Chapter 6: Country Reports
Romania
Introduction
The environmental movement in Romania seems to represent the most dynamic and coherent part of the nonprofit sector, at least in terms of activities conducted and coalitions established. Since 1990, environmental NGOs have constantly promoted networking, and some have reached distinguished levels of organizational development in their movement toward self-sustainability. Four national conferences have been held in the last four years - two in 1992 and one each in 1993 and 1995 - bringing together representatives from most environmental NGOs. These conferences have resulted in various declarations reacting to insufficient environmental legislation or abusive measures by the government, and commitments to work together on future common activities. The involvement of several environmental NGOs in the NGO Forum (Civil Society Development), organized in the early summer of 1996 in Bucharest, led to a resolution statement submitted to the government regarding the absence of an ecofund in the environmental protection law.
Organizational Characteristics
Although the oldest Romanian NGO was founded in 1886, most environmental NGOs obtained legal status in the 1990s, part of the movement to develop a civil society in the transition from totalitarianism to democracy. NGOs are registered as non-profit organizations according to the old law of associations and foundations (Law no. 21/1924), and new groups have been registering continuously over the last few years. In the summer of 1996, the REC Local Office data base included 243 NGOs unequally distributed among the four historical regions of the country. While Transylvania (center and northwest) boasts 116 organizations, 94 are located in Vallachia (south), of which 67 are in Bucharest, 21 exist in Moldavia (northeast), and 12 NGOs operate in Dobrogea (southeast). Over half of all Romanian NGOs are located in Bucharest (the Romanian capital) and other major cities, including Cluj, Oradea, Brasov and Constanta.
Romanian environmental NGOs are to a great extent grassroots groups. More than half (65 percent) have no more than 50 active members, and very few have over 3,000 members. More than two-thirds have no paid staff and only a few active members, although more volunteers may be involved on special occasions, such as activities organized at the local level for celebrating important environmental events. NGO membership generally consists of young people, though there are several groups organized on different professional topics. Sixty-six percent of Romanian NGOs operate at the national and regional levels.
Activities
Most Romanian NGOs focus on environmental education and training (88 percent), environmental fieldwork (65 percent), nature conservation, pollution prevention, and environmental information dissemination and raising public awareness (52 percent). They are less effective in influencing environmental legislation and lobbying. The REC Local Office should continue to encourage and assist those projects aimed at strengthening networking between NGOs and public participation in the environmental decisionmaking process. Cooperative projects at the national level should be promoted and financed in order to address the need for legislative measures and environmental problem solving.
Success
Almost two-thirds of the Romanian NGOs that returned the mail questionnaires evaluated their activity as fully or partially successful.
Financial Status
Romanian environmental NGOs are generally poor in terms of financial resources: half of them have an annual budget of less than USD 500. Membership dues do not represent an important financial resource. Most groups are totally dependent on foreign funding, and only a few are capable of recovering part of their costs from the community. Training in fund-raising methods and financial management would increase their access to multiple funding sources, including local resources. The REC Local Office in Bucharest should continue to provide NGOs with funds for institutional development, especially for projects that lead to self-sustainability.
Since 1990, Romanian environmental NGOs' main funding sources have been indigenous organizations and international foundations with local offices. Romanian environmental NGOs consider the REC (88 percent), SOROS (23 percent) and the Ecumenical Association of Churches - Romanian Department (15 percent) to be their main funding sources. Other support groups include USAID, the Know-How Fund, and MilieuKontakt Oost-Europa. The financial assistance these groups provide to environmental NGOs accounts for more than half of their budgets; the rest is covered by donations, membership dues and, to a lesser extent, recovered costs.
Needs and Problems
The main problems identified by Romanian NGOs are lack of financial resources, difficulties involved with official registration, limited access to environmental information, and lack of know-how. Concerning training needs, 70 percent of the NGOs indicated fund raising, project management and networking topics as very useful. The Romanian Local Office should continue to award grants for project development, to provide technical assistance, and to improve information exchange services.
Cooperation
Cooperation between NGOs is relatively good. Thirty-two percent cooperate closely on joint projects at the local level, and 38 percent collaborate through information exchange at the national level. However, many NGOs are very interested in developing collaborative relationships with both Romanian groups and with NGOs from abroad. The REC should encourage networking in order to create a strong and coherent environmental movement active at the national level.
There is an acute lack of dialogue and cooperation between NGOs and the central authorities: only one-third cooperate with the national government. Until recently, only the Ministry of Youth provided financial assistance for NGO projects. Cooperation at the local level, where different agreements have been signed between NGOs and local councils, city halls or environmental protection agencies, has been more successful: 50 percent of Romanian NGOs occasionally cooperate with local governmental agencies. The REC Local Office should encourage NGO projects that involve and develop closer working relationships with local and national governments. The REC should also continue to promote public participation on legislative issues.
The relationship between NGOs and the for-profit sector suffers from a lack of mutual knowledge and understanding of what they can offer each other. Collaboration is sporadic; NGOs perceive the business sector only as a potential donor or source of funding. The REC should promote dialogue between these two sectors, explaining their respective roles in a civil society; it should bring them together through information services in order to improve their access to each other's resources. There is a clear need for training on public participation practices and methods involving representatives from all three sectors.
The REC Local Office should strongly encourage dialogue among environmental stakeholders in order to improve all types of cooperation. Consistent with its mission, and based on its experience in the region, the REC should continue to promote networking, partnerships and joint projects for environmental problem solving.
Experience with the Regional Environmental Center
Romanian environmental NGOs consider the REC to be a traditional funding source. Over 50 percent of the NGOs responding to the study received grants from the REC through either the Local Grants Program or the Earmarked Grants Program. Up until 1996, the REC awarded USD 1.66 million through the Local and Earmarked Grants programs. Since 1993 alone, almost 300 projects from 100 NGOs have been funded to the tune of USD 589,760. At the same time, REC is considered by almost all Romanian environmental NGOs as one of the main and most useful providers of technical assistance and environmental information.
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