Danish support to improved water quality in Central and Eastern Europe 1991-2001
Chapter 1
Summary
In 1991 the Act on Subsidy for Environmental Activities in Eastern Europe was Adopted by the Danish Parliament with the Overall Objective:
 | To protect the environment in CEEC and to limit regional as well as global pollution |
| To contribute to the preparation for countries applying for EU membership |
| To contribute to political and economic development in an environmental friendly manner |
| To promote Danish environmental knowledge and technology |
For the last 10 years, Denmark has supported and implemented projects in 15 Central and East European countries within air pollution, water quality, waste, nature and institutional development. The total Danish support amounts to EUR 435 million. Within improvement to water quality, 400 projects have been executed with the Danish support of EUR 184 million, where 80% have been allocated to investment projects.
Technical assistance projects have been allocated to planning and identifying water and wastewater projects in East European cities like St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Vilnius, Kiev, Warsaw and Wroclaw. In 35 towns the water supply has been improved and along with improved quality of groundwater more than 800,000 East Europeans have benefited from investments in Danish equipment for water supply.
In 120 towns or cities existing wastewater treatment plants have been rehabilitated or new treatment plants have been constructed with a total reduction in the discharge of organic matter of 60,000 ton/year, nitrogen 17,000 ton/year and phosphorous 2,500 ton/year. This corresonds to the pollution load from 3-4 million persons. The reduction in discharge of nitrogen is at the same level as the reduction in discharge from Danish wastewater treatment plants during the Danish action plan for the aquatic environment 1987 to 1995, but at 1/3 of the cost in Denmark (DKK 360 pr. kg nitrogen removed in the Danish Action Plan for the Water environment compared to DKK 135 for the supported projets). Due to the high degree of co-financing the Danish support to nitrogen removal has on the average been DKK 22 pr. kg. in the CEEC. The support to wastewater treatment plants has also resulted in a reduced discharge of heavy metals by more than 100 ton/year.
Comparing cost of removing nitrogen
Distribution of allocations on action areas
The Danish supported projects have contributed to the improvement of the Baltic Sea according to the monitoring carried out by the Helsinki committee (HELCOM).
Within sewer rehabilitation and cleaner technology at industries, a number of projects have been executed which have demonstrated the efficiency of Danish methods and equipment in relation to environmental protection. 20-30 km sewage pipes have been renovated as demonstration projects for Danish environmental technology in CEE. Within 10 different industrial sectors, the water consumption was reduced up to 90%, the discharge of organic matter and heavy metals was likewise reduced by 90% and nitrogen by 50%. The 10 years, support has also comprised support to improve monitoring of the water environment and improved control with oil spill in the Baltic Sea.
The Danish support has been important in spurring on the countries seeking membership of the EU. The approximation of the individual national environmental legislation in the applicant countries to the EU directives has been supported. The momentum of the approximation process has been continuously supported by providing expertise within technical, financial and institutional matters. One example is the definition and preparation of the large environmental investments to satisfy the demands of the international banks. For 65 towns the application for EU support through the ISPAprogramme were supported.
The Danish investment support in the water sector of DKK 0.9 billion has led to a total investment of DKK 5.4 billion For example, Poland has co-financed up to 90% of expenses on Danish supported projects. This is taken as a proof that the Danish environmental support has managed to place the environment high on the agenda on both local and national levels. A popular support for environmental projects are necessarily where limited resources have to be prioritised. Many investments must be financed by the customers over the water bill, and therefore it is important to ensure both the capability and the willingness to pay.
About 150 companies have supplied equipment or expertise to the water quality projects. The result is that a number of Danish companies today have established a growing business on the Central and East European market. The largest companies within industry or/and consultancy have established subsidiaries in one or more of the Central and East European countries. For year 2000 the total turnover on the Central and East European market for Danish companies is estimated to be at a level of EUR 260 million. This level has been reached within a period of 10 years.
The Danish EPA has prepared a strategy for the support the next 5 years to ensure that a) Denmark continuously can support the Central and East European countries in investments of environmental improvements, b) the candidate countries develop towards membership of the EU and c) Danish equipment and know-how is being promoted on a growing market. The EU applying countries are assumed to invest about EUR 65 billion the next 10-15 years. The needed investments in the water sector are estimated at approximately EUR 16 billion.