E D I T O R' S  N O T E

  While documents stating commitment to more public rights have been signed, environmental activists that raise their concerns are regularly flung into jail or harassed by the police. Deadly chemicals continue to be sprayed onto the fields of Central and Eastern Europe. They flow into streams and rivers, destroying the balance of the ecological system, while the region's cities huddle under a haze of smog from leaded petrol. In many cities, government subsidies make it economical for families to keep several inefficient heaters on rather than try and conserve energy.

  While the big decisionmakers at the top have done their stuff, environmental trainers can help get the message across to the grassroots - the public, the businesses, the civil servants and the citizens' organisations. After all, most people are in the dark about what happened at Aarhus.

  To pass the word on, specific courses must be developed for each sector. Questionnaires must be sent out to assess interest in the issues raised at Aarhus and information prepared to explain the legal implications of what exactly has been decided. The public and private sector must be made aware of what has happened and be told what they have to do about it. Trainers must assess their programmes and adapt them accordingly so they can meet the challenge of the post-Aarhus era. They must shift from the traditional learning-type training programmes to performance-type training schemes. "Training of Trainer" (TOT) courses will be particularly beneficial, to spread the message far and wide. The Central and East European region has acquired a vast wealth of passive knowledge but it must now take the more difficult step of fitting it into a modern international, political framework - within governments, businesses and citizens' organisations.

  Central and Eastern Europe has come a long, long way in a short time. But most of its populations are too worried about economic issues to think about saving the environment. Nevertheless, governments of the region have committed themselves to doing just that and they must be made to realise the serious nature of this commitment. To keep their promises they must educate their societies to realise that a better environment can mean a healthier economy and a safer world for our children. They must explain that these issues are no longer a government realm but a collective responsibility. They must allow citizens' organisations to have a greater say in issues connected to the environment and citizens' organisations in turn must rise up to meet that challenge in a professional way. That way, the signatures gathered at Aarhus will really have an impact.

Sarah Roe