This book brings together the findings of key sector- and media-specific analyses of the environment in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia area and puts forth a set of indicators to provide a one-stop, concise and up-to-date assessment accessible also to a non-specialist audience.

Describes progress being made - and barriers to progress - on environmental policies and programmes in the countries of Eastern Europe, Causasus and Central Asia.

Recoge: 1 Background, scope and methodology - 2 Broad trends in production and consumption - 3 Policies supporting SCP - 4 Industry - 5 Food - 6 Buildings - 7 Transport - 8 Waste - 9 Way forward - Annex 1 Responses to the questionnaire survey on policies on sustainable consumption and production

This report aims to help EECCA environmental administrations to harness the potential benefits of on-going public finance reforms; particularly the shift to multi-year budgeting, stability of funding, and, ultimately, a more effective use of public money.

Eastern European, Caucasus and Central Asian (EECCA) countries are at an environmental crossroad. The current environmental situation is dire and challenges are mounting, but there are also new opportunities. EECCA countries need to set clear priorities and targets to guide both their own action programmes and multi-stakeholder partnerships. Knowledge transfer and institutional development are required to facilitate policy reform, and to tackle strategic and operational bottlenecks, including much needed investments in environmental infrastructure and modern technologies. This report explains the environmental challenges that these transition economies face, and assesses the financial tools and resources available to tackle them. The publication of this report is part of the OECD programme of work with non-member economies, in the context of the Task Force for the Implementation of the Environmental Action Plan for Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EAP Task Force). It is directly related to a series of projects on environmental finance in transition economies, which was initiated in 1993 and that has focused on EECCA since 1998.

This glossary integrates a wealth of policy, legal, management and technical terms that were selected according to one key criterion: each of them had to be used in environmental compliance promotion and enforcement or have significance for this field.

This report proposes a World Bank strategy for assisting the rural, environmental, and social development of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It has been produced for a general audience partly for consultation purposes, and is therefore a work in progress. Each of the three areas of development is examined in separate chapters, and each summarises the World Bank assistance strategy in that area. The conclusion is that the challenge posed by the objectives of this report are far beyond the World Bank's abilities to achieve on its own.

Arable land, deserts, mountains, forests, rivers, and coastal zones characterize the diverse regions in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA). As varied as the geography is so are the policy directions taken by the region's governments concerning natural resource management. A lack of conservation measures, misuse, and poor management have impaired many of the natural resources now available in these countries. Although the pressure on natural resources in ECA is less than in other regions and the area has more abundant resources, the accessibility and utility of those resources belie the figures. Where there is arable land, the growing season is short. Where there are immense forests, the climate is harsh.To assist the Bank's client countries in ECA with sustainable use of natural resources, this volume identifies the various challenges, provides a history of the Bank's regional natural resource strategy, outlines a strategic framework, and proposes new strategies and policy instruments to implement them. Natural resources in this publication refer to "non-mineral" resources, such as, forests, rivers, and land.

This report aims to help EECCA environmental administrations to harness the potential benefits of on-going public finance reforms; particularly the shift to multi-year budgeting, stability of funding, and, ultimately, a more effective use of public money.