The Road to Kiev
The "Environment for Europe" process (EfE)

The "Environment for Europe" process was launched in 1991 at Dobris Castle near Prague at the initiative of Mr. Josef Vavrousek, Environment Minister of the then Czechoslovakia, who saw the importance of the environment as a theme for building cooperation across the entire pan-European region. The Dobris meeting marked a new departure for the region: helping the countries in transition from a centrally planned to a market economy to attain the level of environmental protection established in western democracies, and, at the same time, working to raise these standards throughout the region.

During subsequent conferences in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1993; Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1995; Aarhus, Denmark, in 1998; and the preparations for the fifth conference, in Kiev, Ukraine in May 2003, the process has involved all countries of Europe, North America, Caucasian and Central Asian States, as well as international organizations and institutions including the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe (WHO/EURO), the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Regional Environmental Center (REC) for Central and Eastern Europe, as well as civil society organizations and other major groups.

Please note that only UNEP documents are posted on this site. All other Conference documents are to be found on the UN/ECE website.