The national strategy for sustainable development

Calin Georgescu

Spokesman for UNDP

My name is Calin Georgescu, I am the spokesman for the United Nations Development Program and I have the honor to present this document: 'The National Strategy for Sustainable Development".

"The National Strategy for Sustainable Development "is a document, at this moment official, approved by the Government of Romania. It was submitted no longer than a week ago to the Parliament and, more importantly, it has the support of the entire civil society. It is a program which was started in 1997, by the United Nations Development Program, under the aegis of the National Center for Sustainable Development; it continues today too, and it was supported (besides the United Nations Development Program) by the Academy of Romania, the Government of Canada, the Government of the United Kingdom, and by the non-governmental organization The Black Sea Foundation.

You can find this document on the web page, a few copies of it are left at the headquarters of UNDP, 16 Aurel Vlaicu str., at the United Nations Library and at the Government of Romania, respectively the Department for Central and Local Administration Reform.

The document, as I said before, was started in 1997 under the framework of the United Nations but, after the elaboration of the first version in January 1999, the Government of Romania, by the Decision no. 305 dated 15.04.99, decided to set up a working group.

The working group tried to embrace all of the civil society components, the first version of this strategy being discussed by the whole group (almost 60 persons, representing 60 institutions); practically, over 300 persons contributed to the elaboration of this work. It is important to underline this because a National Strategy for Sustainable Development could not appear without the entire support of the civil society.

The document is divided into three sections; two elements are at the heart of the strategy: reinforcement of investments and increase of exports in Romania, all based on the concept of Sustainable Development.

The strategy will be followed by an action plan for the implementation of its elements, presented further on, elements identified in the three sections: the first part approaches the issue of natural resources and the way in which Romania can become an important international partner, offering resources and systems within the global capacity.

A clear point of view is expressed on regional co-operation and the mode in which Romania could identify the resources and offer them for a real partnership.

The second part is a radiography of all responsible factors and existing structures in Romania, both economical and social, and, last but not least, in terms of the natural capital. This aspect relates to a key issue of the document, namely the sustainable conservation and utilization of the natural resources, the mode in which we can adequately use these resources in the near future.

The paper is meant to be a prospective study for a period of 20 years and presents, on distinct 4 to 5 year periods, the way in which these stages could be covered.

The third part, which is the most important one, attempts to crystallize and to emphasize the way we should take.

In the third section, after chapter 7, a major issue is approached, namely the ''scenarios and coordinates of the Sustainable Development model''.

Chapter no. 12 "The Foreign Policy and National Security" presents Romania in the framework of the relaunching and rehabilitation of the Balkan Area.

We could start with the objectives of the National Strategy; after the definition of sustainable development, the document presents the fundamental objective which is the increase of the population welfare. This matter has been discussed extensively in relation to poverty alleviation measures and a series of documents have been elaborated. The paper yet started from the other pole, because, if welfare wins, poverty disappears. The whole document is trying to structure very profoundly this policy and to emphasize the mode in which prosperity for the society and the individual can be reached.

The starting point should be ensuring the health of population and not another objective like economic increase for instance; I underline this because of the many discussions that were held on this choice; the idea is that if a population it is not healthy then it can not participate to this process; therefore, investments in this domain must be given priority.

The above-mentioned working group analyzed and approved a number of targets such as: the establishment of potentially competitive sectors in the Romanian economy, the resizing and remodeling of the socio-economic structure, the cessation of natural capital deterioration, the development of a coherent legislative and institutional system, the adequate training of   human resources and the permanent monitoring and assessment of the economic performance. These targets were approved both by the Government and by the social partners, practically by the whole civil society.

In the framework of the Sustainable Development concept, we may justifiably ask the question:  "Romania can or cannot apply this concept?".

The priorities of the Sustainable Development were listed as follows: population health, education, economic growth and the conservation of the energetic resources. They represent, therefore, priorities for Romania in the next stage and major investment- related priorities of national importance for the near future.

In relation to the so-called competitiveness scenario, a period of 20 years was chosen and accepted. The conclusion was that, for Romania to reach an adequate stage of development, it needs an average yearly increase of the GDP per inhabitant of 6,5%, so that by the year 2020 the GDP in this country may be approximately 50% of the average EU level.

The question of the whole paper was simple but, at the same time, very difficult: "Does Romania grow or not?". The analysis of this document provides an answer to this question.

The evaluation and the participation of Romania to Helsinki on March 15, 2000 will be based on this paper which is in conformity with the Acquis Communautaire.

The scenario is considering a constant rhythm of economic growth based on the existing resources and it does not ignore the local constraints. For this overall purpose, are necessary collateral programs, political will and assistance  from international organizations, UNDP among them. The 20-year period under consideration was divided into several 4 to 5 year periods and the analysis was directed at the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.

I emphasize that the years 2000 and 2001 were envisaged as a period of economic structure restoration and institutional development; 2001 would be the starting year in the process of GDP increase, of economic structuring and social measures combined with environment protection; thus, Romania will cross the successive stages till the year 2020.

The document estimates the structure of GDP on macrosectors, in the same period, namely 2000- 2020, as a basis for the national plan of action. The plan of action is most likely to be elaborated with assistance granted by the European Union, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program, as a joint effort of international support. Thus, Romania may have, in a short period, a national plan of action ready for implementation .

In terms of the competitiveness scenario, the steps to take in the near future would be: speeding up of privatization and the guarantee of property, which have both been accepted by the Government and all political parties, either in power or in opposition. Other important  issues would be investments and the increase of exports, man-power and employment, the change of focus from the macro to the micro level of the economy and the trade balance. All these will be key items of the action plan, with a special emphasis on trade balance which best shows where Romania is placed and what is the right path to take.

The key initial actions which this scenario proposes are the relaunching of investments, support to the educational sector, to health services, public transport, dwellings construction, as well as the establishment of a fiscal system which should enforce the use of public loans only for investment and not for consumption, at a stable and wise level of GDP, as well as the stimulation of competitiveness in the economy.

Romania, at this moment, is the first country from Central and Eastern Europe having this strategy; and this is not without importance because countries like Hungary and Poland, which are more developed than Romania, managed to imitate very well a system of market economy from the western countries, but they have not raised the issue of co-development; and this is mainly what our strategy is about: co-development. The stimulation of competitiveness in the economy should target economic development, not just economic growth, with no concern for available resources. The significant natural capital of Romania should be an asset in this direction.

One can raise the matter of the partnership to be offered, for example, within the biggest world program concerning climate changes .As a paradox, because of the steep decline of the heavy industry compared to 1989 levels, Romania tends to become one of the most interesting countries in the world in terms of climate change-related operations. Countries like Canada or the United States are interested in the credits Romania can offer.

Other important factors for the parameters of Romania's sustainable development model are: the development of environment-friendly industries, the initiation of actions for public awareness, the establishment of strategic options in point of environment-friendly tourism, the permanent improvement of resource utilization efficiency, appropriate programs for the recovery, recycling and reutilization of materials and wastes.

The document approaches other relevant aspects such as: stopping the deterioration process of the natural capital, putting in place an appropriate legislative framework, the resizing and restructuring of Romania's economy, the application of efficient social protection measures, support to the educational system, the establishment of a system of indicators for sustainable development, like: stage, pressure and response, the formation of a supple institutional infrastructure, the existence of institutions of civil society, a real partnership in the state structure, the decreased use of non-renewable resources, most importantly, the development of science and technology with a special accent on information technology (Romania could become a significant regional and international partner), the gradual decrease of water, air and soil quality deterioration to acceptable limits for life processes, the improvement of the population age structure and health, the development of a monitoring system.

Referring to the applicability of the sustainable development concept for our country, the number of the population is not an obstacle in terms of the impact on the natural capital. Existing dysfunctions should be corrected; it is, for instance, unacceptable for a country having reserves of salt sufficient to cover the international demand for the next 500 years to import salt from Turkey, as it happens now.

Let me refer now to the issue of monitoring and evaluation, because it is extremely important to monitor the implementation of the plan of action once it has been elaborated with the support of international organizations like the United Nations, the EU and the World Bank. Monitoring means the application of a system of specific indicators and the implementation of an adequate information system allowing a close follow-up of the process.

The action plan should be accepted as the fundamental instrument in the decision making process.

I believe that previous speakers covered the issue of environment systems and standards ISO 14 000, from 14 001 to 14 010, and I want to emphasize their importance.

Romania's top objective is the accession to the European Union and we should realize the fact that if the European Union said YES and we would find ourselves in the EU now, that would mean immediate disaster. We should first have in place a coherent system, a perfectly structured system to comply with all international standards.

The strategy, through the partnership that it triggered between the civil society and the Government for the first time in Romania, is, I believe, an important step towards democracy in our country.

The paper was finalized in July 1999; it was endorsed by the Government in September and submitted to the Parliament two weeks ago.

To conclude with, I will briefly present to you the next stage, namely pilot-studies and the elaboration of local strategies with adequate investments, in seven cities from Romania: Giurgiu, Ploiesti, Targu Mures, Galati, Ramnicu Valcea, Iasi and Cluj. It is called "The Local Agenda 21 ", replacing the  "Agenda 21 at the national level".

The local Agenda 21 will establish the strategy and the priorities for the respective towns made by the community, with assistance from the United Nations through the program The National Center for Sustainable Development; a series of projects will be elaborated, for which, countries like Canada and the UK are ready to invest.

The effort made from 1997 until now for the elaboration of the strategy was enormous. From the point of view of the United Nations, I strongly believe in the coagulation of all interests, in the presence of all factors involved at the same table to work on a single document, to establish a joint target.

It may be difficult to speak about sustainable development in a period of economic decline; but the partners in this complex exercise proved that we can think for the future, we can jointly set out milestones for the future. Undoubtedly a strategy is a dynamic entity and, in a few years, the core will be preserved but modifications will be brought to it.