THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Integrated planning and Assessment of National Development Plan of the Czech Republic UNEP Initiative on Capacity Building for Integrated Assessment and Planning for Sustainable Development Mid-term Review Meeting Geneva, February 16-17, 2005

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Scope of presentation Introduction to the project Project process Preliminary results Challenges Planned activities and next steps

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe National Development Plan Strategic document to justify and negotiate financial support from the EU Structural Funds (support development of poor and underdeveloped regions) New programming period Key issues: Elaboration Consultations Ex-ante evaluation / SD issues

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Objectives of the project review experience from the previous NDP (mutual relationship of assessments, inputs into NDP planning process and stakeholder consultations); propose an integrated assessment framework for NDP

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Expected outcome Proposed Terms of Reference for the integrated assessment of NDP Recommendations for improving the planning process for NDP Recommendations for co- ordination of the planning and assessments process

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Implementation arrangements Official supervision of the project: Ministry of Environment CR and Ministry for Regional Development CR, Steering committee Project team (REC, external experts)

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Other possible beneficiaries Government Council for SD (desirable) Planners Experts and practitioners in the area of assessment and evaluation NGOs

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Methods of work Expert work of the project team Consultations with stakeholders Active: Workshops Passive: Web presentations

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Activities undertaken Detailed analysis of the previous NDP planning and related evaluations National workshop Internal meeting of the project team - design of assessment procedures and substantive issues

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Preliminary results Analysis of previous planning and assessments process – key findings Draft recommendations for the planning and assessments process of the new programming document (model procedure)

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Review of previous planning process - outcomes

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Planning stages Initiation of the process Description of the current situation (Analyses) Strategic objectives Priorities (Orientation of the Operational Programmes) Management and Monitoring Financial Framework

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Key gaps and weaknesses Integration of the concept of sustainability Complexity of the process (involvement of stakeholders, public participation) Coordination of communication among the planners and other evaluators Unplanned changes in time schedule

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Findings – planning stages Initiation Involvement of the authorities responsible for SD Influence of the key authorities and stakeholders on the design of the planning process Analysis Key sustainability issues Analysis of the risks and threats for SD (and methods for their elimination)

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Findings (cont.) Strategic objectives Defining a vision for long-term sustainable development of the country and particular sectors Assessment of the consistency of the strategic objectives with sustainability goals and standards Priorities Setting rules for dealing with trade-off

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Public participation process – shortcomings (Lack of) Competence of effective communication with the public Communicating the information Management of the hearings Accessibility and use of the document (size, maps, marking)

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Draft recommendations for the planning and assessments process of the new programming document (model procedure)

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Model procedure Recommendations for each planning stage Objectives of the environmental and socio-economic assessments Consultation process Outputs Comments on methods/tools

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Key tasks  Identifying (environmental, social, economic) trends or promising initiatives existing and offering opportunities for more sustainable development  Defining sustainability goals for the purpose of the planning and their integration into the plan  Identification of risks and threats for SD via the planning process  Analysis of relationship between key trends and risks, formulation of scenarios based upon sustainability concerns  Examine mutual linkages between socio-economic and environmental ex-ante evaluations  Sustainability indicators for measuring the goals and objectives of the plan  Rules of (temporal and spatial) trade-offs between the goals and objectives of the plan and sustainability goals

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER for Central and Eastern Europe Project on Internet Thank you Simona Kosikova Regional Environmental Center Czech Republic