Environmental Protection in East-Central Europe [antikvár]

Foreword Only after the demise of the old regimes in Eastem and Central Europe has the catastrophical extent of the environmental damage in these countries emerged. Even though some of the new political parties of the region emerged from the environmental movement, environmental awareness is still in its infancy. Neither political nor economical initiatives are sufficiently tackling even the most urgent consequences of the long mrming exploitation of the natural environment. The 'ecological re-constmction' in Eastem and Central Europe can only be achieved - if at all - through an effective co-ordination of intemational, European, national and regional efforts. The set-up of a European-wide initiative in the area of the environment has come closer to realization through the efforts being made to overcome political differences within Europe. The envirorunental clean-up of the reform states is one of the most pressing issues facing Europe in the coming decade - however, the resources available for this undertaking are limited and must be deployed strategically. What can be done? Whereas within the European Union and its member states improved policies on environmental protection are formulated and implemented, a similar approach in Eastem and Central Europe appears outside the range of the current political players. But without an internal support structure, Westem aid would be wasted. In 1991, the Bertelsmann Foundation, together with the Research Group on European Affairs drew up proposals for an ecologically sensitive expansion of the market economy within the European Union. In the accompanying book, applying these objectives to the terms of reference in Eastem and Central Europe, and based on previous experiences with environmental taxes and incentives, Prof. Dr. Peter Hardi, Senior Fellow at the Intemational Institute for Sustainable Development in Winnipeg, examines the possible implementation of different economic instruments, and examines ideas for the realization of a market economy-based environmental policy in this region. In the following Hardi refers to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Rumania and the Slovak Republic as "East-Central Europe".