Danish - Lithuanian Environmental Co-operation 1991-2000
Chapter 16
The other sector programmes
Housing and Urban Sector Programme
In order to promote energy efficiency improvements in the residential and public sector, the Lithuanian Government signed a loan agreement with the World Bank and started the Energy Efficiency Housing Pilot Project (EEHPP) in 1996. The Danish Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs provides different kinds of assistance for the project in terms of financial support to five Advisory Centres, elaboration of a Strategy to promote Building Renovation and Energy Efficiency in Residential Buildings as well as assistance to the Housing and Urban Development Foundation (HUDF).
The main tasks of the five Advisory Centres for Homeowners Associations - located in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda, Alytus and Panevezys and organisations connected to HUDF - are to provide financial, organisational, technical and legal advice to all Homeowners Associations (HOA). However, the Advisory Centres are mainly dealing with HOAs who want to finance investments in building renovation and energy efficiency by using the ETBloan provided through EEHPP. Due to financial support from the Danish Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, advice and assistance from the Advisory Centres are free of charge. Furthermore, the Advisory Centres participate in a Public Information Programme with the aim to motivate and encourage HOA to invest in energy efficiency.
Until the end of 1999, The Danish Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs financed 100 per cent of the expenses of the Centres. In a threeyear period (2000 - 2002) the Danish contribution will gradually be reduced and from 2003 the Advisory Centres should be 100 per cent locally financed.
The Strategy of Energy Efficiency was finalised in 2000. One of the proposals given by the Strategy is to establish training programmes for chairmen and board members in HOA with respect to negotiation, administration, legislation etc. The Danish consultant at HUDF has started this work and a new training programme has been introduced in the beginning of 2001.
The lessons learned from EEHPP by now, shows an increasing interest for investments in energy efficiency and building renovation in Lithuania, i.e. 169 loan agreements with HOAs and 24 with single family houses for the total amount of Litas 30 million (EUR 8.43 million), were signed by the end of June 2000.
Nuclear Emergency Preparedness and Response Education Sector Programme
The sector programme administered by the Emergency Management Agency has two target areas. One target area is nuclear safety, warning systems and emergency preparedness and the other is the handling of emergency situations in relation to accidents with hazardous substances.
In relation to the "nuclear" part of the programme, the objective of the Ministry of Interior's sector-integrated environment programme is to promote nuclear emergency management in the Baltic region and bolster security of the region's nuclear power plants and test reactors. In addition, the programme grants aid for monitoring the radiation environment and cleaning already polluted sites.
Even before the introduction of the concept of sector-integrated environmental programme, Denmark has assisted all the three Baltic States in the nuclear field. The Danish Ministry of Interior started the implementation of projects in Lithuania in 1994. The major achievements of the programme have been the following: A large network of early warning stations of Danish design are installed and integrated in a network with existing automatic stations. Emergency management systems are installed at the central authorities and institutions. A decision support system (ARGOS NT) is used as the main tool for the presentation of data from monitoring network. Training courses in the use of the systems have been performed.
The objective of the programme for Emergency Preparedness and Response Education is to assist in the development of a well functioning and relevant national and cross border emergency preparedness and response in case of major accidents with hazardous substances.
Under this programme a number of training courses have been held for commanding rescue units, civil defence, fire and rescue administrators in the field of emergency preparedness and response planning.
Further information on the programme is available from:
The Emergency Management Agency
Datavej 16
DK - 3460 Birkerød
Telephone: + 45 45 82 54 00
E-mail: brs@beredskabsstyrelsen.dk
Homepage: http://www.brs.
Environmental Sector Programme for Agriculture and Fisheries
The overall objective of the Environmental Sector Programme for Agriculture and Fisheries is to support sustainable development of agriculture and fisheries in the Baltic Sea area.
Another important objective is to assist in the adaptation to EU legislation and the establishment of implementing systems.
The present sector programme is a continuation and an extension of activities which were started already in 1994.
Some illustrative examples of topics that the programme has supported are:
 | Development and implementation of decision support systems concerning sustainable use of pesticides. |
| Organic production and trade. |
| Improvement of the Fertilising Normative - Especially Manure Standards. |
| Introduction of test procedures for field sprayers and improvement of the plant protection certificate. |
Further information on the programme is available from:
The Danish Directorate for Food, Fisheries and Agro Business
Kampmannsgade 3
DK - 1780 Copenhagen V
Telephone: + 45 33 95 80 00
Fax: + 45 33 95 80 26
E-mail: dffe@dffe.dk
Homepage: http://www.dffe.dk
The Business Related Environmental Programme
The business related part of the sectorintegrated environment assistance aims at participating in prevention and remedy of environmental loads occurring within the business community. Consequently, the sector programme of the Danish Agency for Trade and Industry focuses systematically on implementing environmental management systems (EMS) in East European companies and to demonstrate how environmental management systems can become an integrated part of all business development.
The overall objective of the Business Related Environment Sector Programme is to promote growth and partnership in the Baltic Sea Region based on market economic principles and environmentally sustainable development.
It is expected that the projects of the programme will lead to:
| Savings at the companies through better management of energy and raw material consumption which means lower costs. |
| Improvement of the companies' international competitiveness. ISO 14001 and EMAS certification can be the end result of implementing environmental management. |
In Lithuania, projects on the EMAS and the ISO 14001 certification, which combines market economic principles and environmentally sustainable development, have been demonstrated in the food industry, the electro and metal plating industry, and the textile industry.
Future projects within the Business Related Environmental Programme starting in the year 2001 are intended to have a broader scope focusing on environmental management, waste management, integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC), improvement of working conditions and transfer of cleaner technology. Furthermore, integration of the environmental related business programme with other business related programmes will be pursued to obtain synergy between the different initiatives under the Business Sector Programme.
Further information on the programme is available from:
The Danish Agency for Trade and Industry Dahlerups Pakhus,
Langelinie Alle 17
DK - 2100 Copenhagen Ø
Telephone: + 45 35 46 60 00
E-mail: efs@efs.dk
Homepage: http://www.efs.dk
The Sector-integrated Environment Programme of the Ministry of Labour
The sector-integrated environment programme of the Ministry of Labour is aimed at strengthening health and safety in the recipient countries at the same time integrating environmental matters in traditional labour market policy tools.
The sector programme has the following elements:
| Strengthening the environmental awareness in the Lithuanian Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the affiliated institutions |
| Promotion of environmental considerations in the evaluation and implementation of actual employment projects |
| Setting up of best practice catalogue containing employment projects which have integrated environmental aspects |
| Updating of labour market courses, teaching qualifications for those in charge of training supervisors in environmental awareness and management |
| Labour market courses in the food and building industry will undergo revision with a view to improving environmental, health and safety aspects. |
The Sector-integrated Environmental Programme for 1999-2001 runs parallel in Estonia, Latvia and Poland testing and piloting various combinations of employment, training and environment elements.
Transport Sector Programme
Sector-integrated environment assistance in the transport field is targeted at supporting the water and railroad transport by smoothening and rationalising procedures and document processing. In addition, the programme will be evaluating environmental impacts of the various modes of transport.
The programme is targeted at:
| Promotion of environmentally friendly transport modes like railways |
| Development of multimodal transport |
| Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of transport infrastructure projects |
| Evaluation of external costs of transport |
| Traffic safety |
| Other projects in the transport sector, contributing to development of sustainable transport |
In 1999, the first project of the sector programme was initiated in Lithuania. The project regards Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of transport infrastructure projects and deals with an Environmental Impact Assessment of a harbour project in Klaipeda.
From November 1999 to July 2000, a project identification programme has been carried out in Lithuania where needs, priorities, wishes of possibilities for co-financing have been analysed.
This has led to the tendering and contracting of 3 projects which are all related to the environmental aspects of traffic planning.
Further information on the programme is available from:
The Ministry of Transport, International Division
Frederiksholms Kanal 27
DK - 1220 Copenhagen K
Telephone: + 45 33 92 55 00
E-mail: trm@trm.dk
Homepage: http://www.trafikministeriet.dk
Education
The sector programme for education which is administered by the Danish Ministry of Education was only initiated in 2000 and consequently, the activities of the programme have up to now, been relatively limited.
The Danish Ministry of Education
Frederiksholms Kanal 21
DK - 1220 København K
Telephone: + 45 33 92 50 00
Fax: + 45 33 92 55 47
E-mail: uvm@uvm.dk
Homepage: http://www.undervisningsministeriet.dk