 The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region is rich in natural resources, accounting for 24% of the world’s forest area, 12% of its renewable water resources, and 20% of its arable land, with a rich variety of ecosystems. Further, with the stable or declining population throughout most of the region, ECA countries do not face the environmental challenges of rapid urbanization faced by other regions. Nevertheless the ECA countries have had to address both environmental legacy issues and issues arising from the transition.
Before 1990 energy was heavily subsidized, and many countries used and continue to use energy resources wastefully. In many parts of the region, municipal infrastructure was also well developed and subsidized. The economic difficulties of the transition led initially to a deterioration in maintenance as well as delivery of water, wastewater treatment, and solid waste management services. Heavy industry, often operated with inadequate environmental oversight, has left a legacy of industrial pollution, while privatization in the early years of the transition did not always consider environmental liabilities. Environmental institutions have been relatively weak, and outside the EU accession countries, a generally poor governance environment has contributed to difficulties in compliance. As economies have recovered, there has been an increase in vehicle ownership in urban areas which has contributed to traffic-related air quality issues
The Former Soviet Union had an integrated approach to river basin management, taking into account the requirements of different users and upstream and downstream needs (though often without due consideration for the environment). These systems have broken down, though for EU accession countries, the EU water framework directive provides a similar operating model which is gradually being adopted. Systems for weather forecasting and for disaster management have also deteriorated, leading to increased economic and social damage from natural disasters such as floods and droughts.
Before 1990, forests were generally managed with concern for biological sustainability, with management and utilization integrated. Administrative changes, reduced budgets for management of public goods, and privatization of some forest lands have in many cases contributed to poorer forest management. Funding for the protection of fragile ecosystems has also been a challenge. Land conservation practices, used in some countries before 1990, have been slow to recover and develop following land privatization and the breakup of large farms. Increasing poverty and deteriorating governance in the years following the transition also contributed to poor land use.
There have been many improvements, however. Increasing participation of civil society in decision making, and greater accountability of public institutions, have led to improved environmental oversight in many countries, especially in the EU accession group. There also has been an improvement in air quality in most countries, partly because of improved energy efficiency, but also because of greater use of natural gas and industrial restructuring. And as economies recover, several countries have assigned increased priority to environmentally responsible growth. There are now striking differences in the challenges different sub-regions face.
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