Performance Review of the Czech State Environmental Protection Fund
The chief objective behind establishment of the Fund was to create a comprehensive and flexible financial instrument for implementing state environmental policy. The Fund, which began its operations in 1992, is a separate legal entity administered by the Ministry of Environment. The Fund's principal sources of revenue are pollution charges and fines, proceeds from privatisation, and loan repayments. The majority of the Fund's financial support has been awarded either as grants or soft loans.
The SEPF Performance Review was requested by the Fund and subsequently conducted in 1997 within the framework of the EAP Task Force. The project was implemented with the financial support of the European Union's Phare Programme. The objective of the review was to assess the performance of the Fund against internationally-recognised criteria such as those contained, inter alia, in the "St. Petersburg Guidelines on Environmental Funds in the Transition to a Market Economy" (OECD, 1995). The review identifies institutional strengthening measures that would enhance the Fund's effectiveness and efficiency and raises important issues related to the implications for the future of the Fund from the country's preparations for accession to the European Union.
Long abstract
