1. THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Workshop on UNEP Multilateral Environmental Agreements REReP 1.12 Teslic, Bosnia and Herzegovina 7 October 2002 Tsvetelina Borissova Project Manager/Lawyer

2. THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe AIMS (REReP 1.12) “Acceptance and Implementation of MEAs in SEE” Donor = the Netherlands Duration = 2 years + Geographical Scope = AL, BiH, BG, HR, MK, RO, YU (Kosovo declined)

3. THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe AIMS (REReP 1.12) Lead Countries = RO, BG, AL (6 month rotation) Current Lead Country = AL Implementation = REC, UNEP, IUCN (JELS consortium), plus WWF, UNECE Steering Group includes above + NL

4. THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Objectives Facilitate and promote the application of MEA’s in the SEE region: Legal applicability (through signatures, ratification, acceptance) Effective implementation (efficient use of existing programs and networks of MEAs) Solutions of environmental problems through MEAs application both regionally and country-by- country basis

5. THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe IN-COUNTRY PROCESS Each TF Rep nominates a National FP NFP organizes multi-stakeholder National Advisory Committee Each TF Rep and CO jointly choose Legal Expert Legal Expert does assessment NAC reviews assessment and sets priorities Concrete activities

6. THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe SUB-REGIONAL PROCESS Network of Legal Experts Network of Senior Officials (NFPs) REC produces draft Sub-Regional Overview Finalization and prioritization at Joint Network Meeting Sub-regional activities

7. THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe PROGRESS TO DATE NFPs nominated Independent legal experts nominated Country assessments - completed Prioritization exercises - ongoing Preparation of Regional assessment - ongoing Preparation of subsequent meeting of Senior officials and legal experts planned for mid November in Albania - ongoing

8. THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Priorities Identified Biodiversity related conventions Basel convention Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in International Context Convention on Access to Information, public Participation in Decision-Making Process and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus 1998) Vienna Convention for The Protection of Ozone Layer and Montreal Protocol (ratified) Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention)

9. THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Next steps Following the identification of national and regional needs and finalization of the countries’ MEA priorities: Direct assistance in formulation of legislative and administrative setup (including legal drafting) Preparation of reports employing a regional perspective Capacity building through exchanges and topic oriented workshops Facilitation of the contacts with the MEAs bodies and international organizations Response to requests for specific expertise

10. THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Technical Assistance Capacity building workshops (national and regional scope) International and regional exchanges CEE and EU expertise SEE expertise In-country expertise