Chapter 5: Slovakia

5.1 Summary of Findings

In 1995, total country spending on environmental protection amounted to USD 232 million. The level of spending has declined slightly over the last three years. In the period 1992-1995, water protection accounted for 44 percent of total environmental spending, followed by air protection (43 percent) and waste management (12 percent).

The government covers just over a half of total environmental expenditures. Two-thirds of the national budget contribution is allocated to the construction of wastewater treatment facilities and sewage collection systems, and to public water supply projects. The remaining third is mainly spent on air protection and waste management projects, where a large part of the project costs are covered by industrial plants and municipalities. Foreign assistance programs make up a minor source of financing for environmental investments. The PHARE program is the major foreign donor.

The State Environmental Fund is the most important governmental source of finance for environmental projects. Between 1992 and 1995, expenditures on wastewater treatment plants and sewerage systems accounted for 41 percent of the Fund expenditures, followed by air protection (25 percent), water supply systems (20 percent), and waste management activities (8 percent).

Draft government policy envisages that, by the year 2000, the national budget will cover just 10 percent of environmental expenditures, with bank sources, foreign investments, and resources of individual enterprises and municipalities each covering approximately 30 percent.

The environmental products and services market is a rapidly developing sector of the economy, but accurate information on the market size is not available. The size of the environmental technology market in Slovakia in 1995 was estimated at USD 174 million.

Air pollution is the most serious environmental problem in Slovakia, especially with respect to SO₂, toxic substances and heavy metals, particulates, and carbon dioxide emissions. There are also major problems with water quality, waste management, and agricultural and forestry practices. Environmental priorities are outlined in the State Environmental Policy (policy statement), and in the related National Environmental Action Plan (implementation plan). The priority areas include: air protection against pollutants; sufficient supply of high quality drinking water; decreasing the pollution of water resources to acceptable levels; soil conservation; proper disposal or utilization of waste; reduction of waste generation; preservation of biodiversity; and the conservation and rational use of natural resources.

The National Environmental Action Plan, developed in 1995, identifies 1,356 specific measures (projects of various nature). Of the total USD 3.4 billion required for the implementation of the Plan, measures related to air and ozone layer protection account for 41 percent of the required financing, followed by projects focusing on the protection of water resources, and promotion of rational use of water (20 percent), protection and rational use of natural resources, soil and forests (17 percent), nature conservation and landscape protection (12 percent), and waste management (8 percent).

Major project opportunities identified in the Plan include:

• Air and energy - installation of desulfurization equipment in coal-fired power plants; introduction of fluidized bed boilers and energy co-generation in power plants; switching from coal to natural gas as the primary energy source; introduction of low-sulfur fuels; and use of geothermal energy.

• Water and wastewater - upgrading and expansion of existing water and wastewater treatment plants; construction of new sewage collection and treatment facilities; and reconstruction and extension of sewage collection networks.

• Waste management - construction of landfills for solid and hazardous waste disposal; regional incineration plants for hospital waste; remediation and revitalization of old landfills.

• Other fields - disposal of radioactive waste; environmental improvements in the nine most contaminated areas in the country; and elimination of factors damaging forests.

The major information sources used prior to purchasing environmental technologies include respondents' own information databases, governmental organizations (e.g. Ministry of Environment), and catalogues of domestic and foreign environmental fairs.

High demand was identified for technologies related to waste management, and the water and wastewater sector. Demand for environmental technologies in the energy and air quality sectors was moderate, and demand for noise, vibration and OHS technologies was low.

In the air sector, high demand was identified for instrumentation and process control/software for gaseous emissions. Growting demand was expected for technologies related to emission abatement and cleaner production; equipment for air sampling/laboratory analysis for both ambient air and gaseous emisions; and air pollution control/flue gas purification equipment.

Demand for water and wastewater technologies was high, specifically for technologies for inspection and reconditioning of existing water supply and municipal wastewater collection networks; monitoring equipment for industrial wastewater; equipment for clean-up, decontamination, and quality restoration of surface and ground water; and for technologies for the construction of municipal and industrial wastewater collection networks. Increasing demand was expected for technologies related to standard wastewater treatment processes for water and wastewater; instrumentation, process control, and software for industrial wastewater; and sampling/laboratory analysis equipment. Growth in demand was also expected for technologies related to the construction of water supply networks; sludge treatment and disposal of municipal and industrial wastewater); and advanced (tertiary) treatment processes for water and wastewater.

Demand for waste management technologies was high. Significant opportunities are expected in hazardous waste disposal, followed by radioactive and industrial waste management. Very high demand was identified for technologies related to landfill disposal (all waste categories); equipment for hazardous and radioactive waste site remediation and contaminated land clean-up; equipment for waste collection/transportation and storage (all waste categories); and technologies related to recycling and resource recovery in the area of hazardous waste. Other technologies in high demand included pollution prevention/waste minimization equipment for hazardous and radioactive waste; equipment for hazardous and radioactive waste site monitoring, and radioactive waste sample analysis/waste characterization; and, finally, technologies for hazardous waste incineration. Increasing demand was expected for technologies related to spillage control/decontamination for industrial, hazardous, and radioactive waste; technologies for recycling and resource recovery for industrial and municipal waste; sample analysis/waste characterization equipment for industrial and municipal waste; and equipment related to industrial waste site monitoring, remediation, and clean-up.

Demand for energy-related technologies was moderate. Specific technologies in high demand included new/efficient energy and heat generation systems, and alternative (non-CFC) refrigerants. Growth in demand was expected for instrumentation; process management and control equipment; and in "other industrial sectors" for technologies related to retrofitting and rehabilitation of existing systems. Surprisingly, only moderate demand was identified for heat recovery and energy saving technologies, and for retrofitting and rehabilitation of existing systems in the energy sector.

Demand for technologies related to noise, vibration, and occupational health and safety was low.

Major end-users of environmental technologies in most sectors include the chemical industry and the energy sector. Local governments (municipalities) are a significant user of technologies related to water and wastewater, and waste management. The mineral mining and processing sector is an important end-user of waste management and energy-related technologies.

Eighty percent of respondents stated that they use only best-technology or best-practice criteria when purchasing environmental technologies, although further discussion usually revealed that, in practice, they favored domestic products because of lower prices. Sixty percent of interviewees preferred to buy foreign products from a local representative, while 40 percent preferred to buy directly from the producer abroad.

Major strengths of foreign environmental technologies in comparison with domestic products included reliability and durability of products (80 percent of respondents) and high product quality (70 percent). Good value for money, after-sales service, and user-friendly design were mentioned by 30 percent to 40 percent of respondents.

The greatest barriers to buying foreign environmental technologies included high price (70 percent of respondents) and the lack of reliable product information (50 percent). About a third of the respondents specified other barriers such as import restrictions and high customs duty, limited information about suppliers, and problems with access to authorized technical services.

The perception of foreign environmental technologies was ranked between good and excellent, well above the perception of domestic products. In the air sector, American, German, Austrian and Scandinavian technologies were ranked particularly high. German, American, French, Dutch and Scandinavian products were best perceived in the water and wastewater sector. German, American, French and Scandinavian technologies were ranked high in the waste management sector, while the energy sector seemed to be dominated by Scandinavian, German, American and Dutch products. Scandinavian and German products rated high in the noise and vibration sector.

Foreign companies are most active in the water and wastewater sector, followed by waste and energy. Air pollution control, and noise, vibration and OHS were represented to a lesser degree. Most active in the water and wastewater sector are German companies, followed by Czech, French, and American suppliers. Danish, Austrian, and French firms seem to dominate among foreign companies in the waste sector, while in the energy sector, German and American presence is notable.