{"id":42526,"date":"2021-07-07T17:04:11","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T15:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/?p=42526"},"modified":"2021-09-28T13:32:42","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T11:32:42","slug":"input-paper-overview-of-the-current-situation-and-challenges-of-the-european-green-deal-in-the-republic-of-moldova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/en\/input-paper-overview-of-the-current-situation-and-challenges-of-the-european-green-deal-in-the-republic-of-moldova\/","title":{"rendered":"Input Paper \u201cOverview of the current situation and challenges of the European Green Deal in the Republic of Moldova\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Foto: Shutter\u00adstock, Alexey Struyskiy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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As part of our project \u201cEastern Part\u00adner\u00adship Plus\u201d, we are pub\u00adlish\u00ading a second series of input papers on the topic of Perspec\u00adtives and Prior\u00adities European Green Deal (EGD) in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. The authors from the region (Nataliya Andru\u00adsevych, Manana Kochladze, Iuliana Cantaragiu) analyse the role of the Euro\u00adpean Union in sup\u00adport\u00ading the imple\u00admen\u00adtation of the EGD and for\u00admu\u00adlate their polit\u00adi\u00adcal rec\u00adom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtions for deci\u00adsion-makers in Berlin and Brussels.<\/h2>\n

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<\/h2>\n

By Iuliana Cantaragiu, circular economy expert<\/h3>\n

Overview of the current situation and challenges in environ\u00admental protection and climate sectors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Environ\u00admental quality in the Republic of Moldova falls below expec\u00adta\u00adtions, and the country will have to overcome great challenges in order to improve it. Air, water, soil quality and biodi\u00adversity indicators have shown negative trends for the past 10 years. The main sources of water and soil pollution are waste\u00adwater, solid waste and fertil\u00adizers used in agriculture. Transport is the principal source of air pollution. Given the environ\u00admental and climate pressure, forest coverage in the country, at 11.4%, is too low. Agricul\u00adtural land accounts for 72% of Moldovan territory; most of it used for intensive agriculture, which has a signif\u00adicant impact on soil and surface water quality.<\/p>\n

The poor quality of the environment and frequent and intensive climate events affect the country\u2019s economy and the health and quality of life of its population.<\/p>\n

One reason for this unhappy state of affairs is that no government of the Republic of Moldova has ever attached priority to environ\u00admental or climate protection. That these issues have figured at all on the agendas of Moldovan govern\u00adments has largely been due to pressure from devel\u00adopment partners rather than to a recog\u00adnition on the part of the Moldovan government that environ\u00admental quality and quality of life are related or an awareness of the urgent need to change its approach to improve the situation.<\/p>\n

Under the government led by Maia Sandu (June\u2013November 2019), there were indica\u00adtions of an intent to place environ\u00admental protection and climate higher on the agenda, but such good inten\u00adtions became irrel\u00adevant upon the dismissal of that government.<\/p>\n

The situation in the field deteri\u00ado\u00adrated after the reform of the public central author\u00adities, which began in 2017, when the environ\u00admental, agricul\u00adtural and regional devel\u00adopment ministries were combined into one ministry. In a country in which little impor\u00adtance is attached to environ\u00admental issues, placing the protection of the environment in the hands of a major polluter means that any effort to protect the environment will be blocked or at least weakened. The merging of the ministries took place despite consid\u00aderable efforts to prevent it on the part of civil society.<\/p>\n

The govern\u00admental restruc\u00adturing and reform that begun in 2017 was supposed to continue with reforms in sub-minis\u00adterial agencies. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnately, the reforms of several such agencies, such as the forest agency, \u201cMoldsilva\u201d, and the agency \u201cApele Moldovei\u201d (Moldovan Waters), still have not been fully imple\u00admented and several are faced with discrep\u00adancies in activity and\/\u200bor accusa\u00adtions of corruption. As part of the same reform programme, an environ\u00admental agency was created to implement environ\u00admental policy, but it has not been equipped with suffi\u00adcient staff or funding to enable it to fulfil its obligations.<\/p>\n

Environ\u00admental protection efforts in the Republic of Moldova are hindered by a shortage in funding in addition to the challenges in insti\u00adtu\u00adtional management and capac\u00adities. Annual national budgets have not allocated suffi\u00adcient resources to environ\u00admental protection to enable the existing challenges to be addressed; sectoral strategies and programmes estimate that hundreds of millions of euros would be necessary. It is therefore quite important to re-evaluate funding in this area and streamline budgetary alloca\u00adtions in such a way as to ensure that financial resources are used trans\u00adpar\u00adently and in accor\u00addance with the prior\u00adities set out in policy documents for environ\u00admental protection and promotion of the green economy.<\/p>\n

The focus of efforts to improve the current state of the environment should be on pollution reduction measures, a refor\u00adestation program and the conser\u00advation of biodi\u00adversity. This will require a complex approach involving reform in several areas: legislative reforms, improvement of the control and enforcement of legis\u00adlation, the devel\u00adopment and improvement of a variety of financial mecha\u00adnisms and incen\u00adtives for environ\u00admental projects, the improvement of the network monitoring environ\u00admental indicators, increased investment in environ\u00admental and climate projects and infra\u00adstructure, and last but not least, strength\u00adening the environ\u00admental agencies to enable them to implement the reforms. The first step should be to re-establish the Ministry of the Environment, complete the reforms of the sub-minis\u00adterial agencies and strengthen the capac\u00adities of the environ\u00admental insti\u00adtu\u00adtions to enable them to advocate for better climate and environment policies and enforce such policies without political inter\u00adference or corruption.<\/p>\n

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The EU\u2019s role in supporting the environ\u00admental protection and climate programs <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Republic of Moldova does not have an umbrella strategy covering sustainable devel\u00adopment in place. The signif\u00adicant political insta\u00adbility in the country for the past few years has hindered the devel\u00adopment of a national strategy for sustainable devel\u00adopment by the relevant agencies. There was a national devel\u00adopment strategy entitled \u201cMoldova 2030\u201d was developed 2017\u20132018. This strategy built around ten pillars, that took into consid\u00ader\u00adation the SDGs and targets set in Agenda 2030. However, the frequent changes of government in the past years and snap parlia\u00admen\u00adtarian elections prevented its formal adoption, thus the strategy never entered into force.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the provi\u00adsions of \u201cMoldova 2030\u201d have served as the basis for the strategies pursued by the member states of the European Union in their cooper\u00adation with the Republic of Moldova.<\/p>\n

The EU\u2019s cooper\u00adation with the Republic of Moldova takes place within the framework of the Eastern Partnership policy initiative. The legal instrument under\u00adpinning this cooper\u00adation is the Associ\u00adation Agreement (AA) between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova, which was signed in 2014. The AA\u2019s purpose is to increase the stabil\u00adi\u00adsation and resilience of the Republic of Moldova as a neigh\u00adbouring country of the European Union and to deepen cooper\u00adation in various areas. Its provi\u00adsions focus on harmon\u00adising the national legis\u00adlation of the Republic of Moldova with the European Union acquis. The Associ\u00adation Agenda, developed on the basis of these provi\u00adsions and the situation in the country, sets out short and long-term prior\u00adities and a roadmap for imple\u00admen\u00adtation of selected prior\u00adities. Chapters 16 and 17 of the AA are devoted to environ\u00admental protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, respectively.<\/p>\n

Monitoring of AA imple\u00admen\u00adtation is performed annually on the Parlia\u00admentary, Government and civil society platforms. Condi\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adities built into agree\u00adments for financial support are based on the results of the monitoring of the Associ\u00adation Agenda and on the political situation in the country.<\/p>\n

It should be mentioned that there is no strategic document focusing on cooper\u00adation regarding the European Green Deal in place between European Union and the Republic of Moldova.<\/p>\n

However, the Republic of Moldova does have in place several topic-specific strategies that include provi\u00adsions on emissions reduc\u00adtions, environ\u00admental protection, waste management and\/\u200bor renewable energy. There is also an Inter-minis\u00adterial Working Group on Sustainable Devel\u00adopment and Green Economy that was estab\u00adlished in 2015 within the framework of the EU4Environment program for EaP countries. This working group developed the Road Map on Green Economy, which outlined short- and medium-term actions for 2018\u20132020 and for the imple\u00admen\u00adtation of the 2014\u20132023 environ\u00admental strategy.<\/p>\n

There is no specific roadmap detailing how the Republic of Moldova should engage in the European Green Deal, but there is an action plan\/\u200broadmap for greening the economy, which was developed under EU4Environment program. The action plan mainly includes soft measures, such as the support of research, training programs, support in legis\u00adlation development.<\/p>\n

Whether there is suffi\u00adcient political will for reform and to initiate the ecological moderni\u00adsation of the country will depend on the results of the upcoming elections (11 July 2021). If pro-European parties gain a majority in the newly formed Parliament and form the new government, the chances that the reforms needed will be developed and imple\u00admented are higher. Otherwise, there is no reason to expect any major change in the status quo.<\/p>\n

The condi\u00adtion\u00adality mechanism incor\u00adpo\u00adrated into the micro\u00adfi\u00adnancing agree\u00adments between European Union and the Republic of Moldova has succeeded, to some extent, in pushing anticor\u00adruption forward in the Government agenda. It seems likely that the use of the same mechanism of condi\u00adtion\u00adality within the framework of financial agree\u00adments and the openness of the European market for Moldovan products that comply with EU environ\u00admental standards will increase the Moldovan Government\u2019s interest in incor\u00adpo\u00adrating the green agenda into its priority areas.<\/p>\n

In view of the current state of the environment in the Republic of Moldova, the first reforms should focus on the reduction and prevention of pollution and on the conser\u00advation of biodi\u00adversity, including the refor\u00adestation program. Thus, waste\u00adwater management, waste management and forest management should be priority areas.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Concrete recom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Short and medium term prior\u00adities in the Republic of Moldova should be on improving and enforcing legis\u00adlation, invest\u00adments in infra\u00adstructure, the devel\u00adopment of financial mecha\u00adnisms and incen\u00adtives, capacity building in the relevant insti\u00adtu\u00adtions and improvement and extension of the network monitoring environ\u00admental indicators.<\/p>\n

Recom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtions:<\/p>\n