US Environmental Protection Agency’s Baltic Technical Assistance Program: From Capacity Building to Environmental Security

Abstract

The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (US EPA) Baltic assistance program had its genesis under the United States/ Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (US/USSR) Environmental Exchange Program in the mid-1980’s when, with significant resistance from the Soviet side, a Lithuanian component was recognized in the formal agreement. Attempts to develop Latvian or Estonian components were not successful. The Lithuanian project focused on environmental degradation rates of toxic substances, water quality modeling and biological effects of environmental contamination. The program introduced studies of neoplasms in natural systems, screened the Nemunas River mainstem for toxic hot spots, trained Lithuanian scientists in Qual IIe and other models and produced an analysis of Hydromet’s historical water quality data for Latvia. It became dominant during the 1992-93 period as the Agency’s priorities switched from scientific exchange programs in Eastern Europe to government capacity building focus driven by US Agency for International Development funding.