Strategic Moves - Regional Environmental Center for Central and ...

Way forward
• Inspectorates should be strengthened in terms of numbers, knowledge and
equipment. Increased human resources capacity should be accompanied by increased
financial resources and the provision of targeted training.
• To increase efficiency, the reform of the inspectorates should be linked with
overall judiciary reform, including improved cooperation with police, prosecution
and the courts and improved knowledge of environmental issues on the
part of these institutions.
• Establishing a policy for strengthening the monitoring and reporting of enterprises
(e.g. wastewater treatment plants and landfills) will facilitate the enforcement
of and compliance with regulations.
• Increased awareness on the part of citizens and businesses of the importance
and benefits of enforcement would reduce resistance to change and increase
overall compliance.
Institutional development and capacity
Environmental institutions in the region suffer from a number of weaknesses,
including shortage of human capacity; lack of operational transparency and accountability;
poor inter-institutional cooperation etc. One of the main weaknesses
of SEE institutions is their relative fragmentation, which leads to scattered, and
very often overlapping, responsibilities. Communication and coordination between
institutions are also issues of concern, as are the relationships between central
and local levels of governance.
Way forward
• The EU environmental acquis will require the overall strengthening of institutions.
Human resources and expertise planning need to be improved and
aligned to the newly acquired environmental obligations.
• There is a need to streamline institutions and reduce their fragmentation in
order to improve synergies and avoid overlapping. Simultaneously, it would be
beneficial to improve mechanisms for coordination and communication between
institutions at central level, and also between different administrative
levels of government.
• It would be beneficial to the countries to introduce a clear separation between
policy and regulatory functions where it is missing, and to improve the transparency
and accountability of institutions at national and local levels.
• Countries may choose the option to establish environmental funds, if needed,
but it should be clear that this should be done following the principles of transparency,
autonomy and accountability.
C H A P T E R 9
T H E WAY F O R WA R D
S T R AT E G I C M O V E S 207