The Strategy Guide
the Clearing-House for the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy

'Environment for Europe' process and linkages

1. Participation in the two major international cooperative processes, the 'Environment for Europe' process and the regional promotion of Agenda 21.
2. The development and carrying-out of environmental performance reviews in the Central and Eastern European countries.
3. The development of and follow-up to international environmental legislation.

In order to prepare the forthcoming 'Environment for Europe' meeting an Ad Hoc Preparatory Working Group of Senior Officials (WGSO) is established. It met for the first time in September 2000.

The Danish Conference Secretariat for the Ministerial Conference 'Environment for Europe - Aarhus, 1998'
In June 1998 Ministers for the Environment from all over Europe have met in the Danish city of Aarhus in order to discuss pan-European environmental cooperation between Eastern and Western Europe. Approximately 60 countries participated in this fourth meeting in the 'Environment for Europe' process. This cooperation takes place under the framework of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE).

The Danish Government hosted the Conference, therefore a Conference Secretariat has been established in the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy (Danish Environmental Protection Agency). Representatives of the Conference secretariat are provided by the Strategy Executive Bureau and Strategy Council with update information about the implementation of the Pan-European Strategy. They have also been invited to all the meetings of the Council and Bureau.

Task Force of the Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe
The EAP Task Force was established by Environment Ministers at the second 'Environment for Europe' Ministerial Conference in April 1993 in Lucerne, Switzerland to facilitate the implementation of the policy and institutional aspects of the EAP in Central and Eastern Europe. Central and Eastern European and western governments, International Financing Institutions (IFIs) and international and regional organizations are members of the EAP Task Force. Representatives of environmental NGOs, the emerging private sector and trade unions are partners in Task Force activities. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) serves as secretariat.

The main goal to set up for the Biodiversity Initiative under the EAP Task Force was to link together the Environmental Action Plan for the CEE countries which was adopted at the Lucerne Conference in 1993 and the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy which was adopted at the Sofia Conference in 1995. The Chair of the Biodiversity Initiative is Slovenia: the project initiated at the Regional Environmental Centre is to assist the chairing country.

Documents relating to both the Pan-European Strategy and the Sofia Initiative for Biodiversity are found in STRA-BU(97)17, STRA-BU(97)18, and STRA-BU(97)47.

Project Preparation Committee
The EAP Task Force focuses on the implementation of policy and institutional aspects of the EAP. To facilitate the identification, preparation and implementation of environmental investments in CEE, the Ministers also established the Project Preparation Committee (PPC).

The Project Preparation Committee is a networking mechanism set up to coordinate between international financing institutions (IFIs) and donors in the field of environmental investment in Central and Eastern Europe. The PPC 'matches' the donor grant funds for investment support or technical assistance with loans from IFIs. The PPC Secretariat is located at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and there are PPC Officers at the EBRD in London and the World Bank in Washington D.C., USA.

Terms of Reference for Collaboration between the Strategy Executive Bureau and the Project Preparation Committee are referred to in document STRA-BU(97)14.

OECD
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is involved in the Strategy process through their Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe (EAP Task Force). The EAP Task Force has been developed in response to a call by Environment Ministers from east and west at the first 'Environment for Europe' Conference in June 1991 in Dobris, Czechoslovakia (as it was then) and endorsed by the second Ministerial Conference in April 1993 in Lucerne, Switzerland. Further involvement in the Strategy process is through the report presented at the third 'Environment for Europe' Ministerial Conference, Sofia, Bulgaria, 1995 and their Sofia Initiative for Biodiversity.

Convention on Biological Diversity
The Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy is the European response to the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity, which is implemented through a number of direct linkages. The Strategy reinforces the implementation of existing measures and identifies additional actions that need to be taken over the next two decades. Within this process the Strategy provides a framework to promote a consistent approach and common objectives for national and regional action to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
The Committee of Ministers is the decision-making body of the Council of Europe. It directly represents the governments of the Member States. It is composed of the Minister for foreign affairs of each Member State. The Minister may be represented by an alternate who is either a member of government or a senior diplomat.

The work and activities of the Committee of Ministers include:

• political dialogue;
• interacting with the Parliamentary Assembly;
• interacting with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE);
• concluding conventions and agreements;
• adopting recommendations to member States;
• adopting the budget;
• adopting and monitoring the Intergovernmental Programme of Activities;
• admission of new member States;
• providing co-operation and assistance programmes for central and Eastern Europe;
• exercising a role in the supervision of the European Convention on Human Rights;
• contributing to Conferences of Specialised Ministers.

Since 1966, the Council of Europe has organized, planned and budgeted its activities according to an annual work programme, published as the 'Intergovernmental Programme of Activities'. Amongst this work is included the activities by the secretariat of the Council of Europe in support of the implementation of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy.

For documents see the following:
Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy: abridged report of the 3rd meeting. - Council of Europe. Committee of Ministers, Ministers' Deputies - Decision 615/9.2 (January 1998)

See chapter 3.2.3 'Environment' of the 615th Meeting of the Committee of Ministers 'Communication on the activities of the Committee of Ministers September 1997 - January 1998 Statutory report' (CM(98)10 [Doc. 7982]).

European Union
The main contribution of the European Union to the Pan-European Strategy is through the EU's nature conservation policy, in particular the EU Habitats Directive and its associated Natura 2000 and the European Community Biodiversity Strategy, under the responsibility of the Environment Directorate-General. Other relationships are through the Agriculture Directorate-General, the Regional Policy Directorate-General, the European Parliament and specific programmes such as Phare and Tacis.

The EC's Nature Conservation Homepage informs about the Environment DG's nature conservation policy which is based on three main pieces of legislation - the Birds directive, the Habitats directive and the CITES regulation - and benefits from a specific financial instrument - the LIFE-Nature fund. Its priorities are to create the European ecological network, called Natura 2000, and to integrate nature protection requirements into other EU policies such as agriculture, regional development and transport.

Also see the European Commission Nature Newsletter.

Communication of the European Commission to the Council and to the Parliament on a European Community Biodiversity Strategy (COM (98)42).

On 4 February 1998, the European Commission adopted a Communication on a European Biodiversity Strategy. This strategy aims to anticipate, prevent and attack the causes of significant reduction or loss of biodiversity at the source. This will help both to reverse present trends in biodiversity reduction or losses and to place species and ecosystems, including agro-ecosystems, at a satisfactory conservation status, both within and beyond the territory of the European Union (EU).

At the 2076th Council meeting- "Environment" Brussels, 23 March 1998, the Council took note of the adoption of a European Community Biodiversity Strategy by the Commission. This EC Biodiversity Strategy is complementary to the strategies of the Member States, in order to further the implementation of existing Community policy on biological diversity and the integration of biodiversity concerns into the relevant sectoral Community policies and instruments.

The Council endorsed the approach adopted in the Community Biodiversity Strategy to integrate biodiversity concerns into relevant policy areas and the two steps procedure proposed for its implementation by setting specific policy objectives to be achieved through action plans and other implementing measures. This approach should be highlighted in the dialogue with other Parties. The Council looks forward to detailed consideration of the Strategy in due course. The Council also welcomes the transmission of the Community Biodiversity Report, including a summary of the Strategy. The Strategy was elaborated in a number of EU Action Plans, namely:

• Biodiversity Action Plan - Introduction
• Biodiversity Action Plan for the Conservation of Natural Resources
• Biodiversity Action Plan for Agriculture
• Biodiversity Action Plan for Fisheries
• Biodiversity Action Plan for Development and Economic Co-operation

In support of the implementation of the EC Biodiversity Strategy an EC Clearing-House Mechanism has been developed.

In addition to these formal bodies a number of other initiatives are directly or indirectly related to the Pan-European Strategy.