Environment Ministers and senior officials from 51 countries in the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region met in Kyiv, Ukraine from 21-23 May 2003 for the Fifth Pan-European Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe (EfE).” This gathering represents the region’s highest-level environmental forum.

Participants adopted a Ministerial Declaration that underlined the importance of the EfE process as a tool to promote environmental protection and sustainable development in the region and thus contribute to wider peace and security. Three Protocols to Conventions of the UNECE, one Framework Convention and several decisions were also adopted during the meeting. The Protocols address Strategic Environmental Assessment under the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention), Civil Liability and Damage Caused by the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents on Transboundary Waters under the Conventions on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents and on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Waters and International Lakes, and Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers under the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention).
On 22 May 2003, Ministers from Central and Eastern Europe adopted and signed the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians. This Convention seeks to strengthen regional cooperation and support local projects in the mountain areas of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Convention addresses the largest remaining wilderness in Europe outside of Russia. The Convention’s negotiating process was sponsored by the Government of Italy and supported by UNEP and WWF.
Another highlight was a decision to formally adopt the goal of halting the degradation of the region’s biological and landscape diversity by the year 2010, together with nine specific measurable targets for ensuring that this overall goal is achieved. The Ministers and Heads of delegation also endorsed the Guidelines for Strengthening Compliance with and Implementation of MEAs in the UNECE region. More information is available online at the EfE website at: http://www.unece.org/env/wgso/index_kyivconf.htm