EfE implementing institutions: The EAP Task Force
Role and Mandate
The Task Force for the Implementation of the Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe (EAP Task Force) was established at the 1993 Lucerne Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference. The role of the EAP Task Force was to facilitate the implementation of the Environmental Action Program for Central and Eastern Europe (EAP), a broad strategy adopted by Ministers in Lucerne, in particular by assisting Central and Eastern European countries to:
integrate environmental considerations into the process of economic and political reform towards market economy and democracy;
upgrade institutional and human capacities for environmental management;
broaden political support for environmental improvement, and
mobilize and make cost-effective use of financial resources for environmental protection.
At the 1998 Aarhus Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference, Ministers decided to re-focus the work of the EAP Task Force to Eastern European countries which “are not part of the pre-accession process”, i.e., South East European (SEE) countries and countries in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA). Ministers also decided to continue the EAP related work in two subprograms, one focusing on the EECCA region (managed by OECD) and one focusing on Central and South Eastern Europe (administered by the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe) with the Secretariat of the EAP Task Force remaining at OECD.
At the 2003 Kiev Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference, Ministers adopted the Environment Strategy for countries of EECCA, invited OECD to continue providing support to the EAP Task Force Secretariat and mandated the EAP Task Force to “facilitate the achievement of the objectives” of this strategy in cooperation with relevant international bodies and Regional Environmental Centres (RECs). Ministers also decided to phase out the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) component of the EAP Task Force work by 2004, and invited the EAP Task Force and PPC to continue their work together, including through joint annual meetings and with a common Bureau.
Click here for more details on the current EAP Task Force Mandate.
Work Program
The Environment Strategy for countries of EECCA aims at supporting the implementation of the Plan of Implementation adopted at the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. In addition to facilitating the achievement of the objectives of the Environment Strategy for EECCA countries overall, the EAP Task Force Secretariat supports EECCA countries to achieve some of the specific objectives of the Strategy:
Reform of the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Sector (Objective 2);
Public Environmental Finance (Objective 5); and
Effective and Efficient Environmental Policy (Objective 1).
The main work methods of the EAP Task Force include:
Analysis and exchange of experience among countries on key environmental policy and institutional reforms;
Development of guidelines and best practices for environmental policy and institutional reforms based on experience in EECCA, CEE and OECD countries;
Identification of ways in which environmental policy reform can be integrated into the broader process of economic and political reform;
Capacity building aimed at facilitating demonstration projects, which can serve as models for environmental reform, and at removing obstacles to investments in the environmental sector;
Cooperation with the governmental and non-governmental sectors and the EECCA RECs, to build public and political support for environmental protection.
Organization
The work is organized around three bodies: the “EAP Task Force”, the “Bureau of the EAP Task Force” and the “EAP Task Force Secretariat”.
The “EAP Task Force” meets annually and brings together policymakers from CEE, EECCA and donor countries, as well as international institutions active in the EECCA region. The EAP Task Force is open also to other “stakeholders”, including for example parliamentarians and social partners, the enterprise sector, trade unions, environmental citizens’ organisations (ECO’s) and RECs. The EAP Task Force is co-chaired by the European Commission, together with an EECCA country (currently, the Republic of Kazakhstan) on a rotating basis. Since the 2003 Kiev Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference, the EAP Task Force and the Project Preparation Committee (PPC) now meet jointly once a year.
Between the annual EAP Task Force meetings, a joint “Bureau of the EAP Task Force and the PPC” provides guidance to the EAP Task Force and PPC Secretariats on the implementation of the work programme. Click here to view the current composition of this Bureau.
The EAP Task Force Secretariat is responsible for implementing the work program. The EAP Task Force Secretariat is also coordinating the activities of several EECCA expert networks. The secretariat of the EAP Task Force is provided by OECD’s Environment Directorate, Environment and Globalisation Division.
Recent EAP Task Force meetings include:
The third joint meeting of the EAP Task Force and the PPC was held in Yerevan (Armenia) in November 2005, back-to-back with a meeting of Ministers of Economy/Finance, Environment and Water on financing the water supply and sanitation in EECCA countries.
The fourth joint meeting of the EAP Task Force and the PPC was held in Berlin (Germany) on 21-22 September 2006.
The fifth joint meeting of the EAP Task Force and the PPC was held in Brussels, Belgium, on 15-16 March 2007 (click here for photos from this meeting), back-to-back with an International Multi-Stakeholder Workshop “Environmental Policies, Instruments and Institutions in EECCA: The Emerging Agenda” on 13-14 March 2007.
Last update of this page: 28 September, 2007.