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The Minister of Foreign Affairs I am pleased that after a long and laborious effort the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of Romania has finally gained shape and substance and passed from the stage of academic debate to one of pragmatic political action. The project, initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was generously supported by the UN Development Program, and in its final stages governmental institutions, as well as parliamentary political parties, trade unions, employers' associations, the academic world, and civil organisations united in a working group established by governmental decree contributed significantly to this project. The way, in which this project was elaborated - sketched, debated, edited, improved, completed, amended and re-written - sends an encouraging and possibly exemplary long-term signal. The paper is clearly structured and offers strong arguments. Although it could be improved - flaws can be found whenever something truly new is created - the proposed Strategy looks beyond the circumstances of the moment and projects for the target year 2020 definite and, hopefully, realistic goals. Sustainable development is more than a fashionable axiom. It postulates continuous re-evaluation of the dialogue between man and nature and solidarity among the generations in the process of pluridimensional evolution of human society. Setting the plan for Romania's development over the next decades on this noble concept clearly indicates its direction as well as the phases we have to go through in order to join the stable fundamental trends of the system of values, institutions, procedures and working methods that make up the substance of Western civilisation. Not only the former Communist countries, but also the entire system of international relations as we have known it, are in a period of transition. The speed and extent of changes that are taking place in the world force us to be increasingly creative and flexible. The present paper increases my confidence in the intellectual capability of the Romanian people, in their ability to come up with solutions appropriate for the challenges of today's changing world. Andrei Gabriel Plesu 6
The President of the Romanian Academy Being part of a wider programme of the Romanian Academy, which, in conjunction with the UN Development Programme tries to structure and define Romania's path for the next decades, the Strate gy for Sustainable Development of Romania follows the project "Romania 2020". A new Strategy Another one There are many sceptics who believe that development strategies should be a thing of the past. They support their claim by pointing out the numerous plans proposed by Romanian experts, mainly economists, which were ignored by the governments after 1989. Why encourage further initiatives of the same kind The answer is that a strategy for development must be achieved because no society is able to evolve in our world of today without a programme and an order of priorities. It must be mentioned that this concept was stated for the first time ten years ago in a collective work (Our Common Future) known in specialist literature under the name of the "Brundtland Report". It’s main claim is that decisions and actions taken today must consider the fact that future generations have the right to enjoy what our planet has to offer. In a report related to this topic, I found the following quote by Joseph Bruchac: "We don't leave the Earth to our children, but we lend it to future generations." Superbly said. Experts in the field place the concept of sustainable development among the five most important principles of scientific ethics, at the same level as the principles of equity, precaution, deontology of scientific activities, organisation of debates and decision making. If this is not adhered to, society risks embarking upon a process of permanent and damaging transformation. But is such a strategy of sustainable development not a return to the old centralised system, to the five-year plans, to a planned economic system and other phantoms of the totalitarian system Such a thought is completely unfounded for reasons I will not go into here. I would simply like to say that true democracy can oppose to a stifling, dictatorial centralism in economy and in culture as well not with chaos but with a national programme established in accordance with priorities, possibilities and circumstances. The Strategy for Sustainable Development is part of the globalisation process; it is an approach that is defined, measured, and described in terms of developing socio-economic systems that do not ignore environmental matters. Sustainable development is a task for the whole of mankind, an essential principle of this world. No democratic country can conceive strategies without taking into account the dimensions of socio-economic systems and capital resources, as this combination leads to sustainable development. At a recent conference in Budapest, the "World Conference for the 21 st century: A New Commitment"(June 26th - July 1 st , 1999), organised by UNESCO in co-operation with other international scientific bodies, one of the topics mentioned by many scientists and by those responsible for organising research was a more resolute involvement of the science sector in the development of human society, especially in the field of sustainable development. The creative minds of a generation should propose solutions for development (feasible solutions, acceptable solutions, solutions that can be improved) in order to avoid letting chance decide the destiny of a human community. It is essential to note the fact that this paper of considerable size, a project promoted by a United Nations Development Programme called "National Centre for Sustainable Development" under the patronage of the Romanian Academy, has found the resources to bring together ideas, projects, and initiatives found in our country. The present paper represents a joint effort of Romanian researchers, for the first time supported by civil organisations, and is a vast, ambitious project. The purpose of this paper is to create a strategy for Romania's long-term sustainable development, within the limits of natural capital preservation. It must be mentioned that this paper was written in co-operation with research institutes, high-ranking Romanian personalities, university networks, the business sector, trade unions, employers, non-governmental organisations, etc., with additional support from the Romanian Academy. We are convinced that this paper will encourage regional co-operation initiatives and will lead to the creation of new projects and stimulating ideas. It is obvious that, once accepted, a strategy must be a supporting pillar of any long-term governing system. It should not serve the interests of any one political party, but national interests. Finally, these objectives must be found in the education system's orientation towards the future. The education system should seek to create a new awareness in young people. The Romanian Academy would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this project and is grateful to the UNDP experts who have supported the making of this study, as well as to civil society as a whole. The Romanian Academy considers the fact that the government has established a working group a proof of the existence of a democratic process in Romania. I will not hide the fact that, in addition to the present Strategy, the Romanian Academy is considering other projects with similar aims. We are, for instance, trying to elaborate a Strategy of Scientific Research. More ambitiously, we propose a short- as well as long-term development project, which will depart from the current economic data in the context of international factors. By the end of 1999, a team of experts from the institutes of the Romanian Academy will prepare a report on these matters that, in fact, concern all of us. Eugen Simion 7
Page 1 and 2: ROMANIA National Sustainable Develo
Page 3: The Prime Minister of Romania Roman
Page 7 and 8: First Part: Objectives and Prioriti
Page 9 and 10: CHAPTER 2 Priorities of Sustainable
Page 11 and 12: According to some surveys of school
Page 13 and 14: udget debts, and of social pressure
Page 15 and 16: tendency - provoked by the foreign
Page 17 and 18: The energy sector in Romania is fac
Page 19 and 20: The most likely scenario for Romani
Page 21 and 22: surveying networks corresponding to
Page 23 and 24: Criteria for evaluating options for
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demand to these products, the gover
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-million lei- Total spending: 1,465
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Aluminium 33 40 10 24 Paper and car
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In 1994, the National Bank adopted
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Generally speaking though, the insu
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CHAPTER 6 Evaluation and Developmen
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growing population as the result of
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APVP = potential lost life years (d
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allocated for health increases only
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The legal framework, as well as the
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Speeding up reforms in the field of
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6.5.3 Non-governmental organisation
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Fig. 6.2 -Internal migration Thous.
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Unidentified materials 300 thousand
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Providing housing for all the popul
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Healthy economic growth, efficientl
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The result of the differentiated co
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Establishing certain priorities and
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Key actions and commitments of the
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8.2 Financial policies The principl
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8.3.2 Premises SME development in R
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The threat of increased pressure on
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CHAPTER 9 Social policies The subst
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The current system functions based
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CHAPTER 10 The institutional framew
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CHAPTER 11 Territorial planning Ter
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CHAPTER 12 External Policy and Nati
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) Flexible reallocation of necessar
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CHAPTER 13 Development of Infrastru
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structure for a thorough, comprehen
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NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ST
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