May 1, 1998 * Volume 1, Number 1
W H O W E A R E
Welcome to Green Horizon
This is the first edition of Green Horizon, a new, free newsletter designed to help journalists stay ahead of environmental news stories that are developing in Central and Eastern Europe. Every two weeks, we'll offer tips on upcoming news to watch for, as well as information and ideas to help you develop in-depth pieces about the region's environment. Green Horizon is produced by the Media Information Service of the Regional Environmental Center for Eastern and Central Europe (REC). The REC is a nonprofit nongovernmental organization that seeks to assist in solving environmental problems in the region. The goal of the Media Information Service is to encourage better coverage of environmental issues. It is funded by the European Commission's DG-XI and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For a free subscription: Send e-mail to: GreenHorizon@rec.org, or call Tom Popper at (36-26) 504-000, fax (36-26) 311-294.
E U A C C E S S I O N
Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Estonia began negotiations for entry into the European Union on March 31. Although the negotiations have received wide coverage, few stories focus on the massive changes these countries must make to meet the EU's environmental requirements.
EU Phare helping Hungary
In Hungary, a special program to help the nation meet EU standards for environmental laws and policy has been underway since the beginning of the year. The program, funded by an EU Phare grant, tackles such diverse tasks as developing pilot Local Environmental Action Plans and rewriting existing legislation. The program is administered by the nation's Environment Ministry.
Contact: Zita Geller at the ministry, Tel: (36-1) 457-3437.
Polish MP fears strict EU plan
Polish MP Zbigniew Janowsky called for debate about EU pollution plans after the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention, according to GLOBE Europe News. Under the Kyoto Protocol, Poland should reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent by 2010, the story said. Janowsky reportedly requested a parliamentary debate on the economic implications for local industry.
Contact: Zbigniew Janowsky Tel: (48-22) 254 105; e-mail: janoz@novapress.com.pl
A R O U N D T H E R E G I O N
Shellfish back in Black Sea
Romania's Black Sea coastline has been flooded with thousands of shellfish for the first time in 10 years, a sign it's getting cleaner, according to a recent Associated Press report. Scientists said the development indicates a significant drop in chemical pollution in the Black Sea, a huge inland body of water that touches six countries and is polluted by rivers whose organic runoff robs the sea of 90 percent of its oxygen.
Contact: Oana Bencze, Black Sea University Foundation. Tel: (40-1) 222-4118; Simon Nicolaev, Research Marine Institute, (40-41) 543-288.
OECD monitors Czechs
A mission of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was to finish monitoring the environment and relevant legislation in the Czech Republic on April 28 and submit a report in the next six months, according to a report by Radio Prague E-News. The mission was to investigate the fulfilment of pledges made by the Czech Republic in 1994, the report said. OECD rates the Czech Republic among the biggest air polluters from among its 29 member countries, the report said.
Contact: Nicole Le Vourch, OECD, news.contact@oecd.org
Estonian minister dodges vote
The Estonian United Opposition on April 22 failed to collect enough votes to call a vote of no confidence against Environment Minister Villu Reiljan, according to a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty of Prague. The opposition has accused Reiljan of misuse of tax payers' money and illegal acts, the report said. Reiljan rejects those accusations, saying he achieved additional income for the state and did not mismanage funds in 1996 when he initiated an Environment Ministry investment totalling 19 million kroons ($1.27 million), which reaped a 7 million profit, the report said.
Contact: Villu Reiljan, Environment Minister, Tel: (372-2) 262-802.
Threat to Budapest water seen
Recent test measurements near a toxic dump of the Fovarosi Gazmuvek Rt., just north of Budapest, Hungary, indicate unacceptably high levels of cyanide, according to a report in the Budapest Sun. The report said that a dump site appears to be in urgent need of cleanup, and that, without intervention, cyanide could enter the water table in two or three years. Fovarosi Gazmuvek Rt. and the local government of Urom are reportedly in dispute over who should pay the multi-million U.S. dollar costs of cleaning up the site.
Contact: Jozsef Deak, Water Resources Research Centre, Tel: (36-1) 215-6140/2171.
B A C K G R O U N D E R
The other side of the dam
If you mention the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros dam project these days, many Hungarians will tell you their rather powerful opinion on the matter, based on "hard facts."
Many would say the dam controversy triggered the political collapse of the former communist regime in Hungary. Back then, one couldn't safely protest against the communist government directly, so a flood of Hungarians, encouraged by some very vocal activists, protested indirectly by attacking its big dam mega-project, crying out in the name of environmental protection.
And as you can see, it worked. Both the dam and the communists lost ... temporarily at least.
But there was still that dam on the Slovak side, drinking up Hungarian water. The project lead to the resurfacing of age-old nationalistic hostilities between Hungary and Slovakia, hidden during communism, crystallising in a conflict over water. Unable to reach an agreement, they turned to the Hague in 1993.
Last September 25, after years of supposed "analysis," the Court ruled that both countries had wronged - Hungary did not have the right to back out of the 1977 treaty and Slovakia did not have the right to unilaterally divert the course of a border river. The Court also ordered that all necessary measures be taken to ensure the implementation of the 1977 accord, which Slovak officials say is a demand that Hungary honour the original treaty. And environmental clauses could be added to the original treaty, once both sides took a fresh look at the environmental problems of the affected area.
But what are the problems? Judging by press coverage, the "problem" has been mainly political. That's nothing new. This is a perfect example of how environmental stories only get public and media attention if they're politically or economically significant - an approach that discourages analysis of environmental problems.
With elections coming up in Hungary, Prime Minister Gyula Horn and his government are in a bind. If they build the dam, they'll lose votes and gain criticism from the opposition.
If Hungary doesn't build, poor relations will continue with Slovakia, the EU will shake its head, and Hungary's expensive search for energy will go on. Neither country is blessed with domestic energy reserves but both have high expectations of economic growth. Hungary still has to spend money on new energy sources, and will even be sending free electricity to Austria for years. Austria lent Hungary some 2.8 billion shillings to build the dam, expecting energy in return. Dam or no dam, Austria is still getting electricity from Hungary.
Regarding Slovak economics, after spending scarce public funds to finish their side of the project, they say they're losing half a million dollars a day because Hungary backed out. Gabcikovo works by storing the Danube's water behind the dam at a large reservoir, releasing it, and turning its energy into electricity. The result is a big gush of water. The Nagymaros dam, located some 100 kms downstream from Gabcikovo, was designed to manage the big gush. No Nagymaros means much less energy output.
Of course, all countries could do more in maximizing the efficient use of existing energy sources rather than increasing energy production.
Regarding international economics, since the new diversion channel was built in Slovakia, some ships have been grounded, so the international community wouldn't mind two shipping channels - the new one and the old, which would require returning about half the water back to the old one, which doesn't please Slovakia.
Regardless of the political and economic issues, the media should do more to also discuss the dam's environmental impacts. If the nations involved recognised their common environmental interests, improvements to political and economic interests would likely follow.
By Paul Csagoly, head, Regional Environmetnal Center Information Exchange Department.
S P E C I E S S P O T L I G H T
New survey out on Balkan bears
Despite poisonings, trapping, hunting and several cases of villagers organising group chases, the Balkan brown bear is a permanent resident of many of the rural areas between Bulgaria, Albania and Macedonia, according to a new draft report. But the report also notes a decline in the Balkan bear population over the last 15-20 years. The draft report, submitted April 22, is the result of a joint effort involving 15 different NGOs and government agencies and coordinated by the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC). The project aims to count and protect the bears of those three countries and in FR Yugoslavia and Greece. The report represents the first systematic attempt to analyze the bear population in Albania and Macedonia and the border regions of Bulgaria. While the initial draft has no final count, it does give an idea of the bears' population and movement. More than 500 hunters, shepherds, soldiers and others who frequent forested areas detailed hundreds of bear sitings, as well as many more bear signs, such as tracks and droppings. The report also outlines human attitudes toward the shy bear, which once roamed most of Europe, and is known to be harmless unless threatened. In Albania, 31.4 percent of those surveyed called bears dangerous.
Contact: Pavel Stoev, Wilderness Fund Society, Tel: (359-2) 981-6498; E-mail: wild_fund@mbox.cit.bg; or Entela Pinguli, REC, Tel: (36-26) 504-000, E-mail: epinguli@rec.org.
Bratislava biodiversity conference
About 1,500 participants from 180 countries are to meet in Bratislava, Slovakia, May 4-15 to strengthen international efforts to conserve the world's dwindling biological resources, according to a press release. Known formally as the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the conference will review the current intergovernmental approach to biodiversity.
Contact: (41-22) 917-8242, e-mail: mwilliams@unep.ch.
Funded by European Commission's DG-XI and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
