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CONTENTS:
FOCUS ON SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
Albanian floods wane; environmental factors may
have played role
Bulgaria wants EU inspection before scheduling
Kozloduy closure
New Serbian environment minister pledges focus on
waste
AROUND THE CEE REGION
Lithuanian president recommends new nuke plant at
Ignalina
Greenpeace sues for information about Spolana
cleanup
Flood damage to Czech industry estimated at CKR
11.7 billion
REC promotes its approach to encouraging
sustainability
ON THE INTERNET
HELCOM will post articles about Baltic marine
environment
REC database of links allows for topic searches;
postings welcome
FOCUS ON SOUTH EASTERN EUROPEALBANIAN
FLOODS WANE; CLIMATE CHANGE, EROSION MAY HAVE PLAYED ROLE
Albanian government officials decided on Sept. 24 to lift a state of
emergency that was imposed a day earlier, after severe flooding around the
northern Albanian towns of Lac, Lezhe, Shkoder, Diber and Kukes displaced
thousands of families and cut off energy and drinking water, according to
reports. Officials say the situation is now under control, and that power
has been restored to some regions, according to a Sept. 25 report from the
Balkan Times News. The Albanian government was seeking emergency assistance
to deal with the situation, and Greece, Italy and Turkey had already offered
help, according to a Sept. 25 report from Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty.
Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano said about 2,000 families were
evacuated and 26,000 hectares of farmland and 7,500 homes were inundated,
according to the Associated Press. Still, according to Reuters, the damage
from these floods will probably not be as bad as the destruction that hit
parts of Central Europe earlier this summer. In recent years, countries in
the region have continued to experience severe flooding, and it seems that
record-breaking floods are becoming a near annual event in the region.
Environmentalists note several ways in which unsustainable human activity
may contribute to the increasing severity of flooding in the region,
including human-induced climate change and clear-cutting of trees. More
information about the flooding phenomenon and its environmental aspects can
be found in the previous issue of Green Horizon, at: http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/MIS/GreenHorizon/GH414.html
Contact:
Veli Puka, Albanian Hydrometeorological Institute
tel: (355-4) 223-518 or (355-4) 222-439; fax: (355-4) 223-518
BULGARIA WANTS EU INSPECTION BEFORE
SETTING DATES FOR CLOSING KOZLODUY
Bulgarian Energy Minister Milko Kovachev said Sept. 24 that the government
would agree to set dates for closure of blocks No. 3 and No. 4 of the
controversial Kozloduy nuclear-power plant on the basis of European Union
inspections of those blocks in 2003, according to a report from the
Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA). Kovachev said that Bulgaria could
provisionally close the energy chapter of its EU accession negotiations now
and re-open the chapter after inspections yield "objective dates"
for closure of Kozloduy "on the basis of the technical findings,"
according to BTA. The EU wants Bulgaria to shut down the last two blocks of
Kozloduy by 2006, while Bulgaria is seeking to operate them as long as
possible, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Earlier this year,
inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that, due
to a 10-year modernisation project, the two reactors completely meet
international safety criteria, according to a Sept. 25 report from Balkans
Times News.
Contact:
Bulgarian Atomic Energy Committee, tel: (359-2) 720-217
or
the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters Press Office
tel: (359-2) 940-6231
or
Bulgarian Environment Minister Dolores Arssenova
tel: (359-2) 940-6222; web: http://www.moew.government.bg
NEW SERBIAN
ENVIRONMENT MINISTER PLEDGES FOCUS ON WASTE
Andjelka Mihajlov, the recently appointed minister of the Republic of
Serbia's new Ministry of Ecology and Environmental Protection, said that
waste management and passage of an environmental protection law for Serbia
are among the ministry's priorities, in an interview with the daily
newspaper Danas that was carried in the Sept. 25 edition of seeurope.net.
"The ministry will turn to a strategy of waste management and start
removing all that garbage across Serbia. Ecological awareness is ecological
behaviour, and we have to work on improving it," Mihajlov was quoted as
saying. "To push things forward, we need a law on environmental
protection first. A proposal has already been submitted to the Parliament,
and I strongly believe that it will be among the first laws to be passed in
October." Mihaljov, whose ministry was created a couple of months ago
with the passage of a new law, said the clean-up problems that Serbia faces,
especially in "hotspots" like Pancevo and Bor, are expensive.
"We have recently held meetings with the UN's top officials responsible
for environment, with the World Bank, with representatives of Pancevo's
local authorities and industry, in an effort to ensure a few million euros,
which would solve some of the problems," she said, but she added that
much more is needed. "To solve the problem in Bor for instance, 10
million is nothing," she said.
Contact:
Serbian Government Press Service
tel: (381-11) 3617-709 or (381-11) 3617-710 or (381-11) 3617-730
e-mail: press@uzzpro.sr.gov.yu
AROUND THE CEE REGION
LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT
RECOMMENDS BUIDLING NEW NUKE PLANT AT IGNALINA
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said Sept. 23 that his country should
consider building a new, safer nuclear reactor on the site of the existing
reactor at Ignalina, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE).
Adamakus said that experience in the West showed that nuclear power can be a
safe and reliable source of energy, RFE reported. After accession
negotiations with the European Union, Lithuania agreed to close the existing
reactors at Ignalina in 2005 and 2009, but this plant currently provides
most of the country's energy needs.
Contact:
Lithuanian Environment Ministry, tel: (370-2) 610-588
or
Dr. Stasys Motiejunas, Lithuanian Ministry of Environment, Radioactive
Substances Unit, tel: (370-2) 611-110; e-mail: s.motiejunas@aplinkuma.lt
GREENPEACE SUES
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SPOLANA CLEANUP
Greenpeace announced Sept. 16 that it has filed a lawsuit to force the Czech
National Property Fund to release information concerning contracts and
tenders for decontamination work at the Spolana factory in Neratovice.
"The public has a right to know the extent of the contamination and
also should be informed how this is dealt with using public funds," a
press release from Greenpeace said. "According to present accessible
information, the liquidation of the two dioxin-contaminated buildings will
cost around CKR 2.75 billion and the decontamination of the mercury-polluted
sites another CKR 0.5 to CKR 1 billion.
Those sums have to be paid by the National Property
Fund." The release said that Greenpeace questioned the techniques that
would be used and therefore wanted more information on the process. The
contamination at Spolana occurred in the 1960s, when the plant produced the
herbicide Agent Orange. "The production was stopped in 1968 after over
80 employees of Spolana fell ill due to dioxin poisoning," the release
said, adding: "During the destructive floods from last August, almost
the entire site of Spolana was flooded, including the two
dioxin-contaminated buildings. Analyses from samples taken around Spolana
confirm that dioxins and other dangerous substances, including carcinogens,
have leaked out from the plant." Greenpeace has been campaigning to
safeguard the contaminated areas since spring 2001.
Contact:
Jan Haverkamp, Greenpeace Campaign Director in the Czech Republic,
tel: (420-60) 356-9243; e-mail: jan.haverkamp@cz.greenpeace.org
web: http://www.greenpeace.cz/agentorange/index_en.htm
or
Dr. Miroslav Suta, toxic expert for Greenpeace in the Czech Republic
tel.: (420-2) 2432-9667; e-mail: miroslav.suta@cz.greenpeace.org
FLOOD DAMAGE TO CZECH
INDUSTRY ESTIMATED AT CKR 11.7 BILLION
The Czech Republic sustained CKR 11.7 billion in industrial damage due to
August flooding, according to a Sept. 24 report from Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty. Industry and Trade Ministry spokeswoman Vladimira Rihova said the
manufacturing sector suffered roughly CKR 3.4 billion in direct damage and
another CKR 3 billion in lost sales, according to the report. The utilities
sector suffered total damages of 2.5 billion crowns, Rihova was quoted as
saying, but she added: "Power supplies in southern, central, and
western Bohemia have returned to normal; the situation is considered to be
consolidated in northern Bohemia, and intensive efforts are under way in
Prague." Environmentalists note several ways in which unsustainable
human activity may contribute to the increasing severity of flooding in
Central and Eastern Europe, including human-induced climate change and
clear-cutting of trees. More information about the flooding phenomenon and
its environmental aspects can be found in the previous issue of Green
Horizon, at: http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/MIS/GreenHorizon/GH414.html
Contact:
Vaclav Vucka, Director, T.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute
tel: (420-2) 311-8091; e-mail: vucka@vuv.cz;
web: http://www.vuv.cz
REC PROMOTES ITS APPROACH
TO ENCOURAGING SUSTAINABILITY
The approach that the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern
Europe (REC) has used in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) can help other
regions in their quest for sustainable development, the REC's deputy
executive director told participants of an Aug. 26 side event on good
governance and sustainable development at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg. "We are convinced that the way in which we
made our contribution in the CEE region could also work elsewhere in the
world," REC Deputy Executive Director Alexander Juras told the group.
"Here in Johannesburg the question of how to make sustainable
development possible is intensely debated.
However, if those who were responsible for the
unsustainable development of the past will be in charge of sustainable
development for the future, it is doubtful whether much will be achieved. We
believe that the REC could serve as a model on how to accelerate the process
of introducing more sustainable development patterns in other regions of the
world." Juras was speaking at a side event on good governance and
sustainable development, one of many events at the Johannesburg summit where
the REC shared its experience. The REC also brought the CEE perspective to
other events, including parallel events on supporting good governance and on
environmental assessment and a presentation on the Tisza River basin for the
"Water Dome." For full information on the REC's activities in
Johannesburg, see the web site at: http://www.rec.org/REC/Introduction/Johannesburg/index.html
or
contact Eva Csobod at the REC, tel: (36-26) 300-594 or (36-26)
302-137.
ON THE INTERNETHELCOM
WILL POST ARTICLES ABOUT BALTIC MARINE ENVIRONMENT
HELCOM, an international organisation concerned with the environment of the
Baltic Sea, has invited anyone with news about the Baltic marine environment
to submit their articles or information for publication on their web site.
According to HELCOM, anyone with English-language, non-commercial news
related to the Baltic marine environment can submit their information at: http://www.helcom.fi/helcom/pressroom/submit.html
The news will be posted for free on HELCOM's News Portal, at http://www.helcom.fi,
according to the announcement.
REC DATABASE OF LINKS ALLOWS FOR
TOPIC SEARCHES; POSTINGS WELCOMED
The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) has
created a database of web sites about the environment of the region. A brief
description of each site is included in the database, which includes a broad
range of sites, from ministries, non-governmental organisations, companies,
universities and others. The directory of links can be searched by topic, so
users can find specific web sites of interest to them from within the large
collection of web sites about the environment of the region. Those who wish
to publicise their web sites can add to the list automatically.
To see the directory, go to: http://www.rec.org/REC/Databases/EnviroDirectory/EnviroDirectoryFind.html.
The Regional Environmental Center for Central
and Eastern Europe
Ady Endre út 9-11
2000 Szentendre
Hungary
Tel: (36-26) 504-000
Fax: (36-26) 311-294
E-mail: GreenHorizon@rec.org
Web: http://www.rec.org/
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