Country Support Team

Country Programmes - Czech Republic

Background 

The Czech Republic is strategically situated in the heart of Central Europe, where it enjoys political and economic stability. Over the past 18 years, the Czech economy has undergone a rapid transformation that earned it membership in the OECD in 1995, NATO in 1999, and the EU in 2004.

The Czech Republic has one of the highest human development indicators in Central and Eastern Europe. Progress in the areas of gender, political freedom, governance, health care, and education is approaching incumbent EU levels. Poverty is not widespread, and the country has benefited from a combination of a well-educated, disciplined work force, and relatively low wages. However, external and fiscal deficits are high. The unemployment rate also remains high despite the National Employment Plan, with low-skilled workers being most affected.

UNDP and Czech Government Partnership in Development

The Czech Republic became a net contributor of funds to UNDP in 2001. Cooperation between UNDP and the Czech government has focused on building capacities for international development cooperation.

Long-lasting cooperation between UNDP and the Czech Republic in the area of official development assistance (ODA) has resulted in a new type of partnership under the umbrella of the East-East Cooperation regional programme in 2003. The Czech government’s contribution to UNDP makes the Czech transitional experience and expertise available to regional programmes and UNDP country offices. Czech know-how is transferred in the form of group training programmes, workshops, study tours, fellowships, technical assistance, and information services. The main focus areas are HIV/AIDS, democratic governance, environmental protection, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), technology management, energy efficiency, and waste and water management.

The Czech Republic was the first emerging donor country to start systematic promotion of its transitional experience and ODA activities in cooperation with UNDP. The Czech-UNDP Trust Fund was established in 2000, and was the first successful example of cooperation in Central Europe.

A new type of development cooperation partnership between the Czech Republic and UNDP was agreed in December 2003, and again a year later in December 2004. The UNDP Regional Centre in Bratislava, within the framework of the Emerging Donors Initiative, became fully responsible for the administration, programming, contracting, monitoring, and evaluation of the Czech contribution (all of which are based on the Terms of Reference for the Czech-UNDP Trust Fund to secure the direct linkage of the Trust Fund activities to UNDP programming, as well as targeted and effective use of Czech expertise).

The implemented projects are aimed at those countries covered by the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre: the post-Soviet republics and the Balkan countries. UNDP ensures thematic coherence of the supported activities with the bilateral Czech ODA projects to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness of the resources used.

In the areas of environment and sustainable development, UNDP has helped the Czech Republic implement integrated eco-system management, biodiversity protection, and greenhouse gas reduction, as well as prepare sustainable development strategies on the regional level.

Low Cost, Low Energy Buildings in the Czech Republic

This project, implemented by an NGO - SEVEN and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), has helped to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the Czech Republic by improving the energy efficiency of newly constructed buildings. This pilot project developed construction plans for low-energy buildings, and mobilized financing from local investors for the construction. New energy standards, and ways to finance further construction of these buildings, have also been developed. Energy efficient apartment houses have been built in Sušice and Železný Brod, and family houses in Roztoky, Odolena Voda, and Ricany.

Integrated Ecosystem Management in Northern Bohemia

The goal of this proposed project is to produce benefits for globally significant biodiversity and for the water resources of the international Elbe basin (both quality and volume) through the adoption of integrated ecosystem management plans and practices in the Bohemian Switzerland region of the Czech Republic, and their implementation by a coordinated group of stakeholders. The project proposed will assist the Czech Republic improve the overall environmental quality status and implement the principles of sustainable development through biodiversity conservation, and the protection of globally significant transboundary surface waters. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and implemented by České Švýcarsko o. p. s. www.ceskesvycarsko.cz/ops/

Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Czech Republic’s Carpathian Alpine Meadows

The objective of this project, is to strengthen the conservation management of globally significant biodiversity in species-rich mountain grassland habitats (grasslands and pastures) in two protected landscape areas (Beskydy and Bile Karpaty), which are included in the Czech candidate list of Special Protection Areas under the EU Habitat Directive. The project is designed to test and validate the assumption that existing and future EU financial support mechanisms, properly oriented, will sufficiently offset the additional costs that landowners incur when managing the more inaccessible, biodiversity-rich mountain grassland habitats, so that they will be willing to participate in the designed grassland conservation management plans. Initial funding will go toward identifying the most valuable mountain grassland areas, gaining and sharing expertise in securing EU funding for grassland management projects, monitoring the outcomes of management, and disseminating the knowledge among others involved in mountain grassland management, particularly Parties to the Carpathian Convention (www.carpathianconvention.org ). The project will provide tangible results to help fine tune EU financial support mechanisms at the national level, to strengthen their applicability for mountain grassland conservation, and to contribute to the sustainability of protected areas in the Czech Republic. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and implemented by Foundation for Organic Agriculture (www.foa.cz).