January 2013, issue 2 Secretariat: The Regional

Environmental Center for

Central and Eastern Europe

Dear Themis family,

Welcome to the second issue of Themis Focus, the biannual electronic newsletter

of the Themis Network, focusing on natural resources management and combat-

ing environmental crimes. Because of our focus on the protection of natural

resources, we are producing a limited number of printed versions of the newslet-

ter: instead, a pdf version will be circulated via e-mail and posted on the Themis

website (http://themis.rec.org).

In this issue we review activities in 2012 and look forward to what 2013 will bring.

We also introduce the Austrian Development Cooperation, which has made possi-

ble a year of activities by funding the work programme for 2012-2013.

We continue with a statistical analysis of the prevalence and most reported types

of environmental crime in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; and fea-

ture a case study from Croatia on the creation of standard operating procedures

for the enforcement of environmental law and the creation of an internal network

of enforcement stakeholders, using Interpol’s concept of a National Environmen-

tal Security Task Force (NEST).

This issue also contains a report from Serbia on the national training on environ-

mental crime held at the end of 2012, in which experts used case studies from

Austria to explain the importance of cooperation and communication, and shared

methods for the detection of cross-border shipments of waste, illegal waste dis-

posal, and the illegal discharge of water, including groundwater.

On the last page you will find a calendar of upcoming events and a brief overview

of the secretariat.

The next issue, to be disseminated in July 2013, will be dedicated to forestry and

forest crimes, following a round of training events and linked activities in the re-

gion and beyond in the first half of 2013. We hope that you enjoy reading the pre-

sent issue and that you will feel inspired to become part of the next newsletter by

sending us an article or environment-related update from your country.

We would like to thank the Themis Operational Focal Points for their enthusiasm

and engagement in the network’s activities throughout the year. Happy reading!

Aniko Nemeth

On behalf of the Themis Secretariat

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Balance of activities 2012 —

page 2

Austrian Development

Cooperation — page 3

Macedonian focus: Penal

policy and eco-crime — page 4

Croatian case study: combat-

ing eco-crime — page 5

Serbian seminar on eco-

crime — page 7

Calendar of upcoming events

— page 8

Themis Focus Newsletter

“Our partners, the Hungarian Judicial Academy, EMLA, the Austrian Police and Umweltbundesamt, were essential to each event.”

BALANCE OF ACTIVITIES—2012

By Aniko Nemeth

The year 2012 was full of excitement and adventures. We

launched activities, at full speed, under the Themis Network

work programme 2012-2013, met many of you during the train-

ing events, and discussed the activities you are undertaking in

your countries. It was a rewarding experience, with plenty of

hard work and nice moments together.

The year started with a meeting of the Executive Committee, at

which countries reviewed and approved the 2012-2013 work plan

and the indicative implementation timeline. The committee was

informed about and reviewed cooperation possibilities and syn-

ergies with other regional initiatives and projects.

After network operations had been agreed on, the Themis Secre-

tariat, in cooperation with international partners, organised the

first two trainings dedicated to natural resources management,

which covered protected areas, forestry and cross-border chal-

lenges related to protected areas. The second training, delivered

in the local language, followed a sub-regional approach for Koso-

vo* and Albania and was also devoted to the management of

protected areas. The sub-regional training was a successful ex-

periment and there is a possibility to continue this practice in the

future in order to reach a wider target group, especially those

without English-language skills.

The second batch of trainings in 2012 focused on environmental

crimes, and one training was dedicated exclusively to the judici-

ary (judges and prosecutors). We covered a number of legal as-

pects of the prosecution of environmental crimes and of han-

dling environmental crime cases, based on examples from EU

member states. Our partners, the Hungarian Judicial Academy,

EMLA, the Austrian Police and Umweltbundesamt, were essen-

tial to each event. Thank you for your contributions!

The Themis Network operates under the umbrella of INECE,

with whom we cooperate on a number of issues. This year we

shared Themis experience for inclusion in a manual prepared by

INECE on regional networks and their operations.

For 2013 we are planning further trainings for your countries

and further publications. I would like to take this opportunity to

ask for your feedback and contributions on the proposed activi-

ties to help shape next year and make it happen.

All network activities are documented on the project website, and

training materials are also available: http://themis.rec.org.

2 Participants at the Themis environmental crimes training, Umweltbundesamt, Vienna, Nov 28, 2012

AUSTRIAN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

By the Austrian Development Cooperation

The Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) supports countries in Africa, Asia and

Central America as well as in South Eastern and Eastern Europe in their sustainable

social, economic and democratic development. The Federal Ministry for European and

International Affairs (MFA) is responsible for the development of ADC strategies. The

Austrian Development Agency (ADA) implements these in cooperation with partner

governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), enterprises and multilateral

organisations. Project cycle management and the efficient use of funds are ensured via

coordination offices in the respective partner countries. ADC also makes significant

contributions to common development cooperation in the EU and is engaged in the

frame of United Nations programmes, in international financial institutions and in de-

velopment-policy platforms.

The main goals of the Austrian Development Cooperation are reducing poverty, safe-

guarding peace and human security and preserving the environment. The Development

Cooperation Act also sets out the basic principles governing programmes and projects:

the right of partner countries to choose their own way of development, respect for cul-

tural diversity, gender equality and consideration for the needs of children and persons

with disabilities.

PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT Preserving the environment and natural resources is a key issue for securing a healthy

and sustainable base for the economy, for improving people’s lives as well as for reach-

ing EU standards in this context. ADC has been supporting many initiatives like sustain-

able community development and eco-friendly tourism in Montenegro, or environmen-

tal education in Macedonia. Today, it is mainly applying a regional approach, promot-

ing, among others, the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) and the Themis

network.

MORE INFORMATION Further information can be found on the website. Please visit www.entwicklung.at/en

for the English version and www.entwicklung.at for the German version.

ADC IN SOUTH

EASTERN AND

EASTERN EUROPE;

DANUBE REGION

In its activities in South

Eastern Europe, ADC har-

nesses synergies with the

Austrian private sector and

industry and acts in close

concert with other local

development institutions.

R egi o na l c oo p er a t i on

approaches also form an

important component of

ADC’s strategy in South

Eastern Europe. The Regional

Co-operation Council, run

by its secretariat in Sarajevo

and the successor to the Sta-

bility Pact for South Eastern

Europe, plays an important

role in strengthening the

coordination of regional

projects.

Besides promoting private

sector development, the

Austrian Development Co-

operation devotes particular

attention to mobilising

youth. ADC projects and

programmes assist in mod-

ernising the educational

system, bringing higher edu-

cation and vocational train-

ing into line with European

standards and labour market

requirements. Other priori-

ties of the Austrian Develop-

ment Cooperation are en-

hancing the rule of law and

the role of civil society as

well as measures to combat

human trafficking.

3

Communal and landscape management for Bjelasica, Komovi and Prokletije, Montenegro”, ©

Dolina Grbaje, Regionalna Razvojna Agencija (RRA)

PENAL POLICY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME IN

MACEDONIA

4

Crime can be defined as a formal, abstract type

of prohibited conduct, but it also refers to a

real criminal event, with real-life consequenc-

es. The existence of crime legitimates the right

of punishment. Social regulation is a challenge

for every society. In addition to the normative

regulations and actual behavior of legal sub-

jects, it must also push for the creation of an

optimal level of corresponding regulatory

mechanisms. Generally speaking, the criminal

justice system in Macedonia is characterized by

its humanistic approach. This claim is support-

ed by the fact that almost half of the inmates in

prison, for the past 10 years, have been given a

suspended sentence.

Environmental protection through penal policy

practically does not exist in Macedonia. For

example, we have 25 persons convicted of the

crime of "environmental pollution" in a 10-year

period, and 145 people for illegal hunting. Of

the 957 persons reported under the category

"Other", only 449 of them are being charged

(less than half), and, out of those, 279 persons

were sentenced during the observed period

(only 29% of the total number of reported per-

sons in the category “other” were convicted).

The methodology of tracking crime by the State

Statistical Office does not correspond with the

actual situation and does not provide for accu-

racy in this matter. The number of reported,

accused or convicted persons for offences com-

mitted against the environment is continuously

growing, and simultaneously increasing is the

share of the total number of reported, accused or

convicted persons in general.

For example, in 2000, offences against the envi-

ronment totaled 0.37%, but in 2009 the figure

rose to 0.72%, peaking in 2007 at 1.21% in terms

of the total number of reported, charged or con-

victed persons. These trends show that the share

of crime against the environment in Macedonia

has increased constantly in terms of overall

crime. This might be the result of a lenient penal

policy and mildly repressive policy in Macedonia

regarding this particular type of crime. When it

comes to the environment, one must take into

account the habits of the past and the necessary

balance with the needs of economic development.

After 15 years of the implementation of the Law

on Environment we suggest that the field of crim-

inology take action towards making an empirical

overview and assessment of the applicability of

this regulatory mechanism. In particular, it

should assess the existing institutional capacities

and link it with penal policy by answering the

following question: Does penal policy meet the

objectives of its existence in this field? Following

the assessment, solutions should be proposed.

Finally, given that the number of convictions is

three times lower than that of the crimes report-

ed, it is necessary to ask why is this so.

The full study is available in the Themis Library: the-

mis.rec.org/library/documents/28

“These trends show that the share of crime against the envi-ronment in Mace-donia has increased constantly in terms of overall crime.”

By Aleksandar Ivanov and Marina Sazdovska (University of St. Kliment Ohridski); and Darko

Blinkov (Themis focal point, State Inspectorate for Environment)

Graph 1— Total number of reported, charged and convicted environmental crime cases in Macedonia

5

Interior (crime police), the Ministry of Fi-

nance (customs administration), the Minis-

try of Agriculture (water inspection), the

Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and

Infrastructure (sea protection), the Croa-

tian Association of Court Expert Witnesses,

High Misdemeanour and Misdemeanour

Courts, and the Criminal Courts.

This was the first time that all relevant au-

thorities were brought together in order to

improve their awareness, to establish coop-

eration links, to clarify responsibilities, to

have a common understanding of all the

relevant procedures and organisational

structure, and, finally, to start the discus-

sion on existing problems.

During the implementation period, it be-

came clear that there existed a need for

further inter-institutional cooperation, the

exchange of experience and information,

and capacity building for all stakeholders.

Following this realisation, the project part-

ners developed standard operating proce-

dures (SOPs) for cooperation between envi-

ronmental protection inspectors and other

competent authorities in cases of criminal

offences against the environment. There are

three general SOPs: environmental crimes,

environmental misdemeanour offences and

environmental liability. In addition, there

are five sector-specific SOPs: waste man-

agement, air pollution from industrial in-

stallations and ozone-depleting substances

(ODS), nature protection, inland water-

related issues and the protection of the sea.

The SOPs are not legally binding docu-

ments, but they might result in an agree-

ment among stakeholders to cooperate in

the prosecution of criminal offences against

the environment.

Continuing the successful IPA 2008 twin-

ning project, the Croatian Environmental

Protection Inspectorate proposed, through

the IPA 2011 programme, the project

“Improve the capacity of environmental

protection inspectors and other relevant

stakeholders in preventing, recognising,

CROATIAN CASE STUDY—

COMBATING ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES Croatia had only a limited number of suc-

cessfully finished cases of criminal offences

and serious criminal offences against the

environment until 2005.

The situation required Croatia to enhance

capacities in the field and to ensure effective

enforcement of environmental legislation.

The environmental protection inspectors

needed to jointly improve their knowledge

and skills with other competent authorities,

such as police officers, customs officers, pub-

lic prosecutors, the judiciary, court experts

and expert witnesses in order to identify and

prosecute criminal offences and serious crim-

inal offences against the environment. In

addition, the aforementioned institutions

also needed to improve their reaction times

and inter-agency coordination mechanisms

in order to protect the evidence on the

ground.

In order to achieve these objectives, environ-

mental protection inspectors proposed the

twinning project “Enforcement of the new

Environmental Protection Act harmonized

with EU legislation in cases of criminal of-

fences against the environment”.

The project was recognised as important,

approved by the EU and implemented within

the IPA 2008 programme, from September

2010 to June 2012, by the Croatian Ministry

of Environmental and Nature Protection

(MENP) and the Austrian Environment

Agency (Umweltbundesamt).

The purpose was to improve environmental

protection through the enforcement of the

new Croatian Environmental Protection Act

from 2007 and its provisions regarding crim-

inal charges. It was also part of pre-accession

preparations for the effective enforcement of

environmental legislation as a future member

of the EU.

The key stakeholders in the project were the

Ministry of Justice, the State Attorney’s Of-

fice, the Judicial Academy, the Ministry of

By Jelena Manenica (Directorate for Inspection, Ministry of Environmental and

Nature Protection)

“...it became clear that there existed a need for further inter-institutional cooperation, the exchange of experience and infor-mation, and capacity building for all stake-holders.”

CROATIAN CASE STUDY— CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

6

detecting, investigating and prosecuting

environmental offences”. The project is

approved and is expected to 1) analyse

the status of implementation of the new

Criminal Code and the Criminal Proce-

dure Act, with recommendations for

improving cooperation and the under-

standing of environmental crime;

2) propose a new structure for the Envi-

ronmental Protection Inspectorate in

order to ensure the efficient implementa-

tion of the environmental aquis; 3) deliv-

er a training programme for stakehold-

ers.

NEST During an INTERPOL meeting, held in

Lyon in March 2012, it was proposed to

establish NESTs (National Environmen-

tal Security Task Force) with the aim of

improving cooperation at national level

for those countries that have not estab-

lished this kind of team so far and are

facing coordination problems in environmen-

tal law enforcement. The NEST should en-

hance coordination in the prevention of of-

fences against the environment by relying on

cooperation between the competent bodies,

not excluding the possibility of international

engagement. In order to combat environmen-

tal crime Croatia thus decided to use the Inter-

pol concept NEST. Coordination of the NEST

work and its reporting in INTERPOL is a re-

sponsibility of the Croatian MENP.

The Croatian Environmental Protection In-

spectorate is actively engaged in international

and inter-institutional cooperation, as reflect-

ed in its participation in different networks

(IMPEL, RENA, INECE) and their activities

regarding combating environmental crime.

These efforts and activities are expected to

change the low priority status of combating

environmental crime. As such, the MENP will

continue to strengthen cross-sector and cross-

border cooperation and coordination.

“The Na-tional Envi-ronmental Security Task Force (NEST) should en-hance co-ordination in the pre-vention of offences against the environ-ment rely-ing on co-operation between the competent bodies.”

Stipe Surać, Seagulls at Landfill (1st prize in the Croatian Journalist Photo Competition “Nature

and Environment”, June 2011)

PROJECT FLASH

“STRENGTHENING

ENVIRONMENTAL

INSPECTION AND

RELEVANT STAKE-

HOLDERS IN THE

R E P U B L I C O F

SERBIA” IPA 2010

This EUR 2.5 million

project aims to improve

the quality of the natural

environment and the

health of the population

through the effective

enforcement of environ-

mental regulations. Its

main expected outcomes

are the improved capaci-

ty and effectiveness of

the Serbian Environ-

mental In-

spectorate at

r e p u b l i c ,

province and

local levels

and im-

proved coop-

eration with

s t a k e h o l d -

ers.

D u r a t i o n :

2010-2014

T w i n n i n g

partner:

Umweltbun-

d e s a m t

(Austria)

7

Prosecutors and Deputy Public Prosecu-

tors of Serbia and the High Magistrates

Court.

Several experts who deal with environ-

mental crime presented Austrian experi-

ences in the field, namely cooperation

and communication between stakehold-

ers, cross-border shipments of waste, the

illegal disposal and incineration of waste,

illegal discharges of water, including

groundwater, case studies etc.). Partici-

pants had the opportunity to visit the

protected natural site “Mlava Spring” in

the scope of the training.

More details and a full description of the

project can be found on the European

Commission website:

http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/

serbia/ipa/2010/23_inspect_ipa10.pdf

SERBIA—TRAINING SEMINAR ON ECO-CRIME

By Jelena Kukolj

A training seminar on environmental

crime took place in Petrovac na Mlavi,

Serbia, from November 22 to 24, 2012.

The seminar was one of many activities

under the twinning project IPA 2010

“Strengthening Environmental Inspection

and Relevant Stakeholders in the Republic

of Serbia”, which is jointly implemented by

the Sector for Control and Surveillance of

the Ministry of Energy, Development and

Environmental Protection and the Austri-

a n E n v i r o n m e n t a l A g e n c y

(Umweltbundesamt).

The training seminar targeted environ-

mental inspectors at all levels (republic,

provincial and local), representatives of

the crime prevention police, border and

communal police, as well as representa-

tives of Interpol, the Association of Public

Seminar participants engaged in a group exercise

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS 2013

Regional Environmental

Center for Central and

Eastern Europe

REC Head Office

2000 Szentendre

Ady Endre ut 9-11

Hungary

Tel: (36-26) 504-000

Fax: (36-26) 311-294

Secretariat team:

LEC@REC.ORG

SECRETARIAT—THE REC

The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) is an interna-tional organisation with a mis-sion to assist in addressing environmental issues. The REC fulfills this mission by

promoting cooperation among governments, non-governmental organisa-tions, businesses and other environmental stakeholders, and by supporting the free exchange of information and public participation in environmental decision making.

The REC actively participates in key global, regional and local processes and contributes to environmental and sustainability solutions within and beyond its country office network, transferring transitional knowledge and experience to countries and regions.

The REC was established in 1990 by the United States, the European Com-mission and Hungary. Today, the REC is legally based on a charter with over 30 signatories. The REC has an office network in 17 countries.

For more information contact the Themis Secretariat or visit themis.rec.org. The information below is indicative only. The final

dates may change at a later stage.

February Executive Committee meeting, Szentendre, Hungary

April/May Forestry and eco-crimes training, Montenegro

July Sub-regional training for Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, venue tbd

October Eco-crime sub-regional training for Bosnia, Bosnia

December Closure of the 2012-2013 Themis work programme

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.