 13:45
Lunch
13:45 14:15
Introduction EU WFD
Mr R. Uijterlinde
The Association of Water Boards is the national association of the 27 Water Boards in The Netherlands. Water
Boards are responsible for the protection against water, water quality and quantity. They contribute to the
Association of Water
implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive. The Association cooperates with the National Government
Boards
and the Interprovincial Discussion Group on water regulation in the Netherlands.
T +31.70.351 97 51
(see also Tuesday, 10:00h)
14:15 14:45
Access to information and public
Mr T. Lycklama,
Reinwater Foundation is an environmental NGO, striving for clean and safe water. It represents the stakes of water
participation EU WFD from
users and campaigns for changes.
NGO/public perspective
Reinwater Foundation
T +31.20.6719322
14:45 -15:15
Discussion and questions for Mr Lycklama and Mr Uijterline
15:15 - 15:30
Coffee break
15:30 16:00
Time for quick recap and possible questions so far
16:00 17:00
Access to information and public
Ms M. Hendriks
At the national level, the EU WFD is translated in national instruments, regulations and frameworks, such as
participation within EU WDF; role of
monitoring frameworks or criteria setting.
government
Ministry transport, public
works and water
In the Netherlands, the Ministries of transport, public works and water management, VROM and LNV (Agriculture,
management (V&W)
Nature and Food Quality) are responsible for the implementation of the EU WFD.
Directorate Water
T +31.70.351 80 80
50
Tuesday 1 November
Venue: Netherlands Water Partnership (at IHE premises)
Westvest 7
2611 AX Delft (T +31 215 18 52)
·
Stakeholder participation facilitation
·
Stakeholder Experiences with WFD several stakeholders
·
Meeting with Dutch Water Partnership members
8:15 9:15 Bus trip to train station Holland Spoor (HS) and by train to Delft ( <45 minutes)
10:00 11:00
Coordination of regional cooperation
Mr. P. de Vries
The Association of Water Boards (Unie van Waterschappen) protects the interests of the 27 Water Boards at
and implementation, representation
Association of Water Boards
national level. All Water Boards are member of this association.
stakes of Water boards- National
On behalf of the Water Boards, the Association is spokesperson to the parliament, public authorities and other
level
organisations. The Association is a partner in issues of strategic water management and legislation. With the Water
Boards, the Association looks for solutions to common problems.
T +31.70.351 9834
(see also Monday, 13:45h)
11:00 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 -12:00
Positions and scenarios within
Mr. N. Cremers
The RIZA is the research and advisory body for the Rijkswaterstaat / the Directorate-General for Public Works and
participation.
Water Management regarding inland water in the Netherlands. It is a leading international centre of knowledge for
RIZA Institute for Inland
integrated water management. The institute collects data on and conducts research into water quality and quantity.
Water Management and
On the basis of these data the RIZA makes recommendations concerning the management of inland water in the
Waste Water Treatment
Netherlands and abroad. Within EU WFD, RIZA is, amongst others, secretary of six clusters of decision making and
six working groups.
T +31.320.29 84 11
12:00 13:00
Involvement environmental NGOs
B. Hermans
The Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment is an independent organisation committed to securing a
The Netherlands Society for
vigorous and healthy natural environment.
Nature and Environment
T +31.30.2331328
13:00 14:00 Lunch at NWP
14:00 15:00
Framework Public Participation
Mr E. Mostert
Mr Mostert has been an expert member of the EU drafting group "Guidance on Public Participation" for implementing
the Water Framework Directive.
TU Technical University
T +31.15.2787800
15:00 16:00
Involvement in water management
M. Herbergs
The national level discussion about policy plans related to water issues is concentrated at OWN, the `Discussion
by stakeholders
group Water management and North Sea' (Overlegorgaan Waterbeheer en Noordzee-
OWN: Discussion group
aangelegenheden).
Water management and
North Sea
Participants are (representatives of) state secretary for transport, public works and water management; nature,
environmental and leisure organisations; oil and gas industry; mining industry; chemical industry; water supply and
T +31.70.351 89 99
waste water companies; labour organisations; and the agrarian and fishery sectors.
16:00 16:20 Coffee break
16:20 17:00
Professional/industrial Fisheries
Mr A. Heinen
Stakes of the professional fishers and fishery sector within the implementation of the EU WFD
Fisheries Centre, Rijswijk
T +31.70.336 96 13
17:00 Informal meeting with Dutch Water Partnership members
51
Wednesday 2 November
Travel by bus The Hague Rotterdam Mainport Middelburg
Venue Rotterdam: World Port Center (WPC)
Wilhelminakade 909
Port number 1247
3072 AP Rotterdam
(Meeting room 17.00.1)
·
Implementation of EU WDF in Rotterdam Mainport
·
Trip to Middelburg and visit to Dutch Deltaworks, including experiences local representatives
8:15 9:15
Bustrip The Hague (hotel) - Rotterdam Mainport
10:00 11:30
Rotterdam Mainport
Mr. M. Eisma
Presentations include information on the realization of WFD by the mainport, including water sampling,
Strategie Infrastructuur &
sediments/sludge regulations and provision of public information
Excursion
Maritieme Zaken
Beleidsadviseur
Havenbedrijf Rotterdam
N.V.
T +31.10.252 13 12
F +31.10.252 19 86
www.portofrotterdam.com
11:45 13:15
Bustrip Rotterdam Mainport Delta Works
13:30 14:15
Lunch at Delta Works restaurant
14:30 17:00
Delta Works
WaterLand Neeltje Jans
The Delta Works form the largest water management project in the world. It is built in response to the devastating
Eiland Neeltje Jans
floods in 1953. The Delta Works protect the province of Zeeland and the rest of the Netherlands against flooding.
Excursion
Faelweg 5
4354 RB Vrouwenpolder
T +31.111.655655
F +31.111.653164
www.neeltjejans.nl
17:00 17:30
Bus trip Delta Works Best Western Hotel Arneville Middelburg
52
Thursday 3 November
Venue: Best Western Hotel Arneville
Buitenruststraat 22; 4337 EH Middelburg ( T +31.118.638456)
·
Implementation of EU WDF in Scheldt District and Scaldit pilot project
·
Experiences of stakeholders (government, working group, transboundary information exchange)
9:00 10:45
Case study Scheldt River Basin
Ms S. de Jong
Introduction of the EU WFD at the Scheldt river basin, with emphasis on public participation. Ministry of V&W,
(France, Belgium, Netherlands)
Ministry transport, public
Directorate Zeeland is partner in the Scaldit pilot programme.
(Scaldit)
works and water
management (V&W)
Scaldit is an international program to improve the management of Scheldt River Basin, covering France,
Belgium and the Netherlands. VVM/Belgium is the project manager of Scaldit (Refer to 14:30 today)
Deputy Coordinator
The project runs from January 2003 to December 2005. The project lays the basis for the development of
Scheldt Basin. Directorate
integrated water management in the Scheldt River basin. The project investigates the feasibility of the guidance
Zeeland
documents that the European Union has provided in connection with the Common Implementation Strategy for
the Water Framework Directive.
T +31.320.298431
10:45 11:00
Coffee break
11:00 12:00
Experiences of environmental NGO
Mr. G. van Zonneveld
Experiences of environmental NGO, as a stakeholder within Scaldit Project.
Zeeuwse Milieufederatie
/ Environmental
Association of Zeeland
(NGO)
T. +31.113.23 00 75
12:00 13:00 Lunch
14:00 14:30 Coffee break
14:30 15:30
Experiences/ international dimension
Ms. I. Dieltjens
VMM is the project manager for the Scaldit pilot programme. Refer to 9:00 today.
Vlaamse Milieu
Maatschappij (VMM) /
Flemish Environment
Agency (Belgium)
T +32.53.726634
15:30 16:30
Local government (policy, translation
Mr. N. Oskam
Translation of EU WFD and Scaldit into local policy and implementation; experiences
WDF into practice)
Provincial Government of
Zeeland
T +31.118.631700
53
Friday 4 November
Venue: Dow Chemicals Terneuzen
·
Experiences chemical industry with EU WFD
·
Concluding meeting
08:15 09:00
Bustrip Middelburg Terneuzen
09:30 12:30
Experiences of participation of
Mr J. van Seters
Implementation of EU FWD at DOW Chemicals (delivering information, permits, sampling, etc)
Industry Scaldit
Mr Seters is a member of VNO-NCW, the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers. VNO-NCW is
Dow Chemical Benelux
the largest employers' organisation in the Netherlands. VNO-NCW represents the common interests of Dutch
/VNO NCW
business, including on EU WFD issues.
Tour around the Dow Chemicals plant
T. +31.115.672369
12:30 13:15 Return to hotel
13:15 14:15 Lunch at the hotel
14:15 16:00
Meeting and closing discussion about study tour in the hotel
17:00 19:00 Bustrip Middelburg The Hague hotel
54
List of Participants
NL Study Tour on "Access to Information and Public Participation"
EU Water Framework Directive
29th October-5th November, 2005
Mr. Dalibor Vrhovac
Tel : +387 51 312 058
Bosnia and
Adviser for Finances
Fax : +387 51 312 058
Herzegovina
Financial Department
E-mail: dvrhovac@blic.net,
Republic Directorate for Water
kancelarija_vrbasbl@blic.net,
Office in Banja Luca
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mr. Almir Prljaca
Tel : + 387 33 219 581
Officer for Coordination of
Fax : + 387 33 205 620
International obligations for Water
E-mail: fmpvode@bih.net.ba
resources
Sector of Water management
Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water
Management and Forestry
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mr. Igor Palandzic
Tel : + 387 33 21 24 66
DEF NFP for B&H
Fax : + 387 33 21 24 66
NGO "Center for environmentally
E-mail:
Sustainable Development-CESD"
Igor.palandzic@heis.com.ba
Stjepana Tomica 1 pp 450
71000 Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mrs. Teodora Todorova
Tel: + 359 2 940 65 55
Bulgaria
Juridical Expert
Fax: + 359 2 980 96 41
Water Directorate, Water Use Division
E-mail:
Ministry of Environment and Waters
teodora@moew.government.bg
22 Maria Luiza Bld.
1000 Sofia
Bulgaria
55
Mr. Ivan Kalamerov
Tel: +359.64.885.131
Chief Expert
Fax: +359.64.803.342
Department Control of Surface
E-mail: bd_dr_pl@yahoo.com
Waters and Access to Information
Regional Basin Directorate for the
Danube River
Vassil Levski Str. #1, fl. 16
5800 Pleven
Bulgaria
Mr. Daniel Popov
Tel: +359 2 980 8497
Centre for Environmental Information
Mobile: +359 886 818 794
and Education
Fax: +359 2 989 2785
17A, Sofroniy Vratchanski Str.
E-mail: dpopov@ceie.org,
1303 Sofia
dpopov@mail.bg
Bulgaria
www.ceie.org
Ms. Nevenka Preradovic
Tel: + 385 1 3782 187
Croatia
Head of Environmental Protection
Fax: fax: + 385 1 3782 157
Strategies Department
E-mail:
Ministry of Environmental Protection,
nevenka.preradovic@mzopu.hr
Physical Planning and Construction
www.mzopu.hr
Ulica Republike Austrije 16,10000
Zagreb
Croatia
Ms. Romana Knezevic
Tel: + 385 1 6307 314
Administrative official
Fax: + 385 1 61 51 821
Water Management Directorate
E-mail: kromana@voda.hr
Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and
Water Management
Ulica grada Vukovara 220, 10 000
Zagreb
Croatia
Ms. Irma Popovic
Tel: + 385 1 48 13 097
Project Manager
Fax: + 385 1 48 13 096
DEF representative for Croatia
E-mail: za@zelena-akcija.hr;
NGO "Green action"
irma@zelena-akcija.hr
Frankopanska 1, pp 952
10000 Zagreb
Croatia
Ms. Aurora Romanita Vasiu
Tel: +40 21 3155 535
Romania
Head of Department
Fax: +40 21 3122 174, 315 55
European Integration
35
National Administration "Apele
E-mail: aurora.vasiu@rowater.ro
56
Romane"
Edgar Quinet Str. No. 6, Sector 1,
010018 Bucharest
Romania
Mr. Valentin Brustur
Tel: +4021.319.25.91
Expert
Fax: +402.316.02.82
Directorate for Water Resources
E-mail:
Management
departament_ape@mappm.ro;
Ministry of Environment and Water
valibrustur@hotmail.com
Management
12 Libertatii Blvd., sector 5, Bucharest
Romania
Mr. Zoltan Marton
Tel: 00 40 265 262170
Project Officer
Fax: 00 40 265 262170
Focus Eco Center
E-mail: focuseco@rdslink.ro
Str. Crinului 22, Tg. Mures
Romania
Ms. Olivera Jankovic
Tel : +381 11 201 33 55
Serbia and
Independent expert associate
Fax : +381 11 311 53 70
Montenegro
Department for protection from Water
E-mail:
Directorate For Water
olivera.jankovic@minpolj.sr.gov
Ministry Of Agriculture, Forestry And
.yu
Water Management
Serbia and Montenegro
Ms. Ruzica Jacimovic
Tel: + 381 11 201 33 67
Independent Expert Associate
+ 381 11 201 33 66
Department For International
Fax: + 381 11 311 53 70
Cooperation
E-mail:
Directorate For Water
ruzica.jacimovic@minpolj.sr.g
Ministry Of Agriculture, Forestry And
ov.yu
Water Management
Serbia and Montenegro
Mr. Streten Djordjevic
Tel: +381 64 164 2248
Director
Fax:
Legal Advocacy and Advisory Center in E-mail: defyu@eunet.yu
Serbia (NGO)
4, Hajduk Veljkova Str.
14000 Valjevo
Serbia and Montenegro
57
Ms. Orsolya Szálasi
Tel: +36 26 504 000 ext. 212
REC
Project Manager
Fax: +36 26 311 294
Public Participation Programme
E-mail: oszalasi@rec.org
The Regional Enviornmental Center
For Central and Eastern Europe
Ady Endre ut 9-11,
2000 Szentendre
Hungary
Ms. Magdolna Tóth Nagy
Tel: +36 26 504 035
Head of Programme
Fax: 36 26 311 294
Public Participation Programme
E-mail: mtothnagy@rec.org
The Regional Enviornmental Center
For Central and Eastern Europe
Ady Endre ut 9-11,
2000 Szentendre
Hungary
Ms. Ruth Greenspan Bell
Tel: +1 202 328 5032
RFF
Resources for the Future
Fax: +1 202 939 3460
1616 P Street, N.W.
E-mail: bell@rff.org
20036 Washington, D.C.
United States
Mr. Don Offermans
Tel: +31 20 5818260
Netherlands
AIDEnvironment
Fax: +31 20 6866251
Donker Curtiusstraat 7 - 523
E-mail:
ORGANISING
1051 JL Amsterdam.
offermans@aidenvironment.org
PARTNERS
The Netherlands
Ms. Irene de Bruin
Tel: +31 20 5818255
AIDEnvironment
Fax: +31 20 6866251
Donker Curtiusstraat 7 - 523
E-mail:
1051 JL Amsterdam.
debruin@aidenvironment.org
The Netherlands
58
Enhancing Access to Information and Public Participation in Environmental Decision-
making
UNDP-GEF Danube Regional Project, Project Output 3.4
2nd Regional Workshop
December 5 6, 2005
Novi Sad, Serbia
Agenda
The goals of the 2nd Regional Workshop are:
· to build the capacities of the Danube country officials and NGOs and assist them to
address common barriers and problems identified in the Needs Assessments and during
national workshops;
· to assist the country partners to carry out the activities to address major barriers defined in
the country activity plans;
· to provide opportunities for the participants from the project countries to share their
experience and to learn from the experience of other EU countries;
· to discuss how synergies can be built between the demonstration projects and the country
activities; and
· to review the progress of the project to date and shape future activities
December 4th
Participants arrive
19.00 Introduction of participants
19.30 Welcome Dinner
1st Day-5th December, 2005
9.00 - 9.30 Registration
9.30 10.15 Introductory Session
A. Facilitator's introduction and icebreakers (15 min)
B. Update on the current status of Component 3.4 by Magdolna Toth Nagy, Project
Manager, REC (8-10 minutes)
C. Update on DRP Public Participation developments by Rayka Hauser, Public
Participation Expert, UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project (5-8 minutes)
D. DRP communication and media assistance to DRP project components, by Paul
Csagoly, Communications Expert, UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project (5-8 min)
E. Update on the recent Public Participation activities of ICPDR by Jasmine Bachman,
Public Participation and Public Relations Expert (5-8 min)
10.15 11.15 Country activities and demonstration projects
A. Presentation by country teams of country activity plans and demonstration projects
Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina
(5 minutes/country teams and 5 minutes/demonstration projects)
B. Questions and answers and discussion (10 min for each country)
11.15 11.30 Coffee break
11.30 12.30 Country activities and demonstration projects
A. Presentation by country teams of country activity plans and demonstration projects
Croatia, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro
(same time as above)
B. Questions and answers and discussion (10 min for each country)
C. Discussion, brainstorming and conclusions: How best to expedite and facilitate country
activities and demonstration projects?
Synergies between the country activities and pilot projects.
Ongoing technical assistance from the Consortium
12.30 14.00 Lunch break
14.00 15.30 Session 2: Preparing Desk books and Manuals for government officials and
NGO Brochures - their role, function, use
60
A. Introduction to the issues presented by preparing desk books, manuals and brochures by
Ruth Greenspan Bell, Resources for the Future
B. Questions and answers
15.30-15.45 Coffee break
15.45 17.30 Small working groups work on desk books, manuals and brochures
A. Work on draft outlines of desk books, manuals, NGO brochures
Break into 5 country working groups for governmental manuals (predominantly
government representatives) and one working group on civil society brochures
(predominantly NGO representatives)
19.30 Dinner
2nd Day, 6th December, 2005
9.00 10.30 Results of small working groups
A. Each of the five small working groups reports back to the plenary (presentations of 5
min. each)
B. Discussion
C. Conclusions
10.30 11.00 Coffee break
11.00 12.30 How to ensure and promote public participation/stakeholder involvement in
the context of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD): examples of good practices
A. Different forms and experiences of public participation/stakeholder involvement in the
implementation of WFD requirements, Presentation from Slovenia, Krka Pilot project,
Darinka Pek Drapal and Samo Groselj (10-15 min)
B. Regional Sava Cards Project, Pilot River Basin Plan for the Sava River Public
Participation-Public and NGO participation in the Project (8-10 minutes)
Jovan Despotovic
Questions and answers
B. River Basin Committees and Directorates as possible form of public involvement
within EU WFD and other forms of public involvement: Developments in Bulgaria and
Romania.
Presentations on the legal background, the tasks of River Basin Directorates and
Committees and the current practices by:
Valentin Brustur, additions by Mihaela Madar-Romania
Teodora Todorova, additions by Ivan Kalamerov- Bulgaria
(10 minutes each)
61
C. Discussion, including experiences from the Dutch Study and NGO perspectives
12.30 - 14.00 Lunch break
14.00-15.30 Parallel workshops focused on specific issues
Optional parallel working groups on:
1) Confidentiality of environment and water-related information: Practical solutions and
mechanisms
Issues and recent progress within the project in Bulgaria, by Alexander Kodjabashev
Experiences from The Netherlands, by Ernestine Meijer, New York University School of
Law
2) How to work with communications and media to support project activities: session for
NGOs involved in the demonstration projects and other interested NGO and government
representatives (Paul Csagoly, DRP consultant)
15.30-15.45 Coffee break
15.45-17.00 Plenary session
A. Short summary report from the 2 working groups (5 minutes each)
B. Conclusions
C. Shaping future activities, including specific assistance for country activities and
demonstration projects by the Consortium, cooperation between country activities teams
and demonstration project teams, upcoming project events
17.00 Closure of Workshop
62
List of Participants
Enhancing Access to Information and Public Participation in
Environmental Decision Making
Danube Regional Project Component 3.4
2nd Regional Meeting
5-6th December, 2005
Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro
Ms. Dilista Hrkas
Tel : +387 33 209 903
Bosnia and
Public Relation Assistant
Fax : +387 33 209 993
Herzegovina
Public Enterprise Water Catchment
E-mail: dilista@voda.ba
Area River Basin Sava
Grbavicka 4/3, 71000 Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mr. Dalibor Vrhovac
Tel : +387 51 312 058
Adviser for Finances
Mobile: +387 65 596752
Financial Department
Fax : +387 51 312 058
Republic Directorate for Water
E-mail: dvrhovac@blic.net,
Office in Banja Luca
kancelarija_vrbasbl@blic.net,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ms. Violeta Jankovic
Tel : +387 53 200 570
Advisor for Environment Protection
Fax : +387 53 200 572
Bosnia River Basin Authority, Republic E-mail: jvioleta@teol.net
Directorate for Water
Vojvode Misica 22, 74000 Doboj
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mr. Igor Palandzic
Tel : + 387 33 21 24 66
DEF NFP for B&H
Fax : + 387 33 21 24 66
NGO "Center for environmentally
E-mail:
Sustainable Development-CESD"
Igor.palandzic@heis.com.ba
Stjepana Tomica 1 pp 450, 71000
Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mr. Husejin Keran
Tel : +387 35 554 713
Project Coordinator
Fax : 387 35 554 713
Ecological Association of Citizens
E-mail: ekozeleni@hotmail.com
"Eko-zeleni" Lukavac
, hkeran@yahoo.com
street, Redzepa ef. Muminhodzia 14,
75300, Lukavac,Number: 40/05.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mrs. Teodora Todorova
Tel: + 359 2 940 65 55
Bulgaria
Juridical Expert
Mobile: +359.886.068117
Water Directorate, Water Use Division
Fax: + 359 2 980 96 41
Ministry of Environment and Waters
E-mail:
22 Maria Luiza Bld.
teodora@moew.government.bg
1000 Sofia
Bulgaria
64
Mr. Ivan Kalamerov
Tel : +359.64.885.131
Chief Expert
Fax : +359.64.803.342
Department Control of Surface ,
E-mail: bd_dr_pl@yahoo.com
Waters and Access to Information,
Regional Basin Directorate for the
Danube River
Vassil Levski Str. #1, fl. 16 , 5800
Pleven
Bulgaria
Mr. Alexander Kodjabashev
Tel : +359 2 852 6956
President
Fax : +359 2 852 6956
Ecological Association "Demetra"
E-mail:
Boulevard "Skobelev" No. 16, entrance kodjabashev@mbox.cit.bg ;
2,, 1463 Sofia
kodjabashev@bluelink.net ;
Bulgaria
cep@bluelink.net
Ms. Milena Emanuilova Kovacheva
Tel: +359 2 980 8497
Project Manager
Mobile: +359-888-798-712
Centre for Environmental Information
Fax: +359 2 9892785
and Education CEIE
E-mail: milena@ceie.org
17 A Sofroniy Vratchanski Str.
1303 Sofia
Bulgaria
.
Mrs. Krassimira Stoyanova
Tel : +359 68 603834
Member
Fax : +359 68 603834
Ecomission 21
E-mail: krasssimira@yahoo.com
1 Georgi Benkovski Str. Varosha
Youth Center
Lovech, 5500
Bulgaria
Ms. Sanja Genzic
Tel : +385 1 630 7300
Croatia
Adviser
Fax : +385 1 615 1821
Information and Public Participation,
E-mail: sgenzic@voda.hr
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Water Management, Directorate for
Water Management
Vukovarska 220, 10 000 Zagreb
Croatia
65
Ms. Romana Knezevic
Tel: + 385 1 6307 348
Independent_Administrative Official
Fax: + 385 1 6151 821
Water Management Directorate,
E-mail: kromana@voda.hr
Ministry Of Agriculture, Forestry And
Water Management
Ulica Grada Vukovara 220
10000 Zagreb
Croatia
Mr. Jasmin Sadikovic
Tel : +385 31 565 180
Ecological association Green Osijek
Fax : +385 31 565 180
Opatijska 26 F, 31000 Osijek
E-mail: Zeleni-
Croatia
osijek@os.htnet.hr
Mr. Valentin Brustur
Tel: +4021.319.25.91
Romania
Expert
Fax: +402.316.02.82
Directorate for Water Resources
E-mail:
Management
departament_ape@mappm.ro;
Ministry of Environment and Water
valibrustur@hotmail.com
Management
12 Libertatii Blvd., sector 5, Bucharest
Romania
Ms. Aurora Romanita Vasiu
Tel : +40 21 3155 535
Head of Department
Fax : +40 21 3122 174
European Integration, National
E-mail: aurora.vasiu@rowater.ro
Administration "Apele Romane"
Edgar Quinet Str. No. 6, Sector 1,
010018 Bucharest
Romania
Ms. Mihaela Madar
Tel : +40-256-491848
Head
Fax : +40-256-491798
International Cooperation Department - E-mail:
River Basin Committee Secretary,
mihaela.madar@dab.rowater.ro
Banat Water Directorate (Directia
Apelor Banat)
300222, Timisoara, Bvd. M. Viteazu,
no. 32
Romania
66
Mr. Zoltan Marton
Tel:+ 40 265 262170
Project Officer
Fax:+ 40 265 262170
Focus Eco Center
E-mail: focuseco@rdslink.ro
Str. Crinului 22, Tg. Mures
Romania
Ms. Mirela Leonte
Tel : +40 236 499 957
Vice-President
Fax : +40 236 312 331
ECO Counselling Centre Galati
E-mail: eco@cceg.ro ;
(ECCG)
mleonte@cceg.ro
Basarabiei Street No. 2, 800 201 Galati
Romania
Ms. Jovanka Ignjatovi
Tel : +381 11 2013366
Serbia and
Head Division
Fax : +381 11 3115370
Montenegro
Division for International Cooperation
E-mail:
in Water Sector, Ministry For
jovanka.ignjatovic@minpolj.sr.g
Agriculture, Forestry And Water
ov.yu
Management, Directorate For Water
Bulevar Umetnosti 2a, 11070 Novi
Beograd, Serbia and Montenegro
Ms. Olivera Jankovi
Tel : +381 63 753 3564
Independent Expert Associate
Fax : +381 11 311 5370
Directorate for Water, Ministry of
E-mail:
Agriculture, Forestry and Water
olivera.jankovic@minpolj.sr.gov
Management
.yu
Bulevar Umetnosti 2a, 11070 Belgrade
Serbia and Montenegro
Ms. Ruzica Jacimovic
Tel : + 381 11 201 33 67, + 381
Independent Expert Associate
11 201 33 66
Department For International
Fax : + 381 11 311 53 70
Cooperation, Directorate For Water,
E-mail:
Ministry Of Agriculture, Forestry And
ruzica.jacimovic@minpolj.sr.go
Water Management
v.yu
Serbia and Montenegro
67
Ms. Biljana Jovanovic Ilic
Tel : +381 11 313 1355
Change Agent and HR Manager
Fax : +381 11 313 1394
Department for European Integration,
E-mail: biljana@mail.ru
Ministry for Science and Environmental
Protection, Directorate for
Environmental Protection
Omladinskih brigade 1, 11000 Belgrade
Serbia and Montenegro
Ms. Nada Lazi
Tel: + 381 21 487 47 19
Assistant of Provincial Secretary, Head
Fax: +381 21 456238
of the Department of Environmental
E-mail: ekolog@nspoint.net
Quality
Department of Environmental Quality
Provincial Secretariat for
Environmental Protection and
Sustainable Development
Bulevar Mihajla Pupina 16
Novi Sad, 21000
Serbia and Montenegro
Mr. Sreten Djordjevic
Tel : +381 64 164 2248
Director
Fax : +381 14 230 549
Legal Advocacy and Advisory Center in E-mail: ecolawgica@ptt.yu
Serbia (NGO)
4, Hajduk Veljkova Str., 14000 Valjevo
Serbia and Montenegro
Mr. Toplica Marjanovic
Tel : +381 30 425 241, + 381 64
President of Ecology Club and
15 222 51
Coordinator of Demo Project
Fax :
Association of Young Researchers Bor
E-mail: mibor@ptt.yu;
Djordja Vajferta 11
mibor@sezampro.yu;
19210 Bor
ekobor@ptt.yu
Serbia and Montenegro
Mr. Samo Groselj
Tel : 381 56 03 719
Slovenia
Krka Pilot Project
Fax: + 381 56 84 502
Hidroinzeniring d.o.o.
E-mail:
Slovenceva 95
samo.groselj@hidroinzeniring.si
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
68
Darinka Pek Drapal
Tel: +386 1 2391 450
Consultant on Information, Consultation Fax: 386 1 239 1210
and Participation
E-mail: darinka.drapal@prp-
Krka Pilot Project
dd.si
PR`P Public Relations
Trubarjejeva 77
Ljubljana 1000
Slovenia
Ms. Jasmine Bachmann
Tel: +43 1 26060 4373
UNDP/GEF
Technical Expert for Public
Fax: + 43 1 26060 5895
Participation and Public Relation
E-mail:
Danube
ICPDR (International Commission for
jasmine.bachmann@unvienna.or
Regional
the Protection of the Danube River)
g
Project
D0415, VIC, PO 500
Vienna 1400
Austria
Ms. Rayka Hauser
Tel: +385 1 24 22 840
Public Participation Expert
Fax: +385 1 24 22 840
UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project
E-mail: rayka.hauser@vip.hr
Srebrnjak 88
10000 Zagreb,
Croatia
Mr. Paul Csagoly
Tel:
Consultant
Fax:
UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project
E-mail:
International Centre
Paul.Csagoly@unvienna.org
D0418 P.O. Box 500, A-1400 Vienna
Austria
Mr. Jovan Despotovic
Tel: + 381 11 32 18 530, 512
EC CARDS
RBM Expert for Serbia & Montenegro
Fax: + 381 11 337 02 06
Assoc. Prof., Ph.d., P.C.E.
E-mail: edespoto@hikom.grf.bg.ac.yu
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Univ. of
Belgrade
Boul. of the King Alexander 73
11000 Belgrade
Serbia and Montenegro
IMPLEMENTING CONSORTIUM
69
Ms. Magdolna Tóth Nagy
Tel: +36 26 504 035
REC
Head of Programme
Fax: +36 26 311 294
Public Participation Programme
E-mail: mtothnagy@rec.org
Project Manager UNDP/GEF DRP 3.4
The Regional Environmental Center
For Central and Eastern Europe
Ady Endre ut 9-11,
2000 Szentendre
Hungary
Ms. Kaidi Tingas
Tel: +36 26 504 035
Project Manager
Fax: + 36 26 311 294
Public Participation Programme
E-mail: ktingas@rec.org
Project Manager UNDP/GEF DRP 3.4
The Regional Environmental Center
For Central and Eastern Europe
Ady Endre ut 9-11,
2000 Szentendre
Hungary
Ms. Orsolya Szalasi
Tel: +36 26 504 035
Project Manager
Fax: 36 26 311 294
Public Participation Programme
E-mail: oszalasi@rec.org
Project Manager UNDP/GEF DRP 3.4
The Regional Environmental Center
For Central and Eastern Europe
Ady Endre ut 9-11,
2000 Szentendre
Hungary
Ms. Ernestine Meijer
Tel: +1 212 337 0662
NYU
UNDP/GEF DRP 3.4
Fax: +1 212 337 0668
International Environmental Legal
E-mail: em100@nyu.edu
Assistance Program
NYU School of Law
Center on Environmental and Land Use
Law
77 ½ Charles St.
10014 New York, NY
United States
70
Ms. Ruth Greenspan Bell
Tel: +1 202 328 5032
RFF
UNDP/GEF DRP 3.4
Fax: +1 202 939 3460
Resources for the Future
E-mail: bell@rff.org
1616 P Street, N.W.
20036 Washington, D.C.
United States
Mr. Djorde Stefanovic
Tel: + 387 51 317 022
REC Country
Banja Luka Field Office
Mobile: + 387 65 920 007
Office Bosnia
Slavka Rodica 1.
Fax: +387 51 317 022
and
Banja Luka 78000, RS
E-mail: dstefanovic@rec.org
Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ms. Nataliya Dimitrova
Tel: +359.2.9835217
REC Country
Project Manager
Fax: +359.2.9835217
Office Bulgaria REC for CEE, Country Office Bulgaria E-mail: ndimitrova@rec.org
42 A Tsar Simeon Str., fl. 1, ap. 2
1000 Sofia
Bulgaria
Ms. Dalia Matijevic
Tel : +385 1 492 1117
REC Country
Project Manager
Fax : +385 1 481 0844
Office Croatia
REC Country Office Croatia
E-mail: dalia@rec-croatia.hr
orieva 8a,
10 000 Zagreb
Croatia
Ms. Magda Chitu
Tel : +40 21 316 7344
REC Country
Project Manager
Fax : +40 21 3167264
Office
REC Country Office Romania
E-mail: magdac@recromania.ro
Romania
Str.Episcop Timur nr. 4. Sector 1.
Bucharest
Romania
Ms. Ana Popovic
Tel: +381 11 3292 899
REC Country
Project Manager
Fax: +381 11 3293 020
Office Serbia
REC Country Office Serbia and
E-mail: apopovic@recyu.org
Montenegro
Montenegro
Primorska 31
11000 Belgrade
Serbia and Montenegro
71
Ms. Aleksandra Mladenovic
Tel: +381 11 3292 899
Project Assistant
Fax: +381 11 3293 020
REC Country Office Serbia and
E-mail: amladenovic@recyu.org
Montenegro
Primorska 31
11000 Belgrade
Serbia and Montenegro
Ms. Andrijana Paric
Tel: :+385 98 802 908
FACILITATORS Center for Peace Studies
Fax: :+ 385 1 48 200 94
Meduliceva 17
E-mail: aparic@zamir.net
10000 Zagreb
Croatia
Ms. Borjanka Metikos
Tel: +385 44 537-861
44000 Sisak
Fax:
Croatia
E-mail:
borjanka.metikos@vk.htnet.hr
72
List of national activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina within component DRP 3,4
Enhancing Access to Information and Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making
UNDP-GEF Danube Regional Project, Project Output 3.4
No
Activity/List of steps
Responsible/Who will implement
Stakeholders to be involved
Priority
(Please describe the activity and bullet point the (Name the organization, institution, department,
(Name the organization, institution,
steps)
person)
department, person
1
Contribution to the development of a Water Data Base
-consultants Mr. Zoran Lukac (RS) and Mr, Martin
All officials bodies involved in AI
-starting point, CARDS project report on monitoring
Tais/Esena Kupusovic (FBiH), on the basis of results
related to water issues: ministries, public
and LIFE project concerning development of info
of CARDS and LIFE projects
enterprises, institutes, municipalities,
system in accordance with EEA requirements;
-REC BIH CO as overall coordinator of activities
-bodies, institutions and organizations
-continuation of assessing the institutions that should
-OT
involved within the process of PP relate
collect and disseminate water information,
to the water issues (as listed in previous
active/passive
task)
-NGO community/DEF to give input
2
Development of guidelines/manual for authorities
-REC and partners commenting the table of content,
-representatives of officials form all
-OP team and representatives of relevant authorities to
providing the existing guidelines
B&H levels (B&H, entity, Brcko
design a table of content
-REC BIH CO to coordinate activities REC HQ
District, municipalities, Focal points in
- production of different chapters
B&H stakeholders;
int'l conventions related to the water
-1sr draft to be produced and to be discussed in light
-REC HQ to prepare first draft of manual,
issues Danube and Sava Commission
with int'l experiences
-Comments of the Draft by B&H experts input;
members,
-NGOs to give comments on the format and style of
-Discussion on the Draft by wider group of
-experts involved in realization of tasks 1
communication to public when auth. Disseminate info
stakeholders, including OT, DEF network, other
and 2;
NGOs involved in networking., Special attention to
be paid to municipalities
-organization of roundtable/WS aimed to discuss
Draft how to make it user friendly and operational
No
Activity/List of steps
Responsible/Who will implement
Stakeholders to be involved
Priority
(Please describe the activity and bullet point the (Name the organization, institution, department,
(Name the organization, institution,
steps)
person)
department, person
3
Contribute to development of bylaw(s), procedure with -REC CO BIH experts for legal drafting
-Ministries in charge for water
regard to Water Law
- consultants when needed for legal and institutional
management and environment (water
-consultation with Op team members that would assess
assessment
quality)
the needs of bylaws connected to the draft Water Law
-operational team to participate in prioritization;
-Hydro-meteorological Institutes,
in light of needs for further elaboration of procedures,
-REC CO BIH to prepare first working drafts of
-Public Enterprise for water management
rights and duties concerning AI and PP
bylaws, when needed supported by consultants
(FB&H),
-selection of priority bylaws in close cooperation with
-OT and other stakeholders to participate in process
-Institutes in charge for water quality,
National OT
of consultations
-NGOs familiar with AI and PP, DEF
-legal drafting exercise after needs are selected
network,
-organization of half day meeting/consultations
-Chambers of Commerce and
concerning drafts bylaws improving of the text
Agriculture associations (water
consumption);
Ombudsman;
Human rights related NGOs
4
NGO/DEF contributing to the improvement of access
DEF network, other NGO networks dealing with
NGOs active the field of access to
to water related through development of a water
Water issues and Aarhus Convention
water related information and public
information brochure
-REC BIH office to coordinate
participation including DEF, Eco-
Organize a WG that would support the activity
network (Ekomreza), NGO
Produce an information brochure/leaflet for NGOs
representatives to National OT,
in order to assist the public to find the water
related information sources, and increase their
capacity to interpret the data provided by
authorities.
Based on the findings to give input to the Manual
addressed to the authorities
List of national activities in Bulgaria under Component 3.4 of the Danube Regional Project
Enhancing Access to Information and Public Participation in Environmental Decision-Making
Activities/List of steps
Stakeholders Coordinator
1) Assessment and improvement of the rules and regulations regarding the confidentiality of
The stakeholders described in
environmental information for authorities
the Notes.
A) Assessment of the current situation in Bulgaria and comparison with EU practices on
The same stakeholders
External expert
access to water-related and other environmental information. The activity includes:
B) Elaboration of a set of recommendations for improvements in the current situation in
The same stakeholders
External expert
Bulgaria with respect to access to environmental information: e.g. a draft law, an amendment
to existing laws or a guidance material for civil servants
C) Formation of a Working Group (WG) of officials and NGO experts to discuss and develop
The same stakeholders
External expert / REC
the proposals for improvement of access to environmental information. (The group will have 3
CO Bulgaria
meetings throughout the project implementation).
D) Interaction with interested and affected businesses. Organizing of half a day meeting in
The same stakeholders with a
External expert and
Sofia where businesses representatives will discuss the proposed draft(s) for
focus on business
REC CO Bulgaria
creation/amendment of the legislation concerning access to environmental information.
representatives.
(Expected number of participants 20)
E) Capacity building workshop for officials for presenting and discussing practices in EU
The same stakeholders
REC CO Bulgaria
Member States on access to environmental information and their potential application in
/MoEW
Bulgaria. (Potential venue for the meeting: MoEW. Expected number of participants 25-30
officials).
F) Development of a guidance material on how to address the issue of confidentiality in
The same stakeholders
External expert/ WG
environmental information provision. The purpose of the guidance material will be to give
members
recommendations to individuals and organizations how to act when access to information is
denied on confidentiality grounds either by institutions, or by businesses.
75
2) Training and capacity building for authorities
National and regional
External experts/ REC CO
authorities
Bulgaria
A) Identification of good practices and failures to implement the existing procedures for
MoEW, other authorities,
MoEW, other national and
active/passive access to information with special focus on water related environmental
NGOs
regional institutions,
information.
NGOs, external experts,
REC CO Bulgaria
B) Training of officials to implement the identified techniques/good practices during one-
MoEW, other authorities,
External experts / REC
day workshop based on the results from 2 A). The developed report for promotion of good
NGOs
CO Bulgaria
practices prepared under 2 A) will be included in the training materials and discussion
topics of the workshop. (Expected number of participants: 25, as the training is targeted at
officials from the RBDs and other institutions that process and provide water related
information).
3) Enhancing the active dissemination of information on environment and water
MoEW, other authorities,
REC CO Bulgaria
through a web page
NGOs
A) Elaboration of a web site of the Danube RDB (and eventually of the West Aegian RBD) MoEW, other authorities,
MoEW/RBD/ExEA/WG/
and integrating them with the existing RBD web sites. The activities include:
NGOs
REC CO Bulgaria
B) Development of an online material on frequently asked questions (FAQ)
MoEW, RBDs, other
External experts/MoEW/
authorities, NGOs
RBDs/ REC CO Bulgaria
C) Develop and upload on web site a guidance material on access to information. The
MoEW, other authorities,
External experts/MoEW/
activities include:
NGOs
REC CO Bulgaria
D) Hosting and maintenance
RBDs, MoEW
External provider
E) Training of RBDs IT staff
RBDs, MoEW
External expert , REC
COBulgaria
4) Brochure development
NGOs, MoEW, RBDs, RIEW
External experts / WG
A) Develop a brochure targeted at NGOs and the general public on how/where to access
NGOs, MoEW, RBDs, RIEWs,
External experts / WG
environmental / water related information. (Expected size of the brochure: up to 10 pages; WG
76
number of copies: 5,000 to 8,000).
B) Half a day meeting for discussion of the draft brochure (Expected number of
NGOs, MoEW, RBDs, RIEWs,
REC CO Bulgaria
participants 20).
WG
C) Publication of the brochure
NGOs, MoEW, RBDs, RIEWs,
External provider /
1. Design, layout and publication of the brochure
WG
REC CO Bulgaria /
2. Dissemination of the brochure.
MoEW, RBDs
5) 2nd National Meeting on DRP 3.4
NGOs, MoEW, RBDs, RIEWs,
REC CO Bulgaria /
MoEW
6) PR services
MoEW, RBDs, RIEWs
External provider /
REC CO Bulgaria
7) Demo project assistance
NGOs, MoEW, RBDs, RIEWs,
External experts /
REC CO Bulgaria
8) Project management and reporting
REC CO Bulgaria, WG
REC CO Bulgaria
Notes:
1. A
Working Group(WG) of 4-5 representatives of key stakeholders will be established in the last quarter of 2005 to assist the planning and implementation of key
project activities. It will naturally succeed the former Operational Group (OG) under the project as it will attract some of its members.
2. A wider circle of stakeholder experts/bodies will be asked for a feedback when a questionnaire, web page or paper/brochure is prepared. A copy of the
questionnaire/the paper will be sent electronically to these experts/bodies and they will be asked to comment on the content. he following experts/bodies could be
included in the list: at the national level: Ministry of Environment and Water and other relevant national ministries and agencies; Association of Municipal
Ecologists and National Association of Bulgarian Municipalities; business community: the Bulgarian Economic Forum, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce /
Bulgarian Industrial Chamber and their key member businesses, Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum, The Bulgarian International Business Association (BIBA) and
other relevant local or international commercial associations; at the local level: the four Regional Basin Directorates; municipalities and Regional Inspectorates on
Environment and Water in the Danube region where industrial activities take place Russe, Pleven, Lom, Vidin, Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo, etc; civil society: experts
from key NGO active in water protection and in access to information issues, ect..
3. In addition, smaller face-to-face meetings will be held during the project implementation and the preparation of questionnaires, web pages or papers/brochures.
Participants in those meeting will be representatives from the most direct beneficiaries of the concrete activity (e.g. representatives from the 4 RBDs when the web
page design is discussed) and members of the Working Group under the project.
77
List of national activities in Croatia within component DRP 3.4Enhancing Access to Information and Public Participation in
Environmental Decision-making
UNDP-GEF Danube Regional Project, Project Output 3.4
No
Activity/List of steps
Responsible/Who will implement
Stakeholders to be involved
Priori
(Please describe the activity and bullet point the
(Name the organization, institution,
(Name the organization, institution,
ty
steps)
department, person)
department, person
1
Drafting internal protocol
Directorate for Water Management in Croatian
Ministry for Environmental Protection,
Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Water
Spatial Planning and Construction; Dept.
Step 1: Analysis on the situation of public access to water Management; Dept. responsible for public
for Environmental Protection Nevenka
management related information in EU countries
participation issues; Sanja Genzi
Preradovi; Ministry for Marine Affairs,
Tourism, Traffic and Development; Dept.
Step 2: Base on that proposing and drafting the best
National experts "Eurolex"
for PR and public participation issues;
model of access to information and information exchange REC CO role is to facilitate and support the
REC CO
project through organizing coordination meetings
Step 3: Conducting workshop to present the 1st draft of
and to coordinate particular phases.
the protocol
Step 4: Harmonization of the proposed model according
to the comments/proposals provided through the
workshop/discussion
Step 5: Finalization of the model taking into account the
outcome of the discussions
Step 6: Designing and printing the document
Step 7: Presentation and dissemination of a new model
78
No
Activity/List of steps
Responsible/Who will implement
Stakeholders to be involved
Priori
(Please describe the activity and bullet point the
(Name the organization, institution,
(Name the organization, institution,
ty
steps)
department, person)
department, person
2
Publishing a practical guide/brochure on public access to DEF Croatia and Croatian Environmental Agency MoE Nevenka Prearadovi; Croatian
water related information to be used by the NGOs and
Waters; Croatian Environmental Agency;
general public, aimed on improvement of the public
REC HQ will provide the input on similar
Directorate for Water Management -
access to water related information.
projects deliverables. REC CO will provide
Karmen Cerar and ICPDR delegation to
technical support.
Croatia - Mojca Luksi .
The brochure will enable target group in a way of
providing them practical assistance on how/where/whom
to approach when info is needed , which institution holds
what information, and also how to address relevant
institutions in a more efficient way.
Step 1 Developing brochure
Step 2 Public presentation and dissemination
3
Developing the training program on AI and PP
Ministry for Environmental Protection, Spatial
All Croatian Ministries and regional/local
procedures
Planning and Construction; Directorate for
public authorities dealing with all kinds of
Environmental Protection - Nevenka Preradovi
environmentally relevant information
will be the resource point and lecturer. She will
Step 1. Creating/developing the training
be designing agenda and training program in
program/materials
cooperation and input from "Croatian Waters"
representative.
Step 2. Conducting 2 two-days workshops
Professional trainers should be contracted to
Step 3. Evaluation process. Defining future needs in
deliver trainings. REC CO will provide technical
capacity building activities.
support and
coordination.
79
List of national activities in Romania under Component 3.4 of the Danube Regional Project
Enhancing Access to Information and Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making
UNDP-GEF Danube Regional Project, Project Output 3.4
No.
Activity/List of steps
Responsible/Who will implement
Prior (Please describe the (Name the organization, institution, department, person)
ity
activity and bullet
point the steps)
1
Improvement in the
1/Assess how currently RBCs function with regard to communication and information dissemination
functioning of the
· identification and analysis of stakeholders involved in WFD implementation
River Basin
· assess the situation regarding the accessibility and dissemination of information (documents produced by RBCs)
Committees (RBCs),
· assess the methods of communication/ information dissemination of RBC members and among RBCs
focusing on
and how the information from the members is reaching the communities (public)
communication and
· assess and analyse how the feedback from the public on the delivered information gets back to RBC and how this is being used
public involvement
· assess and analyze how feedback among RBC members is being used within the RBCs and among RBCs
aspects
How:
Form a group of stakeholders that will steer the process and will guide the expert in the work to be performed
RBC WG will be formed by Op.Team members, some selected members of RBCs and their supervisors in the MoEWM, and RW.
Their work would consist at this stage in:
-
give guidance to expert for elaboration of questionnaire targeting the current function of the RBCs
-
brainstorm and elaborate on how the questionnaires will be distributed and later collected
-
consider the ways how the results will be integrated so that it highlights the aspect needed
-
comment and complete the work of the expert
-
collecting input of certain aspects form the Demo Project
Translation in English the content of the questionnaires, translation of the insights of the findings, so that partners can make input.
2/ Share good practice examples of RBCs (Rom, and other countries)
· present models of information dissemination and communication and within RBCs and other similar entities in other countries and how
feedback is used
· present case examples (from Romania and other countries), ok of stakeholder representation and involvement of public into water
management issues in communities
80
No.
Activity/List of steps
Responsible/Who will implement
Prior (Please describe the (Name the organization, institution, department, person)
ity
activity and bullet
point the steps)
· partners could contribute to this work.
The RBC WG and NL study tour participants work would consist of:
· -assisting expert for collecting these good practices from other countries, on the specific gaps and problems identified by the
questionnaires
· -share their own experiences
· -guide the work of the expert
3/ Drafting recommendations presenting solutions for the RBCs in scope to improve their work with regard to A to I and PP
· -using the result of the assessed situation, then discussing the good practices presented and look into how these can be best
implemented within the structure of the RBCs in Romania
The RBC WG work would consist in:
-assist the expert in preparing an appropriate summary/ working document for the 2nd National Meeting
-participate actively and give more insights for the participants of the 2nd National Meeting for this agenda point
-to guide the process of feedback collection and discuss recommendations for achieving improvements
Translation of the summary of the working document.
4/ Capacity building for the RBCs
-
based on the findings, best practices discussed, the possible recommendations a larger group of RBCs could undergo through a
targeted hands on exercise on how this know how could be put into practice
2 Development
of
Establishing a WG that will serve as steering body during the process, Op Team members, NGO, RW, NEPA, MoEWM
Manual for
1/ Draft the content of the guidance material
Authorities for
The Task of this WG will be:
assuring public access
-to select an appropriate expert/s
to water related
-to brainstorm over the content of such manual
information and sharing -to guide the work of the expert
practices of public
involvement in water
2/ Discuss and disseminate the 1st draft
decision making
The task of the WG would:
-to give input , feedback directions after reading the first draft
-to guide the work of the expert for continuation of its work
-to assist the expert to prepare the extract for the 2nd draft for the 2nd National Meeting
3/ Present the 2nd draft and collect feedback, comments from stakeholders
4/To assist the work of the expert in integrating the comments collected, as well as integrating the issues identified and finalised under
activity 1/
81
No.
Activity/List of steps
Responsible/Who will implement
Prior (Please describe the (Name the organization, institution, department, person)
ity
activity and bullet
point the steps)
Development
of NGO WG, coordinated by DEF -Eco Counselling Center Galati
brochure for wider
-define the content how, which information will be used?
public and NGOs
-select the authors
(interlink of certain
-prepare 1st draft
parts from manuals) on
-discuss in the 1st draft among interested NGOs
where/what/how the
-share the 2nd draft during the 2nd National Meeting
information on water
-integrate the findings, and the working paper on the selection process of delegated NGO representatives within RBCs, input from
related issues can be
Demonstration Project
accessed and how
public can be part of the
decision making
process)
Abbreviations: MoEWM Ministry of Environment and Water Management
RW-Romanian Waters
NEPA - National Environmental Protection Agency
MoPH-Ministry of Public Health
REPA - Regional Environmental Protection Agency
MoET- Ministry of Economy and Trade
LEPA Local Environmental Protection Agency
MoAFRD- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development
AUAI-Association of Water user for Irrigation
DEF-Danube Environmental Forum
82
List of national Activities in Serbia, under DRP component 3.4
Enhancing Access to Information and Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making
UNDP-GEF Danube Regional Project, Project Output 3.4
Priori
Activity/List of steps
Responsible/Who will implement
Stakeholders to be involved
ty
(Please describe the activity and bullet point the (Name the organization, institution, department, person)
(Name the organization, institution,
steps)
department, person
1
1.Development of Manual (on Serbian) for Officials
Manual for Officials
- Ministries (MAFW-WD, MSEP-DEP ,
· discussion on outline with officials and key
Activity 1. Authors Two National experts and international
MH, MCI-WT, MEM, )
NGO-one day meeting and collection of the
expertise provided from REC, NYU, RFF
- SEPSDAP Vojvodina
comments-creation of the Project Network of
Activity 2: Defining structure/outline of manuals (prepared by
- Special Institutions (RHMI, EPA, RSI,
officials and key NGO
experts)-consultations with international experts (REC, NYU, RF)
IPN, etc.)
· 1st draft version
Prepare 1st draft (consultants)
- Public Water Management Companies
· sent draft version to the created Project
Consultations-meeting with int. parties and collection of comments
- Health Institutes (RHI & CI)
Network of Officials and key NGO the
on 1st draft (interested parties: MAFW-WD, MSEP-DEP , MH,
- University authorities
network of the officials
MCI-WT, MEM,
- NGOs
· 1-day meeting to discuss draft version or
Special Institutions: RHMI, EPA, IPN, etc.
presentation on capacity building meeting for
Public Water Management Companies
officials ( Nr 3) finalize the draft based on the
Health Institutes RHI & CI
reactions from the capacity building seminar
University authorities
meeting
NGOs)
· final version
· dissemination
Activity 3.REC (design, printing and publishing) -Editing and
proof reading (individuals REC's contractors)
2
2. Development of Brochure (up to 15 pages) for NGO
Brochure
F
and Public - extract/summary-information prepared for
the public of certain parts from manuals where to find
Activity 1.
information?
Selection of the experts
from whom?, etc.)
Activity 2. Defining the structure (National expert)/outline in
83
Priori
Activity/List of steps
Responsible/Who will implement
Stakeholders to be involved
ty
(Please describe the activity and bullet point the (Name the organization, institution, department, person)
(Name the organization, institution,
steps)
department, person
· Selection of the authors
cooperation with international experts (REC, NYU, RFF)
· Drafting
Activity 3.
· Discussion on a draft-meeting organizes
Development of the Brochure for NGO and Public
together with the outline discussion meeting in
the first activity
· editing
· design
· proof reading
· printing
· dissemination of the brochure: publishing on
web-dissemination through the networks, sent
by regular mail to the NGOs
3
Capacity building seminars
Capacity building seminar for Officials:
Same as in 1st National activity + local
Activity 1 Development of the Agenda, venue, time (REC and
authorities from cities where seminar will be
1. Capacity building workshops for Officials
Facilitators)
held +local NGO as well as NGOs from
Two Capacity building two days seminar in Novi Sad
Activity 2
National and Operational team, NGO from
and Nis for Officials and key NGOs (altogether 60
Preparation of the presentations and working groups (REC and
Demonstration project+ municipal Public
participants).
experts who were working on Manual
Health Institutes, water related institutes and
"Public Participation and Access to Information on water Selection of the facilitator (REC)
Municipal representatives from Bor (Pilot
related issues"
Activity 3
project)
· presentation of the draft Manual for the
Identification of the participants (REC CO in cooperation with
Officials and collection of the suggestions
MAFW-WD and MSEP-DEP)
· presentation of new set of laws in Serbia and
Activity 4Sending invitations(RECCO)
legal projects ongoing (draft laws) and their
Activity 5
practical implementation
Realization of the seminar (REC CO, experts, facilitators)
Activities:
· Selection of the participants and venue
· realization of the seminar
Capacity building seminar for the NGO and Public
Activity 1
Development of the Agenda (REC-Facilitator)
Activity 2
84
Priori
Activity/List of steps
Responsible/Who will implement
Stakeholders to be involved
ty
(Please describe the activity and bullet point the (Name the organization, institution, department, person)
(Name the organization, institution,
steps)
department, person
2. Capacity building seminar for NGOs
Preparation of the presentations (National expert who were working
on Brochure and other resource persons (presenting good practices
(one day-30 participants) organized back to back with
on water related information/participation issues-NGO from
the seminar for the Officials in Novi Sad with one joint
Slovenia/Hungary and NGO from Bor-Demonstration project
session with officials!
Activity 3
Identification of the participants and sending information (REC
CO)
Activity 4 Realization of the seminar, realization of the one session
together with officials Capacity building workshop (REC, Experts,
facilitators)
Abbreviations:
RHMI- Republican Hydro Meteorological Institution
MAFW-WD Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
Water, Directorate for Water
IPN-Institute for Protection of Nature of Serbia
MSEP-DEP Ministry of Science and Environmental
Health Institutes (RHI & CI)
Protection, Directorate for environmental Protection
NYU-New York University of Law
MH-Ministry of Health
RF-Resources for Future
MCI-WT-Ministry of Capital Investment
REC-Regional Environmental Centre
MEM-Ministry of Energy and Mining
SEPSDAP Vojvodina- Secretariat for Environmental
Protection and Sustainable Development of Autonomous
Province of Vojvodina
85
Enhancing Access to Information and Public
Participation in Environmental Decision
Making
Component 3.4 of the Danube Regional Project
PROJECT: Inclusion Of Citizens, Ngos, Industry And Relevant Authorities In Decision Process
Related To Water Quality In Lukavac, October 2005 October 2006
NGO: Ecological Association Of Citizens "Eko-Zeleni" Lukavac, Husejin Keran (Project
Leader)
COUNTRY: Bosnia (Lukavac City)
Project Background:
Lukavac City is a large industrial center near Modrac Lake, an artificial lake accumulated from
the Spreca and Turija Rivers. Modrac Lake is used for both industrial purposes in Tuzla and
Lukavac, as well as drinking water for Lukavac residents. The lake is polluted directly by several
Lukavac City industrial sites and villages surrounding it which dump untreated waste and
domestic pollutants into the river. It is also polluted indirectly by the Spreca River, which picks up
pollution from the city of Spreca on its way to Modrac Lake. Finally, when the Spreca River
floods the surrounding countryside, particularly when flood water is combined with Modrac Lake
water, surrounding villages are subject to contaminated drinking water as well. The effects of
pollution on flora, fauna, and human health are unknown. The local municipalities and other
relevant authorities do not have an adequate or accurate overview of what pollutants are present in
the river, lake, and drinking water, or a clear picture of who has what information and what
additional information should be produced. They need assistance in filling in gaps in this
information, particularly in regards to cooperating with other authorities.
Goals and Overall Objectives
FACILITATING COOPERATION AMONG STAKEHOLDERS
·
To stimulate the authorities to work with each other and other stakeholders to map
existing and missing water related information.
ACCESSING AND IMPROVING ACCESS TO INFORMATION
· To improve public access to information by assessing what information is available from
authorities and stakeholders with regard to water issues in the Lukavac area. Once this is
accomplished, the project will help to set up a system for the exchange of water-related
information between authorities and try to develop a plan whereby such information can
be made available (both actively and passively) to citizens.
INCREASING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING
· To improve the condition of citizens' participation in water-related decision-making. The
project will stimulate a dialogue that could bring about possible solutions to such
problems as water quality.
86
How to get there Specific Activities
·
INTERVIEW, QUESTIONAIRES, AND ROUNDTABLE
In order to find out the current situation relative to water-related information, interviews will be
conducted with relevant authorities. The public will be able to attend and ask questions. Secondly,
Eco-Green volunteers will conduct questionnaires with local residents to determine their interest
in acquiring water-related information and their level of current participation in environmental
decision-making. Lastly, a roundtable will be conducted with relevant parties to discuss the
findings of interviews and the questionnaire and brainstorm about possible solutions. Information
from best practices in other countries will be considered. The possibility of training government
workers on access to information provisions will be brought forth as a possible step in improving
the situation. Finally, if authorities agree, water will be sampled to determine its pollution
category according to national categories (1 to 4). Findings of all three activities will be made
available to the public through reports disseminated to the media and through the web and other
classical information dissemination methods.
·
ANALYISIS OF SPRECA RIVER
Independent expertize will provide information on the river's water category in order to help
citizens, NGOs, industry, and government understand the river's current quality status according
to categories set by BiH law. Workshops will be held to inform all relevant parties of results
obtained, and to assist authorities on how to process information and make it available to citizens.
Possible changes in information dissemination will be discussed, possibly implemented, and
assessed in a second workshop.
·
RAISING PUBLIC AWARNESS THROUGH INFORMATION DISSEMINATION
The outcomes of discussions, capacity building, proposed possible changes, and the river analysis
will be communicated to the public through a brochure. The public will be encouraged to provide
feedback on the project.
Outcomes
In summary, this project will assess the current status of information access at the government
level, inform the public about project results, gather information on the current quality of Spreca's
water, and attempt to facilitate change through collaborative means.
87
Enhancing Access to Information and
Public Participation in Environmental
Decision Making,
Component 3.4 of the Danube Regional
Project
Project: The Right to Know and to Participate in Water Management, October 2005 October
2006
NGO: Association for Useful Activities "Ecomission 21 Century," Nelly Miteva (Project Leader)
Country: Bulgaria (-Lovech & Troyan Counties)
Project Background
According to a recent report from the Executive Environmental Agency (2005), the Osam River is
the most polluted in Bulgaria. However, the people of the Lovech and Troyan Counties are not
adequately informed about how the watershed is managed, and how they can gain access to
environmental information, even though they are quite active in other areas of social and
economic life. While industry is not the only cause of pollution, it is believed that Lesoplast plant,
which operates without an IPPC permit, contributes significantly to the problem. Another plant,
Actavis in Troyan, has recently been issued a permit but the public has not been informed of the
conditions and effects of this permit. Ecomission 21 Century is addressing these problems through
assessment, awareness raising, and capacity building.
Goals and Overall Objectives
· IDENTIFYING BARRIERS TO ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
The Bulgarian Law for Access to information has been in operation since 2000. However,
execution is not standardized among institutions. Preliminary assessment would identify gaps in
how the law is implemented at the local level and suggest changes.
· STRENGTHENING THE INTERACTION BETWEEN NGOS AND LOCAL
AUTHORITIES
NGOs don't necessarily know how to access information. As well, local authorities need to
improve their ability to handle requests. Workshops will address these issues.
· INCREASING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN WATER MANAGEMENT
Information is the first step towards participation. Getting information requires access the gaps
against which must be overcome. Through a combination of improving access procedures and
informing the public of water-related concerns, public participation will be improved.
How to Get There Specific Activities
· PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT
In order to address barriers to accessing environmental information, they must be determined.
Therefore, an access to information request will be made to the Municipalities of Lovech and
88
Troyan, the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water-Pleven and the Danube River Basin
Directorate, and the Regional Inspectorate of the Protection and Control of Human Health
(Troyan and Lovech). Access requests will include data on water quality and human health,
pollution sources and risks, a copy of the complex permit of Actavis and information on the
monitoring of fulfilling permit requirements.
· WORKSHOPPING TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION
A workshop will be held for representatives of the appropriate country governments and water authorities in
order to discuss the current state of access to information based on the first trial access request. Suggestions
for improvement will be discussed and a draft proposal for change will be formulated. Afterwards, a second
access request will be made to test improvements. After this second request, another workshop will be held
to formalize proposed changes, the details of which will be distributed via CDs to other municipalities.
Flowing out of the second workshop, public information on access to information will be distributed
through internet networks and a brochure.
· PUBLIC OUTREACH
Water quality, human health, and access difficulties will be communicated to the public through
media coverage to increase awareness of water issues facing communities.
Outcomes
In essence, this project is about testing the Bulgarian Law for Access to Information. Where
information is not accessible, concrete steps will be proposed to combat this through capacity
building and improving communication between NGOs and governments. At the county level, the
project team will strive for local governments to commit to improving public participation
mechanisms. At the national level, the project team will encourage the national government to see
that the good practices and ameliorative proposals for transparent water management and access
to information coming out of this project will be applied to different counties and water basins.
89
Enhancing Access to Information and Public
Participation in Environmental Decision Making,
Component 3.4 of the Danube Regional Project
Project: Osijek Water Forum Enhancing public involvement in waste water management,
October 2005 October 2006
NGO: Green Osijek Ecological Association, Jasmin Sadikovic (Project Leader)
Country: Croatia (Osijek)
Project Background
In Osijek, Croatia, 500,000 l of waste water is pumped almost directly into the River Drava,
untreated, every day. Sometime in the future, a treatment plant will be built but its structure and
function relative to environmental and human health remain unformulated and thus a source of
some concern for Osijek residents. In nearby Cepin, citizens are having their own problems with
the water management practices of the local oil factory. Before 2002, the Cepin Oil Factory
pumped its wastewater into drainage canals, influencing Cepin residents' agricultural production
and drinking water. By alerting the local and national media, ecological NGO Green Osijek put a
stop to the factory's practices. However, current information on company practices remains
locked behind plant doors. Indeed, the ensuing media scandal didn't solve the larger structural
problems that continue to affect Osijek and Cepin residents alike there is a widespread lack of
waste water management, civic transparency, and public participation in environmental decision-
making in the region.
In the interests of mobilizing public concern in relation to environmental transparency and the
need for ecologically sound solutions to waste water management, Green Osijek is taking a
leading role in combating environmental inaccessibility. Specifically, they propose to address the
need for improvement in access to information and public participation with regard to the above
mentioned issues.
Goals and Overall Objectives
· FOLLOWING THE DECISION PROCESS CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF
A WASTE WATER TREATEMENT PLANT
This project supports efforts to control and regularly monitor the level of pollution in the
Drava River by setting up a transparent and efficient planning process for decision on the
construction and operation of a waste water treatment plant.
90
· HARMONIZING CROATIA'S WATER LAWS WITH THE EU'S WATER
FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE
This project adopts and implements the Croatian Water Law in line with the EU Water
Framework Directive, which is striving to achieve a better status for all of Europe's surface
and ground waters and requires the public to be informed of definitions of river basin
characteristics, and actively involved in the drafting and implementation of river basin
management plans and future programs.
· PROMOTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AARHUS-SYNCRONIZED ACCESS TO
INFORMATION LEGISTLATION
This project promotes the implementation of the Law of the Right to Access to Information,
new Croatian legislation which is a bold step towards both reinforcing the first pillar of the
Aarhus Convention relating to ensuring access to environmental information and moving
further towards the Convention's ratification.
How to Get There - Specific Activities
The objectives above require specific action. Thus, this project will undertake the following:
· ESTABLISHING THE OSIJEK WATER FORUM
A Water Forum will be established through a series of three roundtables with identified
stakeholders, including state institutions responsible for water management issues ("Croatian
Waters" and Water Pipeline Osijek), local governments (City of Osijek, Osijek Baranja
County), private sector representatives (Cepin Oil Factory), environmental NGO's (Green Osijek,
Green Action, fishermen associations, other environmentally relevant groups active on local
level), and educational institutions (i.e. University of Technology for Food Production).
Preliminary tasks of the Forum will include developing the mechanisms for public involvement
and information sharing, and setting and finalizing protocols of conduct for Forum activities with
the approval of stakeholders and the responsible water authorities. It is expected that the Forum
will grow to become a permanent platform for Osijek regional communication about water issues.
Green Osijek will facilitate between interest groups involved in the network until a permanent
secretariat can be developed.
· DEVELOPING A PUBLIC OUTREACH POSTER
A poster will be published to raise awareness about existing pollution problems in the area,
possible solutions, including the need for a wastewater treatment plant and where information can
be found regarding these issues. It will also contain a short description of the Osijek Water Forum
project. The poster will be disseminated in public institutions, schools, NGO's etc. It is designed
to spur public interest, and potential involvement in water management issues. The poster will be
prepared by Green Osijek in cooperation with the Osijek town and local water authorities.
· ENGAGING IN MEDIA OUTREACH
The Osijek Water Forum project will be presented to the local media. Dalibor Radman, a
journalist from the Glas Slavonije, a daily newspaper in the region, will facilitate this process as a
member of Green Osijek. The project activities will be covered regularly throughout different
phases of the project.
· CONTRIBUTING TO INTERNATIONAL WATER DAY
On 22nd of March 2006, International Water Day, a "street action" will be organized. Project
organizers will set up a kiosk/panel displaying promotional project and water-related materials.
91
Citizens will receive information on how to save water, as well as facts and figures on communal
water, examples of good European practice, and how and where to access information. Different
water-related institutions would be asked to present themselves, describing their work and role in
water management, problems and possible solutions.
Outcomes
In summary then, over the course of the Osijek Water Forum project, project organizers would
like to establish a functional Water Forum with all of the attendant networking required to
commence such a Forum as well as maintain its continued integrity. Throughout this process,
public education and access to water-related environmental information is key, and will provide
the right sort of momentum to contribute to public participation in the decision-making process so
that activities like the ongoing construction of a waste water treatment plant will encounter and
respond to public concerns. In the end, relevant knowledge and experience must be exchanged
and implemented in a way that accounts for local circumstances. In this way, broad but ambitious
directives like the Water Framework Directive to clean of Europe's water's by 2015 and the three
pillars of Aarhus Convention, specifically the right to access to environmental information and
public participation in environmental decision making, can be realized in an affective and
appropriate way.
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Enhancing Access to Information and Public
Participation in Environmental Decision
Making, Component 3.4 of the Danube
Regional Project
PROJECT: Taking Care Of The River Together With Its Beneficiaries: Improving The Flow Of
Information And Public Involvement In Water Management Through The Capacity Building Of
Diverse Interest Groups, September 2005 September 2006
NGO: Focus Eco Center, Zoltan Hajdu (Project Leader)
COUNTRY: Romania (Tirgu Mures)
Project Background
The Mures River Basin, specifically the River surrounding the city of Tirgu Mures, is severely
polluted. From upstream, the river is affected by the Reghin water treatment station and pig farms
from Gornesti. Tirgu Mures' own water treatment station contributes to this pollution. As well,
artificial fertilizers, industrial plants, and agricultural and rural runoff contribute further to this
pollution. These influences have significantly impacted residents in Tirgu Mures and Iernut, who
derive their drinking water from the river. In fact, the cost of drinking water in Tirgu Mures is one
of the most expensive in Romania because the cost of cleaning the water is so expensive. The
groundwater is also polluted which is very critical because in the rural areas of the basin
individuals use wells to obtain their drinking water.
Quick Facts: The full length of the Mures River is 789
km. Of that, 761 km lies on the Romanian territory. The
Mures catchments basin is 29,500 km2 large, 27,890 km2
of which is in Romania.
In recent years, the Mures River Basin acted as a technical pilot area for the implementation of the
Water Framework Directive, which requires EU countries to organize water management at the
basin level.
Although relevant decision-making processes are done in accordance with Romanian legislation,
the process is still lacking appropriate access to information and public participation mechanisms.
The NGOs at the national level expressed their concerns that the selection of the representatives
did not happen in an appropriate way. They expressed concerns about selection time and
consultation. Given that Romania will likely become a member of the EU in 2007, the time for
fine tuning the public participation and access components of the WFD is short, but the need is
significant.
Goals and Overall Objectives
CREATING A BETTER INTEGRATED MODEL FOR NGO PARTICIPATION IN THE
RIVER BASIN COMMITTEES (RBCs)
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· RBCs are a rather new water management bodies for Romania. Given this the project's
findings an proposed approaches are key to increasing public participation within RBCs
so that the NGOs participation is improved and Water Framework Directive is adequately
implemented.
ASSISTING THE MURES RIVER BASIN COMMITTEE IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
PROCESS
· Pending the appropriate consent, attempts will be made to improve public participation
mechanisms relative to the WFD in order to build the capacities of River Basin
Committees.
INFORMATION DISSEMINATION
· Inform the public about environmental pollution, including specific information about
discharge points, diffuse pollution sources, levels and types of pollutants, and the
effects of pollution on environmental and human health.
How to get there Specific Activities
· WATER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION
According to the Aarhus Convention, stakeholders have a right to be informed and involved in
the RBC planning process. In the case of the Mures River Basin, this process needs to be
improved. Thus, project organizers will collect information about best practices in water
management throughout the EU, particularly in regards to water basin management organization,
collect information on how the Mures RBC actually works, and distribute this information to
relevant stakeholders.
· LOBBYING THE RBC
The RBC is in need of better NGO representation. Thus project organizers and relevant
stakeholders from the NGO community will strive to improve the NGO participation in the Mures
Water Basin Committee meetings. The Water Authority will be lobbied regarding current NGO
selection criteria, and alternative procedures will be recommended. A guide entitled "How to
work together" will be circulated to facilitate further cooperation through the description of best
practices in integrated water management based on successful case studies.
· TRAINING NGOS AND WATER AUTHORITIES ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
PROCEDURES
NGOs and civil servants from the Water Authority and EPA will be invited to participate in
workshops which will provide training on effective public participation according to provisions of
WFD. The technical implementation of the WFD will be addressed in parallel workshops
involving separate financing resources.
· INVOLVING NGOs AND THE PUBLIC
In the interest of involving the public in project activities, a database of affected parties (NGOs,
CBOs, small communities, private companies, etc.) will be created both to better inform them of
ongoing project activities and to identify parties with an active interest in the elaboration and
outcome of the project. These latter groups will be encouraged to participate in information
dissemination and take an active role in decision-making processes, particularly in regards to
future NGO representation on RBCs. Special attention will be paid to the Niraj River basin (a sub-
basin of the Mures River), whose stakeholders are in the process of working out water
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management plans. Finally, project staff will organize an awareness raising event on all of these
issues for Water Day 2006.
· PROVIDING A MODEL FOR POSSIBLE USE IN OTHER RIVER BASINS
This project it is an important step for the integrated river management program of Focus Eco
Center, and an important step towards public participation in water management in Romania. The
selection procedure of NGO representatives elaborated during the project will be debated by the
NGO community at the national level and will be proposed for use in the other 10 Romanian river
basins. Thus project organizers will meet and evaluate the program and inform the media of
current outcomes and future impacts of the project. They will also use the networks established
during the project to maintain adequate communication between stakeholders as water basin
management continues to be elaborated throughout the region.
Outcomes
In summary then, this project will accomplish three overarching objectives. It will build a network
of stakeholders, particularly from the NGO sector, with an interest in water basin management. It
will propose a better model of public engagement and NGO selection, lobby Water Authorities to
this end, and build the capacity of NGOs and civil servants in dealing with transparent water
management, accessible information, and efficient public participation. In the end, it will test and
share good practices in the Mures River with regard to access to information and public
participation.
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Enhancing Access to Information and Public
Participation in Environmental Decision
Making, Component 3.4 of the Danube Regional
Project
PROJECT: Demonstration Project In Bor, Serbia And Montenegro, September 2005
September 2006
NGO: Association Of Young Researchers Bor, Toplica Marjanovic (Project Leader)
COUNTRY: Serbia And Montenegro (Bor)
Project Background
Bor is a mining industrial center in east Serbia, S& in which industrial discharges and domestic
sewage pollute water currents, river coasts, and surroundings particularly in the Bor and Krivelj
Rivers. In terms of total waste water, about 45%, or around 9 million m3, is attributed to mining
and metallurgy in the form of leaching from pits and ground waters. While some of the discharges
from metallurgy could be managed in less damaging ways, there are currently no facilities for
wastewater treatment in Bor. Wastewater from Bor endangers the county of Bor, as well as other
river-based communities in Serbia and Bulgaria, significantly influencing the quality of water in
the West Balkans and Danube Basin. Even though technologies to improve the situation are
known and applied in other countries, and the commitment of different stakeholders to
environmental democracy has been demonstrated in the adoption of a Local Environmental
Action Plan (LEAP) and a District Environment Action Plan (DEAP) in 2003 and 2004
respectively, authorities still lack the money, equipment, and information to facilitate the control
of water quality.
Access to information needs to be improved through the training of authorities on such things as
managing information requests and disseminating information quickly. EU directives and other
provisions that could bring about better water management, access to information, and public
participation in environmental decision-making are less known to local authorities, public
companies, businesses, expert institutions and interested citizens. Overall then, this project will
address weakness at the local level in terms of access to environmental information, and public
participation in environmental decision-making.
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Goals and Overall Objectives
· STAKEHOLDER INDENTIFICATION AND INPUT
The project must identify all interested stakeholders and form a stakeholder group which will
work towards solving problems in gathering and utilizing wastewater information and
enabling public participation in environmental decision-making.
· BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES
The project will attempt to improve the skills and capacity of local authority in collecting and
disseminating information.
· NETWORKING AND TRAINING NGOs TO ACCESS INFORMATION
The project will train NGOs to access information and to network with each other on waste water
issues.
· INFORMING THE PUBLIC ABOUT WATER QUALITY AND ACCESS
PROCEDURES
Finally, the project must raise public awareness of water pollution problems, informing the public
about possible routes to access information and helping to facilitate communication between
public and local authorities
How to get there Specific Activities
· PROJECT KICKOFF, ROUNDTABLE AND PUBLIC OUTREACH
After starting the project off with media coverage and initial meetings with relevant organizations
and institutions, a roundtable will be held in which the interests of participants, their expectations,
and their current sources (if any) of information on water issues in the region will be assessed.
From this introduction, priorities will be set in terms of pubic information access and distribution.
As well, information on current access will be funneled into public information materials.
· CREATING COLLECTION POINTS FOR GATHERING, PROCESSING AND
DISTRIBUTING INFORMATION
Building on former projects, this project will facilitate the operation of collection points for
gathering, processing, and distributing information about water issues to the public. After the
project finishes, municipal authorities will take an active role in collection point maintenance.
· CREATING A WASTEWATER/DRINKING WATER INFORMATION DATABASE
AND INFORMATION NETWORK
The project will create a database of information on waste water and drinking water information
in the hopes of increasing the amount of public information about environmental problems. The
project will also establish a special network through mailing lists, discussion forums, and the web
in order to facilitate maximum information exchange between interested parties in regions
affected by the Bor region and other regions facing similar problems.
· TRAINING LOCAL AUTHORITIES
In the interests of qualifying for the Water Framework Directive and the Aarhus Convention
both of which place public access to information and participation on environmental decision-
making at the forefront of environmental solutions stakeholders will choose candidates for
training on both the WFD and AC in terms of regional and national level implementation, funding
pending.
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Outcomes
In summary, this project aims to increase public information about wastewater problems and bring
about a greater likelihood of public participation to solve these problems. Project expect to do
this through a series of activities, including awareness raising campaigns and electronic
networking, improving the capacities of NGOs and local authority to apply for and respond to
access to information requests respectively, and developing concrete methods and procedures for
securing public access to information. It is hoped that the lessons learned in this experience can be
incorporated into other municipalities facing similar problems. In the end, project staff would like
to further the incorporation of the access to information and public participation components of
the WFD and AC into Serbia and Montenegro
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