GB No. 1(20)/96

INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) is a non-governmental organisation established as a foundation which is to promote, develop and implement principles and methods of sustainable development. The institute was set up in September 1991, by some memmbers of the Polish Ecological Club who have been professionally involved in environmental issues for many years, namely:

• Zbigniew Bochniarz - professor at Minnesota University, U.S.A., currently the ISD Council member,
• Krzysztof Kamieniecki - member of the Board of the Friends of the Earth International in 1992-1994, currently Vice-President of ISD,
• Andrzej Kassenberg - member of the Environmental Advisors Council of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, currently President of ISD.

The founders appointed the Foundation Managing Board which manages the day to day activities of ISD and the Foundation Council which is responsible for initiating, reviewing and evaluation of the Institute's policies and Managing Board's performance. A number of leading scholars and experts, as well as environmentalists from Poland and other countries are members of the Foundation Council.

ISD employs an interdisciplinary staff of professionals, mainly geographers and economists that maintain broad contacts with both domestic and foreign experts and institutions.

Setting up of the first independent organization in Poland that analyses relations between economic, legislative and social changes versus environmental issues, was feasible thanks to resources contributed by several American foundations: the German Marshall Fund of the U.S., the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (since 1995 also the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation).

The Institute for Sustainable Development focuses its activities on economic, legislative, social and political issues. The Institute maintains close working relations with the Parliament and Governmental agencies (mainly with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry) and with local government authorities. In this field, ISD is a unique organization in Poland.

ISD pursues its goal and objectives by way of influencing political and economic decisions (mainly long-term), applying international expertise on sustainable development as well as institutional models in Poland, and through an environmental education and training.

The Institute also initiates and fosters collaboration of other groups, such as community organizations and movements, local govermnent institutions and authorities, governmental agencies and industry associations. Such linkages are formed to solve environmental problems related to the social and economic development. The Institute's major responsibilities are:

• to develop resource materials such as reports, studies, evaluations, analyses, reviews, appraisals and maps to be used for the purposes of sustainable development in Poland, i.a. by way of facilitating decision making processes on various levels;
• to organize and participate in conferences, training sessions, courses, etc.;
• to provide publicity for sustainable development throught the ISD publications and contacts with mass media representatives.

Of the most significant achievements of ISD's last year projects the following should be noted:

• development of the manual for environmental groups "How to Cooperate with Local Government for Sustainable Development", where we identified opportunities for general public involvement in solving environmental problems against the background of powers of local authorities. The manual also provides information on possible roles that environmental groups may play in encouraging local authorities to pursue projects enhancing sustainable development at local("Commune") level;
• development of the report "Problems of Sustainable Development Tourism in Poland" which is a summary of the first step of a sustainable development tourism projects implemented jointly with British partners;
• development of the report "Banks and Sustainable Development in Poland". The author attempted to identify the role of the banking sector in restructuring the Polish economy towards sustainable development models in the period of transition to market economy. The report also indicates major areas and conditions necessary to encourage more involvement on the part of banks in supporting environmental initiatives of enterprises. This insightful and complete report has also been published in English.

A training workshop has also been organized recently -jointly with the Polish Ecological Club - for environmental groups. It had been designed as a forum where ISD experts shared their expertise and practical experience gained on the occasion of their research work with representatives of local environmental movements. Reports published by the Institute were used as resource materials. The workshop may be a useful tool to strengthen the position of environmental groups in their local communities. This may increase their participation in environmental decision making. Training was also held together with Gaja Club and Greens Federation trainers to develop a more effective model of future projects to be jointly carried out by environmental groups and expert groups.

Currently the Institute, among other things, is working on:

• Radom Pilot Project of the National Environmental Action Programme. The project will be implemented in the two Polish communities (in addition to Radom, Ełk has been selected). The basic objective of this pilot project is to rank local environmental problems and assist the local authorities in setting funding priorities for the most critical environmental problems, hence,to improve the environment throught implementation of problem solving strategies and involvement of the general public in the environmental decision making. Drawing on this experience other Polish communities will be encouraged to implement the value added versions of this project.
• The report "IMF Policy Impact on Sustainable Economy in Poland in the Period of Transformation (1990 - 1994)" will be completed soon. The report presents general assumptions of the program of economic stabilization in Poland that are supported by the IMF, as well the economic, social, and environmental impact of those assumptions.

The Institute for Sustainable Development publishes outcomes of its research projects in its reports and bulletins, as well as cooperates with media. It also organizes round table discussions to address a wide range of environmental issues. The latest meeting discussed the right to environmental information. It was attended by legal professionals, environmentalists and media representatives.

Institute for Sustainable Development
Łowicka 31
02-502 Warszawa
tel.: 48/22/252558
48/22/250378
fax: 48/22/253461