As early as 1971, with the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (commonly called the Ramsar Convention) the international community recognized the need for "conservation and wise use" of wetlands which were recognized as valuable natural resources. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) sought to protect wildlife and plant populations from over-exploitation caused by increased international commercial trade. In effect since 1975, the treaty continues to provide for the monitoring and regulation of trade in designated species in its 135 country members.
More recently, at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, 157 countries signed the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD), in recognition of the continued threat to global and local biological resources. The stated objectives of the CBD are the "conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources" (Article 1). Convention signatories recognized not only the ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, and recreational values of biological diversity, but also its intrinsic value and its importance for maintaining life sustaining system of the biosphere.
Notwithstanding a wide range of successful international initiatives and domestic policy measures, biological diversity and natural habitats continue to face increasing pressures primarily from intensive agriculture, forestry, urbanisation, fisheries, resource extraction, transport, and tourism. At the European level, the European Environment Agency has found that "the threat to Europe’s wild species continues to be severe and the number of species in decline is growing" (Second Assessment, 1998).
Central and Eastern Europe and NIS, home to wealth of biological diversity including much of Europe’s remaining old and untouched forests, significant concentrations of wetlands, bogs, and coastal areas, and a wealth of wild plant, reptile, and bird species, face particular pressures from several sectors. Examples can be found in the agricultural sector which is experiencing an intensification of the use of agriculture land; forestry which is characterized by over-exploitation in many countries, particularly in NIS; the dramatic increase of tourism, and also in the increased development of transport infrastructure, dominated by road construction, which threatens to further fragment natural habitats and introduce increased air and soil pollution.
It has been increasingly recognized that efforts are required to "integrate, as far as possible and appropriate, the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes, and policies" (CBD, Article 6b). The Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS), adopted by the Ministers of Environment at the Sofia Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference in 1995, reaffirms that fundamental economic development plans consider ecological requirements, in particular those relating to biological and landscape diversity.
Issue 5 of the Green Budget Reform Newsletter highlights the current discussion of biological diversity and nature protection in the context of economic policy- and decision-making, with a focus on financing conservation efforts, in CEE/NIS. The first article reviews the global challenge of preserving biological diversity and discusses in more detail the Convention on Biological Diversity and the role of the Global Environmental Facility in co-financing measures achieving the goals of the CBD at the international level. Next we focus on European and regional initiatives in the field. In several countries in CEE, economic policy measures have been introduced which are intended to have an impact on forest management, land use, resource extraction, and, more recently, directly on nature protection at the domestic level. We would like to thank Petr Šauer, Economic University in Prague, for his contribution which outlines an innovative approach for the implementation of economic instruments for the goals of biodiversity protection.
The final series of articles focus on economic valuation of biological and ecosystem resources. By estimating the economic benefits of services provided by a given natural resource, valuation attempts to complete the picture for decision-makers considering various conservation and development policy options. Case studies of valuation efforts from CEE and NIS follow. A key issue highlighted in the studies involves the identification of and negotiation between various stakeholders seeking conservation and/or the efficient, equitable, and sustainable use of local biological resources.
The full text and information on the Ramsar Convention is available from The World Conservation Union at www.iucn.org/themes/ramsar or IUCN Head Office, 28 rue Mauverney, Ch-1196 Gland, Switzerland.
The full text and information on CITES is available from CITES Secretariat (UNEP), at www.wcmc.org.uk/CITES/english/index.html or 15, chemin des Anémones, CH-1219 Châtelaine-Genève, Suisse. Tel. (+4122) 979 9139/40, fax (+4122) 797 3417.
The full text and information on the Convention on Biological Diversity is available at www.biodiv.org and from the CBD Secretariat, World Trade Centre, 393 St Jacques Street, Office 300, Montréal, Québec Canada H2Y 1N9. Tel: +1-514-288-2220 Fax: +1-514-288-6588.
The full text of PEBLDS and extensive information on other European legislation for nature protection can be found from the European Centre for Nature Protection at www.ecnc.nl/ or ECNC, PO Box 1352, 5004 BJ Tilburg, the Netherlands. Tel.: +31-13-4663240, Fax: +31-13-4663250, European Environment Agency, Europe’s Environment: The Second Assessment. 1998. Kongens Nytorv 6, DK-1050 Copenhagen K Denmark. See also www.eea.eu.int.