Regional Environmental Center (REC)

Lejla Šuman

www.rec.org

The REC today…

• is an international organisation with head office located in Szentendre, Hungary;

• is legally based on a charter signed by 32 countries and the European Commission;

• has a Board of Directors with international members;

• has a regional presence and offices in CEE with an international staff of approx. 160 employees;

• runs projects in EU Member States (in CEE and EU-28); EU Enlargement Countries; Eastern Partnership Countries; and beyond

• The REC has 26 years of experience in supporting the stakeholders in CEE

www.rec.org

Mission

• The Regional Environmental Center for Central andEastern Europe (REC) is an international organisationwith a mission to assist in addressing environmentalissues.

• The REC fulfils this mission by promoting cooperationamong governments, non-governmentalorganisations, businesses and other environmentalstakeholders, and by supporting the free exchange ofinformation and public participation in environmentaldecision making.

REC Video – Click!

www.rec.org

REC Country Office Bosnia and Hercegovina

• Establishment: 1997

• Legal status: International Organization (Operates in BiHas an International Organization (following the Charter on Diplomatic Status signed by the REC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of B&H in December 1999).

• Main areas of work:

1. Strengthening institutions for sustainable development

2. Capacity building of stakeholders and assisting partnerships

3. NGO support and capacity building through education and training

4. Sustainable management and use of natural resources

5. Environmental Education

SERBIA&

MONTE

NEGRO

Themis NetworkManaging Natural Resources and Combating Environmental Crime

Cooperation initiative for managing natural resources and combatingenvironmental crime, such as illegal logging, in South Eastern Europe

• environmental law enforcement units of Albania, Bosnia andHerzegovina, Kosovo*, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Montenegro and Serbia

• increasing administrative capacities to tackle environmental crimeand enhance regional cooperation in the context of approximationto EU environmental legislation

• funded by the government of Finland and the Austrian DevelopmentCooperation

• REC serves as the Secretariat of the Network

Transferring lessons learned Setting up informal networks in newregions (such as EaP, GUAM) for the improvement of naturalresources management Capacity and institution building activities,strengthening cooperation and dialogue, raising awareness, andtransferring best practices

Structure of the network

Executive Committee

Focal Points

Advisory Council

Secretariat (REC)

Partners & Stakeholders

Multi-Annual work Programme (2014-2017)

1. Management of the Themis Secretariat

2. Capacity building (Natural resources, natureprotection, forestry, environmental crime)

3. Support and encourage national and internationalinter-agency cooperation

The REC acts as secretariat of the Themis Network and supports network operations by:

• managing and implementing the activities outlined in the MAP;

• reviewing the implementation of the MAP and reporting to the Executive Committee;

• preparing draft documents and reports for the Executive Committee;

• disseminating the network’s outputs and coordinating general requests for information;

• maintaining the network’s website and other communication tools;

• liaising with partner institutions and networks;

• providing administrative and technical support to the network and the Executive Committee; and

• fundraising for the continuous and sustainable operation of the network.

Secretariat

Themis Network activities target:

• officials from the national authorities responsible for environment, and in particular for forestry, nature protection and law enforcement

• the judiciary, with involvement from decentralised administrative levels (regional/local)

• policy makers and operational staff from ministries of environment and related fields (justice, economy, forestry, rural development, spatial planning etc.)

• representatives of the administrations of natural parks and protected zones

• enforcement agencies under the ministries of environment/forestry (environmental inspectors, permit writers, forest guards)

• environmental protection agencies

• judges and prosecutors

• practitioners from enforcement agencies attached to the ministries of the interior (police, customs)

• and other related stakeholders (including civil society organizations and owners of significant natural resources).

Stakeholders

REGIONAL

• Enforcement and Inspection Techniques Training; June 2015; Portugal

• Nature Conservation Training;October 2015; Hungary

• Training on Cross-Sectoral Issues in the EU Environmental Acquis;

December 2015; Slovenia

SUB-REGIONAL

• Sub-regional Training on Transboundary Shipment of Waste and Port

Inspection; April 2016; Montenegro

• Sub-regional Training on Timber; June 2016; Bosnia and Herzegovina

NATIONAL

• National training on strategic environmental assessment (SEA),

environmental impact assessment (EIA), the management of protected

areas, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of

Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); May 2016; Bosnia and Herzegovina

Capacity building trainings

• INTERPOL

• IMPEL (European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement

of Environmental Law)

• INECE (International Network for Environmental Compliance and

Enforcement)

• ILECU (International Law Enforcement Coordination Units)

Partners:

Lessons learnt

• Definition of objectives and needs

• Political commitment and ownership to cooperate

• Participatory decision making

• Regular monitoring and assessment

• Strong Secretariat and governance bodies (for instance, Board of Directors, Executive Committee, etc) – drivers of progress

• Partnerships / joint efforts

Environmental crime is an illegal act which directlyharms the environment.• Illegal wildlife trade in endangered species in contravention to the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES);

• Smuggling of Ozone depleting substances (ODS) in contravention to the 1987Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer;

• Dumping and illicit trade in hazardous waste in contravention of the 1989 BaselConvention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastesand Other Wastes and their Disposal;

• Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in contravention to controls imposedby various regional fisheries management organisations;

• Illegal logging and the associated trade in stolen timber in violation of nationallaws.

Why networking is important?

Consequences

Consequences

Cooperation = Networks = Changes

• Do we really have to change?

• Can we change?

• Will we change?

• Be The Change

Why networking is important?

“When any great moral challenge is resolved into choice between right and wrong, the outcome is

preordained because of who we are. That is why we are going to change and to win this."

Al Gore

former US Vice President and founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project

http://www.themisnetwork.eu/

More information:

www.rec.org

REC BiH OFFICE

Country Office Sarajevo

Zmaja od Bosne 47a

71000 Sarajevo

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Phone./fax: +387 33 713 110; +387 33 713 130

E-mail: Lsuman@rec.org

Web site of REC BiH : www.bih.rec.org

Web site of REC Head Office: www.rec.org

www.rec.org

Follow the REC on:

@RECstream