Authors: W. Sutton, P. Whitford, E. M. Stephens, S. P. Galinato, B. Nevel, B. Plonka, E. Karamete, August 2007
As part of its contribution to the Sixth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference in Belgrade in October 2007, the World Bank has undertaken a review of the Europe and Central Asia Region with the objective of raising awareness among policy makers of the need to accelerate and enhance implementation of environmentally sustainable practices in the agricultural and forestry sectors in Southeastern Europe (SEE) and Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia (EECCA), and to provide recommendations for doing so.
The Main Report of the study provides a synthesis of major regional issues and trends, with broad recommendations for future directions and priorities. The Country Reviews provide country-specific analysis and recommendations for 20 Europe and Central Asia countries.
1. Integrating Environment into Agriculture and Forestry
Agriculture and forestry continue to be very important for economic growth and poverty reduction in transition countries. Although production levels in these sectors have generally stabilized, the productivity gap between transition countries and OECD countries remains large. Agriculture and forestry policies, laws, and strategies that promote integration have improved, but more needs to be done on implementation.
2. Agriculture & Forestry Have Major Impacts on the Environment
Agriculture and forestry are major generators of greenhouse gases, and most of the emissions from these sources come from developing and transition countries. It is beyond the scope of this report to provide a comprehensive assessment of the impact of climate change on agriculture and forestry in transition countries. However, given the growing concern on this issue and on finding ways to mitigate the release of greenhouse gases, the study did consider the potential in forestry and agriculture for carbon sequestration and methane capture, as well as the importance of adaptation to climate change.
Accelerating implementation of environmental integration will require increased efforts in the EECCA countries and the agricultural sector. Major issues such as water and rangeland management, radioactive contamination of farmland and forests, and illegal cutting of forests are much more prevalent in the EECCA sub-region. Food safety and organic farming are much less developed in the east. As the analysis suggests, policy and institutional development are less advanced in EECCA, where more of the mainstreaming indicators are showing a worsening trend.
4. Improving Awareness of Sustainability Issues in Agriculture & Forestry
An important first step in setting the foundation for integrating environment will be to improve awareness of the extent and impact of sustainability issues in agriculture and forestry. This is because change is unlikely unless and until the main stakeholders-including non-government environment agencies, the private sector, and the general public-are well informed about the issues and press for change.
Countries of the region should review and, where needed, update their policy and strategy documents on the environment, agriculture, and forestry specifically to identify capacity constraints and needs. At the very least, “capacity” has financial, human, and institutional dimensions. While all three dimensions are challenging, institutional change is often the most difficult and time consuming.
Incentives for implementation need to be increased, especially in non-accession countries. Governments should use their policy instruments and public expenditures to discourage unsustainable behavior and provide incentives for the dissemination of good agricultural and forestry practices, and to encourage the provision of environmental services. The international community, particularly the West, can also play an important role through the powerful tool of trade incentives.
Progress on integration can be accelerated by scaling up successful pilot initiatives and disseminating good practices. The study has found several areas where sustainable practices have been successfully introduced on a small scale through a pilot project and where the next step is to scale up such initiatives.
Countries of the region have shown their commitment to integrating environmental concerns into agriculture and forestry through their policy statements and action plans, including the EECCA Environment Strategy adopted in Kiev. Many, however, are finding it difficult to turn those commitments into action on the ground. This report has made a number of suggestions for addressing constraints and providing momentum to such implementation.
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