Danish - Lithuanian Environmental Co-operation 1991-2000 BackgroundCountry characteristics Country characteristicsLithuania is situated on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea and covers 65,300 km2 which is roughly the same size as Belgium. Lithuania is the largest of the three Baltic countries. Lithuania has a population of 3.7 million. The landscape is shaped by the glacial times and is very similar to that of Denmark. Approximately 30 per cent of the country is covered by woods. The largest river, the Nemunas, gathers and carries the waters of many tributaries to the Baltic Sea wherein lies Lithuania's famous "amber coast". It has 99 km of coastline. Lithuania has a functioning and viable market economy which is back on track of growth and financial stability after the trade shock in the aftermath of Russian financial crisis. In 2000, the GDP grew by 3.3 per cent. The GDP per capita in Lithuania in 2000 was USD 3039 (EUR 3.382). Inflation was 1.4 per cent in the year 2000. National average unemployment rate was 11.5 per cent the same year. The economy in Lithuania experienced a decrease in investment in the recent years. According to national accounts, the share of total fixed gross capital formation comprised:
This was mainly due to profound reduction in public sector investment activities which, measured as public material investment, have fallen from LTL 720 million (EUR 200 million) in 1998 to LTL 117 million (EUR 32 million) in 2000. According to the principles of the new Government, the public investment activities shall be gradually restricted to financing Government priorities (free market economy, restructuring, privatisation, promotion of foreign investment, high-tech and IT orientation), mainly for infrastructure development purposes. Lithuania has applied for EU membership. The accession to the EU requires that Lithuania in the future allocates considerable financial resources to fulfil the EU legislation. Estimates of the costs for the implementation of EU requirements in Lithuania for this are given in the table below:
The present Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania was adopted on October 25, 1992. The Republic of Lithuania is headed by the President and the Government, while the lawmaking body is Seimas which has 141 members. The President is elected by the citizens of the country for five years on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage with secret ballot. Seimas members are elected for four years in single and multimandate electoral districts on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, secret ballot in direct elections of a mixed system. The territorial administrative units of the Republic of Lithuania are the counties and the municipalities. There are 10 counties and 60 municipalities.
Municipalities manage and maintain their environment, municipal economy, provide communal services to local inhabitants and perform other functions provided for in the Law on Local Self-Government of the Republic of Lithuania. Municipalities prepare, approve and implement programmes and schemes of environmental protection and use of natural resources of municipalities. Counties are the higher territorial administrative units of the Republic of Lithuania, the governing of which is organised by the Government through the governor of the county, the Ministries and other Governmental institutions. Counties implement state policies in the fields of social maintenance, education, culture, health care, territorial planning, monument protection, land use and protection, as well as agriculture, environmental protection, and other fields. Counties implement state and inter-regional programmes. List of projects in the period 1991-2000Air Sector
Waste
Water
Nature
Industrial pollution condustrial pollution control and risk management
Chemicals
Nuclear Safety
Horisontal
Institutional Strengthening
Ignalina Package
Other
Environmental effects of the
projects in Lithuania
|
|
Environmental effect |
Preliminary effect |
Estimated effect |
Unit |
Ordinary waste |
Established depositing capacity |
- |
100,000.00 |
t |
Reduction of waste |
- |
15,000.00 |
t/year |
|
Drinking-/ groundwater |
Established amount of water |
2,510,000.00 |
- |
m3/year |
Hazardous waste |
Established depositing capacity |
- |
3,500.00 |
t |
Industrial waste water |
Economical reduction |
1,000,000.00 |
210,000.00 |
m3/year |
Reduction of Phosphorus (p) |
45.00 |
- |
t/year |
|
Reduction of Nitrogen (N) |
100.00 |
- |
t/year |
|
Reduction of heavy metals |
- |
1,495.00 |
t/year |
|
Reduction in oxygen) |
1,250.00 |
125.00 |
t/year |
|
consumption (BOD |
|
|
|
|
Environmentally |
Carbon dioxide CO2 |
5,800.00 |
46,000.00 |
t/year |
friendly energy |
Nitrogen oxide NOx |
- |
100.00 |
t/year |
Sulphur dioxide SO2 |
- |
900.00 |
t/year |
|
Nature |
Nature protected |
89,700.00 |
- |
Hectare |
Nuclear conditions |
Nuclear conditions |
- |
- |
No information |
Equipment supply |
- |
|
|
|
Prevention of oil pollution |
Equipment supply |
- |
|
|
Recipient |
Equipment supply |
- |
|
|
Waste water |
Reduction of phosphorus (P) |
103.00 |
327.00 |
t/year |
Reduction of nitrogen (N) |
731.00 |
4,293.00 |
t/year |
|
Reduction in oxygen |
4,580.00 |
11,340.00 |
t/year |
|
consumption (BOD) |
|
|
|
|
Waste water m3/year |
7,665.00 |
- |
m3/year |
BOD |
Biological Oxygen Demand |
CEE |
Central and Eastern Europe |
CEEC |
Central- and Eastern European Countries |
CIS |
Commonwealth of Independent States |
CO2 |
Carbon dioxide |
DANCEE |
Danish Co-operation for Environment in Eastern Europe |
DEPA |
Danish Environmental Protection Agency |
DESF |
Danish Environmental Support Fund DKK Danish Kroner |
EBRD |
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development |
EDP |
Electronic Data Processing |
EDRF |
Environment and Disaster Relief Facility - Miljø- og Katastrofefonden |
EEA |
European Environmental Agency |
EEHPP |
Energy Efficiency Housing Pilot Project |
EIA |
Environmental Impact Assessment |
EKF |
Danish State Export Credit Agency - Eksportkreditfonden |
EMS |
Environmental Management System |
EMAS |
Eco-Management and Audit Scheme |
EU |
European Union |
EUR |
Euro |
GDP |
Gross Domestic Product |
GEF |
Global Enviroment Facility |
GMO |
Genetically Modified Organisms |
GNP |
Gross National Product |
HELCOM |
Helsinki Commission - Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission |
HOA |
House Owners Associations |
HUDF |
Housing and Urban Development Foundation |
IN |
Investments |
IPPC |
Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control |
ISO 14001 |
International Standard Organisation |
ISPA |
Instrument for Structural Policy for PreAccession |
IØ |
The Green Investment Facility |
LOD |
Lithuanian Ornithological Society |
LPC |
Local Project Coordinator |
MARPOL |
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships |
MIØ |
Investment Fund for Central and Eastern Europe |
MKØ |
Miljøkreditordningen for Østeuropa - Environmental Soft Loan Programme for Eastern Europe MoEE Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy |
MoEL |
Lithuanian Ministry of Environment |
NGO |
Non-governmental Organisation |
NIS |
Newly Independent States |
NOx |
Nitrogen Oxides |
NPP |
Nuclear Power Plant |
PHARE |
Action Plan for co-ordinated aid to Poland and Hungary (originally in French) now also targeting other countries as pre-accession assistance for infrastructure and institutionbuilding. |
REC |
Regional Environment Center |
SAPARD |
Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development |
SO2 |
Sulphur Dioxide |
TA |
Technical Assistance |
UN |
United Nation |
WWTP |
Waste Water Treatment Plant |
Danish
DANCEE
www.mst.dk/dancee
DANCEE's homepage. Information about DANCEE, programmes and projects, publications,
procedures for application etc.
DEPA
www.mst.dk/
Homepage of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. Information about legislation,
action programmes, publications etc. Has an "international issues" site.
MOEE
www.mem.dk/
The Ministry of the Environment. Profile of Denmark and of Denmark's environmental policy.
Presentations of the ministry's environmental agencies and research institutes. Overview
of central publications in English.
Miljøbutikken
www.mem.dk/butik/
Miljøbutikken (The Environmental Shop) is the main information centre of the MOEE.
Provides information on environment and on Danish legislation and policies in these areas.
Free brochures on order, action plans, legislation and policy papers. Possible to buy all
publications issued by the Ministry.
EKF
www.ekf.dk
Homepage of the Danish State Export Credit Agency (Eksport Kredit Fonden). Information
about export credit and financing assistance etc.
National Environmental Research Institute (NERI)
www.dmu.dk
Independent environmental research institute under the MOEE. Scientific information on
environmental issues.
Danish Forest and Nature Agency
www.sns.dk
Agency under the MOEE. Has a division for International co-operation. Information on
assistance for the implementation of International Conventions on Natural Resources
Management and more.
Danish Energy Agency
www.ens.dk
Agency under the MOEE. Internationally, the agency promotes exports of know-how and energy
technology by Danish companies and contributes to the transfer of technology to countries
in the Central and Eastern Europe.
Statistics Denmark
www.dst.dk
The central statistic office in Denmark. "Statistic Yearbook" and "Data on
Denmark" available electronically.
www.statistikbanken.dk
Site under Statistics Denmark containing free statistic information on e.g. environment
and energy.
Lithuanian Center for Environmental Policy
www.aapc.lt/eng/indexe.htm
Center for Environmental Policy is a nonprofit organisation operating in the fields of
environmental law, environmental economics, environmental financing, environmental impact
assessment, environmental education and public relations, environmental quality monitoring
and control, environmental auditing, approximation of Lithuanian environmental laws with
those of European Union, and organisation of workshops. The website informs on services,
projects and partners
The European Commission's Delegation in Lithuania
www.eudel.lt/english/
The homepage gives general information about the EU and the institutions and about the
Lithuanian relations to the EU e.g. the PHARE programme and the bilateral relations.
The European Committee under the Republic of Lithuania
www.euro.lt
The Committee is an institution responsible to the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania. Their mission is to ensure Lithuania's accession to the European Union. The
homepage provides information on the Lithuanian integration process.
The Lithuanian Environmental Investment Fund (the LEIF)
www.laaif.lt/eng/info.htm
The LEIF supports public and private sectors in the realisation of environmental projects
and projects to reduce the negative impact of economic activities on environment in
compliance with the Environmental Strategy of the Republic of Lithuania. The homepage
gives information on e.g. different types of financing and the application procedures
The Lithuanian Ministry of Environment
www.gamta.lt
Homepage of the Ministry. Contains legal acts, publications (e.g. Environmental Project
Development Manual) presentation of sectors, news etc.
The Lithuanian Parliament
www.lrs.lt
The homepage provides information on Lithuanian parliament, the political agenda, the
different committees and commissions and the legal acts.
The Phare Programming Resource Centre for Lithuania.
www.phareprogramming.lt/
The homepage aims to provide civil servants from all Ministries or Government Agencies in
Lithuania with up-to-date information and concrete advice on the Programming of Phare
assistance in the context of Accession to the EU.
The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
www.rec.lt
REC assists in solving environmental problems in Central- and Eastern Europe. The center
encourage co-operation among NGOs, governments and businesses, supports the free exchange
of information and promotes public participation in environmental decisionmaking. The
homepage describes projects and calls for tender. It gives national environmental
descriptions and up-dated environmental news.
The World Bank Lithuanian Office
www.worldbank.lt/
The Homepage provides information on different activities in Lithuania, news and events
and different projects, data and Publications. exchange of information and promotes public
participation in environmental decisionmaking. The website describes projects and calls
for tender. It gives national environmental descriptions and up-dated environmental news.
European Environment Agency
www.eea.eu.int/
The EEA provides information to improve Europe's environment in a sustainable way. On the
website, there are different country information from the EU Member States, news releases,
speeches and different themes like air quality, climate changes and biodiversity.
HELCOM
www.helcom.fi/
The governing body of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment in the
Baltic Sea Area is the Helsinki Commission, HELCOM. The website describes current events,
projects, conventions, etc.
UNEP/GRIDArendal
www.grida.no/
The United Nation Environment Programme. Regional environmental information including maps
and graphics of the Arctic, the Nordic, the Baltic and the Central and Eastern Europe.
City environment reports and state of the environment reports is available electronically.
The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
www.rec.org/
REC assists in solving environmental problems in Central and Eastern Europe. The centre
encourages co-operation among NGOs, governments and businesses, supports free
PHARE
www.europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/pas/phare
PHARE is currently the main channel for the European Union's financial and technical
cooperation with the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe. The Programme focuses on
preparing the candidate countries for EU membership by concentrating its support on two
priorities in the adoption of the acquis communautaire: Institution building and
investment support. The homepages gives detailed information.
ISPA
www.inforegio.cec.eu.int/wbpro/ispa/ispa_en.htm
ISPA is one of the EU financial instruments to assist the candidate countries in their
preparations for accession. The instrument is especially targeted towards transport and
environment. The site contains the official texts relevant for ISPA and a more detailed
overview of how the ISPA works.
SAPARD
www.europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/external/enlarge/index_en.htm
SAPARD is the special pre-accession assistance for agriculture and rural development. The
homepage contains links to official documents concerning SAPARD, general information on
the enlargement and questions and answers on the EU and the enlargement.
International European Environment Agency
www.eea.eu.int/
The EEA provides information to improve Europe's environment in a sustainable way. On the
website, there are different country information from the EU Member States, news releases,
speeches and different themes like air quality, climate changes and biodiversity.
HELCOM
www.helcom.fi/
The governing body of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment in the
Baltic Sea Area is the Helsinki Commission, HELCOM. The website describes current events,
projects, conventions, etc.
UNEP/GRIDArendal
www.grida.no/
The United Nation Environment Programme. Regional environmental information including maps
and graphics of the Arctic, the Nordic, the Baltic and the Central and Eastern Europe.
City environment reports and state of the environment reports is available electronically.
The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
www.rec.org/
REC assists in solving environmental problems in Central and Eastern Europe. The centre
encourages co-operation among NGOs, governments and businesses, supports free
Baltic Agenda 21
www.ee/baltic21/
Baltic Agenda 21 promotes sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region, encompassing
economic, social and environmental aspects. The website provides information about the
goals, the commitments, the achievements and the people.
EBRD
www.ebrd.org
The European Bank for reconstruction and development fosters the transition towards open
market-oriented economies and promotes private and entrepreneurial initiative in the
Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, the CIS.
World Bank
www.worldbank.org
The World Bank works in more than 100 developing economies, bringing a mix of finance and
ideas to improve living standards and to eliminate the worst forms of poverty. The website
describes the general assistance strategies and the regional initiatives.