The United States - Central and Eastern European Environment Foundation

About the Environment of CEE AND NIS

Environmental Overview
by Country

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Orphaned brown bear, under the protection of NGO "Soo Koll" (Bog Monster), Nigula Nature Reserve on the boggy border of Estonia and Latvia.

Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States are important ecological regions, providing transitional habitat between the ecosystems of Europe with those in Asia.  This mostly temperate region, blessed with mountains, dense forests, grasslands, and miles of coastline along rivers, lakes, and seas, is rich with a biodiversity that includes many species who are no longer found in Western Europe.  For example, the mountains of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria are home to 74% of all European bird species and 68% of all European mammal species. This region also provides the continent’s last remaining habitat for endangered species such as brown bear and lynx, pelican and osprey, butterfly and thermal water lily.

On the other hand, the socialist/Communist legacy, sweeping political and economic changes of the 1990s, and a shift to Western consumerism attitudes have had severe ecological impacts on what many consider Europe’s finest examples of native flora, fauna, and ecosystems.  Air and water pollution have caused habitat degradation and public health problems.  The crumbling infrastructure found in most countries has meant energy inefficiencies, poor land use planning, and danger of environmental disasters such as chemical spills and nuclear accidents.  Moreover, years of conflict in areas such as the Balkans has also contributed to environmental degradation, the seriousness of which may not reveal itself for many years to come.

Ten CEE countries have been invited to join the European Union over the next few decades.  While entry into the EU in theory means that these countries will have to bring their environmental laws into compliance with the standards of Western Europe, it also means a rush of economic development opportunities unlikely to take into consideration the value of the region’s environment.

The CEE and NIS regions have a well-educated populace and a growing civil society movement.  Citizens of these countries view their rivers, mountains, and coastlines as sources of national pride.  Unfortunately, the governments of these countries often struggle as newly-formed democracies, and most are saddled with debt and other economic problems.

Even with these challenges facing them, these regions are in a position to follow a path of sustainable development.  The fall of communism closed many inefficient industries, dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions in most countries.  Public transit systems are well established in most urban areas, but need to be updated.  Abundant opportunities exist to increase energy efficiency in industry and at home.  Eco-tourism potential is present throughout the region.  In short, with assistance from the West in the form of environmentally-sound technology transfers, professional development in environmentally-related fields, and support of NGOs and other locally-oriented civil society initiatives, this region is well placed to develop its economic future in balance with its ecological heritage and serve as a model for other industrialized countries.