Margot Wallstrom: "There Are Many Challenges Which We Share"

At the Earth Day, April 22, 2004, a delegation from the European Union headed by the Chairman of the European Commission Romano Prodi arrived in Moscow. The Commissioner for the Environment Margot Wallstrom is among the members of the delegation. We offer you questions of the editor-in-chief of the Russian Natural Resources Review Nikolay Rybalsky to Ms.Wallstrom.


- What can you say about the priorities for joint EC-Russia actions that could lead to profound positive results in the nearest future? What are your wishes in respect of the perspectives of the state of EC-Russia environmental cooperation in the year 2005? Year 2015?

- There are many challenges which we share. But the main priority for the EU is the fight against climate change. We believe that this should also be a joint EC-Russia priority.

A decision by Russia to ratify the Kyoto Protocol could start a new era of energy and environmental co-operation between the EU and Russia. For example, the EU emissions trading scheme that will start in 2005 could have immediate positive results for Russia as it will create new opportunities for Russian industry. European companies under the EU trading scheme could use emission credits from joint implementation projects in Russia and trade them in the EU. This means that European companies would have a strong incentive to invest in Russia, which will help to boost energy efficiency and cleaner production.

Successful co-operation on climate change could have knock-one effects in other areas. For example, we could step up environmental co-operation on water policy ranging from municipal waste water over transboundary river-basements to the marine environment. These have an immediate impact on the health of Russian citizens. The fight against illegal logging, loss of biodiversity and overall pollution are also important areas where the EU and Russia should closely work together.

I would like to see Russia as a strong partner in fighting the common challenges of global and European environmental pollution in the coming years. Enhanced EU-Russia cooperation would lead to a significant improvement of the environmental situation all over Russia and, as a result of it, over the entire continent.


- How would you evaluate the state and perspective for the development of the EC-Russia agreement on environmental partnership and cooperation? What are your expectations regarding the outcomes of the upcoming summit in Moscow?

- Sustainable development and environmental cooperation have a prominent place in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement of 1997, which was reinforced by a Commission Communication on EU-Russia Environmental Co-operation in December 2001. However, progress in implementing the agreed principles so far has been much slower than I would have wished. There is, in my opinion, much room for further improvement. For example, the last sub-committee meeting on environment took place as far back as September 2001 and it is high time that we sit together again. I am pleased to hear that the Ministry of Natural Resources shares this view and the prospects for organising such a meeting in the near future are rather positive.

In my view, the objective of the upcoming high-level meeting should be twofold. First of all, it should give new impetus to the EU-Russia relations, the importance of which is going to increase with the enlargement of the EU. And secondly, it should provide a good opportunity to bring the co-operation in certain fields - including environment - a step forward.


- What conservation projects and programs in the framework of EC-Russia cooperation can you single out as the most significant and efficient?

- Much is already done in the water sector, for example we have projects such as the Sortavala Sewage Treatment Plant and the improvement of water quality in Kaliningrad. However, the most significant project is undoubtedly the wastewater treatment plant in St. Petersburg, which will help significantly to prevent pollution of the Baltic Sea. The Commission alone is contributing some 25 Million Euros to the project.


- What do you think are the main objectives of the EC-Russia cooperation in the framework of the 'Environment for Europe' process?

- The main objectives will be the improvement of the environmental conditions in this region through a genuine co-operation and partnership with all the countries involved in this process. The Plan of Implementation of the last World Summit on Sustainable Development sets out the fields of joint action for this region. These are Water and Sanitation, Energy, Health, Agriculture and Biodiversity. Russia and the EU should be reliable partners and should actively contribute to find solutions to the common environmental problems of the region on the basis of close co-operation.


- In respect of EC enlargement the scheme of trans-boundary cooperation in Europe will be changed. How is this going to be reflected on development of cooperation between EC and Russia?

- Ten new countries will join the EU from 1 May 2004. Before that, Russia had to deal with each of them individually on a bi-lateral basis. I think it will be an advantage for Russia that future co-operation with these countries will be based on a common framework which is provided by the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement. In addition, the experience of the new member states and the close relations that they had with Russia in the past could help to facilitate future co-operation and understanding between the EU and Russia.


- According to you, what are the mechanisms and stages for the harmonization of the Russian and EC environmental legislature?

- The harmonization of Russian environmental standards towards those of the EU is part of the Partnership- and Co-operation Agreement. This objective has to be seen as a long term one for which a stepwise procedure needs to be set up allowing for a progressive convergence with the principal EU regulatory provisions.

First of all, it is necessary to conduct a thorough legislative "gap analysis", which would be the basis for defining what further legislative steps are required. Further work could then be done in amending existing or drafting new legislation. At the same time it is necessary to build institutional capacity to implement such reforms. Since the costs of the process will be a challenge, the whole process should be based on a good cost/benefit analysis and, of course, political backing.

I would like to refer you to a study on this very issue, which my services have just recently published. It can also be found in the Russian language on:


- Russia pays significant attention to the issues of marine conservation and security. In order to satisfy these goals a fundamental policy document - National Marine Doctrine - was recently adopted. What is your opinion regarding Russia's participation in development of the EC Marine Strategy on the level of its initial expert conditioning?

- The Community considers cooperation with Russia to be of utmost importance as we share the same seas and the same environmental problems. The objective of the Marine Strategy has been to embrace all European seas. This was made evident at the Joint Ministerial meeting of HELCOM and OSPAR in June 2003 when we invited Russia to participate. Furthermore, in September 2003, Russia was invited, together with other neighbouring countries, to participate in the development of the Marine Strategy. An invitation was sent to the Russian mission in Brussels. We also sent the same invitation in different contexts such as at HELCOM and Black Sea Convention meetings. We regret that Russia was not able to attend the different Working groups set up to provide input to the development of the European Strategy. Our invitation is still open and we would welcome Russia's participation.


- Majority of the European programs connected to EC-Russia environmental cooperation, e.g. TACIS Regional Cooperation, are being developed in EU without participation of Russia, which is being addressed only afterwards to discuss the ways of implementation of those programs. Could you, please, comment if you perceive this as a righteous approach?

- I can assure you that the Commission always tries to include the beneficiary country in the programming of projects as much and as early as possible. Concerning the TACIS Regional Cooperation, there has regrettably been reluctance on the Russian side to sign the award agreement in the past because of issues not related to the environment. Furthermore, many ideas for environmental projects stem from the debate in international fora. Therefore, I encourage you to participate actively in those meetings where Russia has an international commitment because it can help shape the resulting projects. We have several successful regional projects that involve cooperation with international financing institutions, and where Russia is a major beneficiary. When it concerns TACIS projects under the National Programme the Russian involvement is there from the start. The so-called 'de-concentration' process, which gave the EU Delegation in Moscow more responsibility for the projects implementation and brought the programming closer to the beneficiaries, is also contributing to more efficiency, co-ordination and co-operation with the authorities in Russia.


- What is your attitude to Russian culture and traditions? Do you value any of those or think could be exemplifying for other people and countries?

- Russia has an enormously rich culture and fascinating traditions. I have been particularly impressed by the many contributors to Russian arts, from literature and music, to painting. They have always been among the most talented and famous throughout the centuries. What I also appreciate about Russia is the people.


- Will you please tell our readers about your family and household? Do you have your own "philosophy of life"? Do you have a hobby and how do you spent your free time?

- My husband and I have two sons and we have all lived in Brussels since 1999. I am afraid that the demands of being a Commissioner mean that I do not have as much free time as I would like, but when I do find time I like to spend it with my family. I particularly enjoy taking walks with my family though the forest, an activity that I have long enjoyed since growing up in Sweden.

15th Earth Tech Forum Was Held in Washington, D.C.

The 15th Earth Tech Forum was held in Washington, D.C., April 13-15, chaired by the International Emission Trading Association (IETA).

'The sessions focused on the state of development of different emissions trading markets and how they interact", stated Andrei Marcu, IETA Executive Director. "In addition, the program highlighted the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme and its importance as multinational companies operate in a global marketplace," Marcu added.

Forum panels included representatives of governments, major corporations and non-governmental organizations deal with greenhouse gas emissions. Additional sessions addressed emissions reductions initiatives, monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, next steps in the climate policy debate, US legislation to address climate change, voluntary reporting and crediting of emissions, hydrogen and other technologies, renewable energy and more.

The Forum was co-sponsored by the UN, governmental agencies of the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and more than 90 non-governmental organizations.

Conference on Waterbird Flyways

A conference on waterbird flyways was finished at the 7th of April in Edinburgh, Scotland. The conference participants adopted the Edinburgh Declaration, where, alarmed the perilous state of many populations of waterbirds, stressed that waterbirds should be regarded as an international resource and their protection can be ensured by combining far-sighted national policies with co-ordinated international action. In the Declaration was also highlighted the need of the complex approach to waterbird conservation including restoration of wetlands and investments in education in public awareness in key sites for waterbirds. The participants of the conference agreed to meet again as a conference in ten years time to review progress.

Charles, the Prince of Wales, speaking at the conference, criticized the absence of political willingness to take actions on saving the species from extinction in some countries and the "emptiness of rhetoric surrounding so-called 'sustainable development'". The Prince praised the government of the Great Britain to play a leading role in drawing up the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), which was ratified just some days before the conference. The Prince also urged some countries of the Southern Ocean to stop unsustainable fishing practices which are estimated to kill 100,000 of the birds every year and join the ACAP.

In addition there were worked out some recommendation on saving of the rare and endangered waterbirds. The participants agreed that in African-Eurasian flyways conservation efforts are insufficient, Intra-African flyways are extremely poorly known and would benefit from greater attention, and that pressures even on protected wetlands in the most densely populated Australasian region are extreme, and effective protection of sites of major importance is a critical need. There was also agreed that challenges posed to ocean birds by environmentally unfriendly practices of marine fishing should be minimized.

It was stressed that climate changes are already affecting waterbirds, and there is a need for wide-scale planning to reduce or mitigate the impacts on waterbird populations. In addition, there was highlighted that there should be integration of data from conventional ringing and colour-marking, telemetry, stable isotope analyses and genetic markers.

EBRD Continues to Consider Russia as One of Its Priorities

Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of the Great Britain, in his speech at the Annual Meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), stressed a crucial role of the EBRD for economies in transition and special commitment of the Great Britain to invest further into the bank.

EBRD representatives noted the Russian Federation is still one of the priorities of the bank. A national presentation of Russia during the Annual Meeting with a participation of the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Businessmen (RUIB) representatives showed a huge interest in the country.

The Deputy Chairman of the RUIB Kakhi Bendukidze in his speech noted that Russian businessmen are trying to turn more transparent and lobby for introducing European standards for reporting and accounting because they are very aggressive in the meaning that they dream to establish not only national but global business empires.

The presentation attracted attention of many journalists and delegates - the hall where it took place was overcrowded.

The First Preparatory Meeting for the Conference of EECCA Environment Ministers

The 1st Preparatory Meeting for the Conference of EECCA Environment Ministers and their Partners was held in the OECD headquarters in Paris on April 2, 2004. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss a possible draft agenda for the EECCA Ministerial Conference and to highlight some key issues related to the organization of the meeting and its preparatory process. During the discussion, feedback from the participants on how to proceed with the preparations to the Ministerial Conference has been received.

The objectives of the Conference of EECCA Environment Ministers and their Partners, as agreed by the ministers at the Kiev Ministerial in May 2003, are: to discuss the action programmes and partnerships elaborated over this period to implement the Strategy and to provide additional impetus for the development and implementation of the partnerships and action programmes.

The participants of the first preparatory meeting agreed on major steps that need to be made in order to ensure a successful outcome of the Ministerial Meeting. In particular, it was agreed that the next Ministerial Meeting would take place on October 21-22 2004 in Tbilisi, and that it would be held back-to back with the Second Joint Meeting of the EAP Task Force and the PPC.

In the course of the first preparatory meeting it was agreed that Ministers could be invited to discuss "next steps" in the process, including: further steps needed to elaborate priorities, action plans and partnerships; monitoring progress in achieving the EECCA Strategy objectives by the 2007 Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference; the possible organization of further regional/sub-regional ministerial consultations in 2005 (the "Almaty +5" ministerial meeting on water supply and sanitation is planned) and any other key steps to support the achievement of the EECCA Strategy objectives.

The participants of the first preparatory meeting also discussed and approved the outline of the background document of EECCA environment priorities and possible ways for their identification, the outline of a Progress report on environmental partnerships and action programmes, as well as the draft outline of a Baseline report for EECCA Environment Strategy that would include a review of environmental policies and environmental situation in EECCA countries.

It was agreed that the detailed Agenda of the next Ministerial Meeting and major topics of discussion would be discussed and formulated at the second preparatory meeting that would take place in Moldova on September 2-3, 2004.

In the course of the meeting the RECs, as facilitating institutions of the EECCA Environment Strategy, have coordinated and agreed their efforts on rendering support for reaching specific objectives of the Strategy with the EAP Task Force and other partners.

The Twelfth Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development

The twelfth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-12) meets at UN Headquarters in New York from 14-30 April 2004. As agreed at CSD-11, the CSD now functions on the basis of two-year "Implementation Cycles," each cycle focusing on a key thematic cluster of issues. The first year of each cycle -- the Review year -- will evaluate progress made in implementing sustainable development commitments made in Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and relevant CSD sessions and focus on identifying obstacles and constraints. The second year -- the Policy year -- will decide on measures to speed up implementation and mobilize action to overcome obstacles and constraints, and build on lessons learned. The first Implementation Cycle will take place from 2004-2005, where CSD-12 is a Review Session, while CSD-13 (Spring 2005) will be a Policy Session.

As the beginning of the first 2-year cycle, the CSD-12 Review Session focuses on the thematic cluster of water, sanitation and human settlements. As with every cycle in the new programme of work, CSD-12 tackles this agenda using a number of cross-cutting issues.

CSD-12 incorporates a wide range of activities and meeting formats, including panel discussions, interactive debates, eminent speakers, and regional sessions. Additionally, CSD-12 is the first session to incorporate a Partnerships Fair and Learning Centre into the official CSD meetings.

The Russian Federation is represented at CSD-12 by the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation Irina Osokina and the Head of MNR Russia Department for International Environmental Cooperation Sergey Tveritinov.