Report on reforms in environmental policy and reconstruction Croatia 8th REReP Task Force meeting September 23, 2005 Brussels, Belgium

Development of legal and policy framework Harmonisation of legislation: Waste Act ( Dec 2004); Ordinance on Packaging Waste (Aug 2005) Air Protection Act (Nov 2004) Nature Protection Act (May 2004) and Act on GMOs (May 2005) Amendments to the Water Act (Autumn 2005); (alignment with the WFD); Amendments to the Water Management Financing Act (Autumn 2005) New Environmental Protection Act (in 2006) By-laws in the env. sector are under development (air, waste, nature..)

Development of legal and policy framework Strategies and plans: National Waste Management Strategy (in Parliamentary procedure) Waste Management Plan (under development) National Air Quality Protection and Improvement Plan (under development) Water Management Master Plan (to be enacted by the end of 2005) Proposal for the National Action Plan for implementation of the WFD (end of 2005) Proposal for the Implementation Plan for Drinking Water Directive and Urban Waste Water Directive (end of 2005)

Development of legal and policy framework EU accession oriented policy documents: National Programme for the Integration of the Republic of Croatia into the European Union (NPEIU) 2004 and 2005 NPIEU-2006 under development Pre-Accession Economic Programme (PEP) ; PEP under development

Civil Society/Public Involvement in Policy Making and Implementation Public participation regulated primarily by the Ordinance on Environmental Impact Assessment (2001) and the existing Environmental Protection Act (1994) and physical planning documents. Access to Information Act (2003); establishment of the Information Catalogue of the MEPPPC (Jan 2005); information officer designated 65% of Directive 2003/4/EC on Access to Env. Information transposed (full transposition in 2006)

Civil Society/Public Involvement in Policy Making and Implementation Provisions on access to environmental information and public participation included in the new acts: Air Protection Act, Nature Protection Act, Act on GMOs Amendments to the Water Act to include provisions on public participation in line with the WFD New Environmental Protection Act in to transpose provisions of EU horizontal legislation (EIA, SEA, access to information, public participation)

Civil Society/Public Involvement in Policy Making and Implementation Related projects: -ongoing CARDS 2002 Environmental Approximation Strategy project - one of the results: Transposition and implementation strategies for directives on EIA and Strategic Environmental Assessment - by the end of 2005; -a CARDS 2003 project on EIA started in July 2005; a project on SEA to start by the end of 2005; -a MATRA project on access to enironmental information and public participation to start at the beginning of 2006

Civil Society/Public Involvement in Policy Making and Implementation In Croatia, there are 270 NGOs dealing with environmental issues (of which 41% in the City of Zagreb). cca 2 mil HRK allocated for NGO environmental projects for 2004 and 2005 per year, considerably more than previous years. Competent Ministry's web site ( other line ministries, the Croatian Environment Agency’s web site ( - access to (draft) legislation, county waste management plans, data on landfills, environmental indicators, air quality data..

Achievements in reducing environmental pollution New environmental charges: charge on motor vehicles, hazardous waste charge, non hazardous industrial waste charge, SO2 and NO2 emisssion charges (2004), charge on packaging waste (2005); charge for CO2 emmission planned to be adopted and implemented in The charges introduced in 2004 make the Eco Fund’s revenues earmarked for financing environmental projects, projects on energy effciency and renewable energy sources. The Fund was set up mid 2003, operational as of Jan 2004.

Achievements in reducing environmental pollution The Fund initiated remediation of 163 unregulated municipal landfills in 2004; 154 mil EUR (grant) planned for allocation for the period The Fund plans to allocate 57 mil EUR for energy efficiency and renewable energy sources projects for the period Development of remediation programmes for past pollution (previous industrial sites) Development of a new financing system for packaging waste management (packaging charges)

Achievements in reducing environmental pollution Establishment of the State Network for Permanent Air Quality Monitoring - 8 stations installed out of 22 that are planned to be established by New funding opportunities: ISPA programme Two project applications submitted for ISPA : 1. Regional WMC, Šibenik (total 9,6 mil EUR) 2. Karlovac Water Supply and Sewage Services Development programme (total 36.5 mil EUR)

Achievements in reducing environmental pollution Economic sector: The first wind power plants of 6 MW are in operation, and contracts for the construction of 22 MW new power plants have been concluded Croatian electricity company HEP has put into operation a new Gas Combined Cycle Cogeneration Power Plant (GCCCPP) of 200 MW in 2003, and passed a decision on the construction of a new 100 MW GCCCPP to substitute the old capacities powered by heavy fuel oil Revitalisation of several hydro-power plants has been carried out increasing thereby their production Upgrading of oil rafineries in Rijeka and Sisak– 900 mil EUR to be invested by the end of 2009

Achievements in reducing environmental pollution Contribution through EU technical-financial assistance projects: CARDS 2001 – Municipal Environmental Management Capacity and Infrastructure project (ongoing) CARDS Waste Management in Dalmatian Counties (start: end of 2005) LIFE III Third Countries 2002 “Upgrading of National Emission Inventory System and Enforcement of its Implementation” (to be finalized by the end of 2005) LIFE III Third Countries 2003 “New PET Collecting and Recycling Scheme in Croatia” (ongoing)

Achievements in reducing environmental pollution LIFE III Third Countries - 3 projects approved for Capacity Building for Implementation of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol in the Republic of Croatia; -Guidelines Development for Starting Implementation of Waste Management Plan in the Republic of Croatia ; - Establishing Institutional Capacities for Protection of River Mura Landscape LIFE III Third Countries - 4 projects approved for 2005

Achievements in reducing environmental pollution Projects funded from other sources: UNIDO project “Promotion of biodisel in Croatia” ( ) UNDP/GEF project: "Capacity Building for Improving the Quality of Greenhouse Gas Inventories - to be finalized in 2006 UNDP/GEF project Croatia: Climate Change Enabling Activity - to be finalized in 2005

Achievements in reducing environmental pollution Coastal Cities Water Pollution Control Project – (ongoing) a World Bank project: waste water treatment facilities in 177 towns and municipalities on the coast and islands Integrated Ecosystem Management of the Neretva and Trebisnjica River Basin – GEF financed regional project for Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (in preparatory phase).

Environmental regional cooperation on cross border issues Continuous activities in line with: the Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin, International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River Bilateral agreements on water management relations between Croatia and Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina EU projects on regional, county and local level: INTERREG III B CADSES - Drava River Basin project; INTERREG III A

Regional workshops within the framework of the Espoo Convention activities (SEE countries) Participation in the development of the Subregional Contingency Plan (MAP/Adriatic Ionian Initiative) Participation in BERCEN /ECENA network of environmental inspectorates Environmental regional cooperation on cross border issues