Nature Protection Policy Club

Institute of Botany, Žaliųjų ežerų 49, Vilnius 2021

Since the beginning of restoration of independence in Lithuania the attention has been focussed on targets of sustainability policy. During the last ten years Lithuania had an obligation and a possibility to choose the way, in which life of the State and society is going to be developed. Lithuania has chosen the democratic way, based on the priority of market economy and private property. Now Lithuania is in the process of transition to the market economy with all difficulties of the transition period.

In June 1992 the representatives of Lithuania took part in the United Nations conference on Environment and Development and, by signing its documents, they declared for the way of sustainable development suggested by the modern world. Our State has joined a new era of economic growth - growth that is forceful and at the same time socially and environmentally sustainable.

Sustainable development was defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. At the Earth Summit the Agenda XXI was prepared and it induced national governments and regional international organizations to arrange strategies and action plans for the implementation of the Agenda XXI. To accomplish these tasks, a balance must be kept between growth and prosperity, the needs of economic development and nature conservancy must be realized not in the future but since today. The restoring Lithuanian economy needs to promote the introduction of environmentally friendly products with a reduced consumption of natural resources, energy, and decreased emissions of pollutants. Therefore, environmental considerations must be more extensively regarded in the economic decision-making. In the environmental policy it is necessary to set new ecologically motivated priorities in the areas where anthropogenic intervention will result in optimal positive environmental effects. In environmental legislation a range of administrative and economic instruments should be used to provide the means for innovative measures to protect the environment. Sociocultural development must be based on reliable scientific information, knowledge acquired by public education and ecological education especially.

The problems of sustainability are particularly important in our country, because the reasons exist, increasing a risk of instability in Lithuania and requiring to draw a permanent attention to the study and development of sustainability:

• Lithuania, as well as many other countries in transition, performs the independent policy in a short time from historical perspective, there is no completely formed infrastructure for preparing and implementing of long-term strategical decisions and the intellectual potential and experience, necessary for the functioning of such infrastructure, are only accumulated.
• Lithuania does not belong to large countries, having great human, economic or natural resources and potentials, and depends essentially upon the relationships with other regions and the situation there;
• Economical and political situation in Lithuania change with a rate not favourable for long-term prognosis.

Therefore, the needs of Lithuania to integrate itself into European State and political structures will inevitably increase the demand for an institution development. In this respect, all efforts of the Ministry of Environment, even though it is highly authorized, will be not enough. The matter is that competence of the Ministry of Environment was highly increased in the fields of forestry, construction and urban development. That is why the master plan of the Republic of Lithuania, for example, is prepared till the year 2020 with correct realization principles of sustainable development. The Lithuanian Environmental Strategy and Action Program adopted by the Parliament in 1996 are also based on these principles. In 1996-1998 the National Strategy for the Implementation of Framework Convention on Climate Change, the National Strategy and Action Plan for Biodiversity Conservation, Ecological Education Strategy and Action Plan were elaborated and adopted by the Government and the Parliament. But every effort of the Ministry of Environment turned out to be insufficient for the implementation of sustainable development principles into all sectors of national economy and activity of social structures. It was necessary to create more modern structure recommended by the UN Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.

Lithuanian National Commission on Sustainable Development /NCSD/ was established and approved by the Government on July 28, 2000. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania headed the National Commission on Sustainable Development. The Ministers of Environment, Social Security and Labour and the Minister of Economy were nominated as vice –chairmen of NCSD. In the Lithuanian NCSD 34 members will work. Twenty of them are regular members: vice-ministers of the Ministry of Environment, Culture, Health Care, Transport, Science and Education, Public Administration Reforms and Local Authorities, Foreign Affairs and Agriculture, the chancellor of the Government, representative of the Office of the President, three environmentalists from the Ministry of Environment. Two representatives of NGO’s – the chairman of Nature Protection Policy Club and the chairman of the Lithuanian Green Movement – are also included in the list of regular members. The Scientific community – representatives from scientific institutes: Ecology, Botany, Geography, Chemistry and Agriculture, and from universities: Kaunas Technological, Vilnius Gediminas Technical, Vilnius University and Agricultural University - are included into the list of invited members. The organizations of local authorities, trade, industry and business are also presented. The Ministry of Environment provides technical assistance. At present Lithuania is only two weeks after the elections. The newly elected Lithuanian Parliament in the end of October will approve the Lithuanian Government and then NCSD will start. In what way?

Taking into consideration, that the implementation of sustainable development standards and creation of the information society in Lithuania are strategical goals of the State consolidation, corresponding to the development direction of the modern world, we assume that:

• The Lithuanian National Commission on Sustainable Development will start unhesitatingly the practical activity, establish priorities, the order and regulations of work.
• The main practical aim of the Commission should be the preparation and implementation of the national strategy on sustainable development. This strategy ought to make the base of the Lithuanian Agenda XXI.
• We are certain, that the Seym of the Republic of Lithuania in its laws will take into account the necessity of sustainable economic, environmental, social and cultural needs of the society as well as preservation of natural resources.
• The national interests of sustainable development beyond doubt will be coordinated with the cooperative institutions of the Baltic countries – the Baltic Assembly and the Council of Ministers of the Baltic Countries, as well as the interests of the European Union.
• We do not doubt that an efficient use of the national scientific potential is an important condition for preparation and implementation of the sustainable development strategy.
• We also think that priorities of sustainable development in Lithuania will be realized effectively only with an active participation of regional and local authorities, non-governmental organizations and other groups of socially active citizens.

In this case it is utterly presumable, that sustainable development in Lithuania will be not only modern, but also effective way without alternative.