June 17, 1998 * Volume 1, Number 4
E A S T - W E S T C O O P E R A T I O N
Aarhus Conference vital to region's environment
About 800 participants and 54 environment ministers are expected to gather June 23-25 in the Denmark city of Aarhus, for what will probably be the most important conference this year to focus on the environmental policies of Europe. This fourth Pan-European Conference of Environment Ministers is likely to set the basic agenda for environmental action in the region for the next few years. The meeting is part of the "Environment for Europe" Conference series, designed to bring together top environmental officials from the Central and Eastern Europe, the Newly Independent States, the European Union and the United States. According to the official Aarhus web site, "the main objective of the 'Environment for Europe' Conferences is to create a forum of cooperation for restoration of the environment in Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union, in step with the progress of economic reforms. Another objective is to ensure common impetus of environment policy in Eastern and Western Europe... The overall focus is on environmental integration all over Europe."
Contact: Journalists who wish to have access to the conference facilities must be accredited. For accreditation, contact: Rikke Kjær Brun Pedersen, Danish Environmental Protection Agency, tel: (45-3) 266-0224, fax: (45-3) 266-0425. For general information, contact: Nina Holm, Press Officer to the Aarhus Conference, tel: (45-3) 266-0551, fax: (45-3) 266-0536
N U C L E A R R O U N D U P
A Slovak reactor starts up . . .
Despite strong objections from neighboring Austria, Slovakia started up the first reactor at the Mochovce nuclear plant on June 8, according to reports. Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima called the Slovak decision "unfrien dly and irresponsible" and said he is considering withdrawing Austria's ambassador to Bratislava in protest, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Officials in Slovakia had said they were willing to hold talks with Austria under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but added that Mochovce had met all the required international standards, Reuters said.
Contact: Austrian prime minister's office, tel: (43-1) 531-150; or plant operators Slovenske Elektrarne, tel (42-17) 569-1111; or Greenpeace Austria, tel: (43-1) 545-4580
. . . Another phasing out
While the start-up of Slovakia's Mochovce nuclear plant stirred tensions with neighboring Austria, the Slovak economy ministry pointed out that it is on target to phase out another plant that Aurstria opposes, according to reports. The first stage in the decommissioning of Slovakia's controversial 17-year-old nuclear power station at Jaslovske Bohunice should be completed as planned by 2007, the economy ministry said in a statement released on June 15, according to Reuters. "Out of the seven main (decommissioning) tasks which were set for 1997, five were fully completed while the remaining two, which were 90 percent achieved, will be completed this year," the statement reportedly said.
Contact: plant operators Slovenske Elektrarne, tel (42-17) 569-1111; or Greenpeace Austria, tel: (43-1) 545-4580
Ukraine premier urges quicker aid for Chernobyl
Ukrainian Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko on June 9 complained that the West is moving too slowly in delivering the funds needed to make the Chernobyl nuclear plant safe for operation before its planned closure in 2000, according to Reuters. Pustovoitenko reportedly made his remarks in Luxembourg, at a press conference just after his country's first cooperation council meeting with European Union officials. He complained that his country may have to wait two years before receiving the $760 million needed to reinforce the cap over the fourth reactor, which exploded in 1986 in the world's worst nuclear accident, Reuters said. Ukraine has agreed to completely close the Soviet-style reactor by the year 2000, but in the mean-time the country badly needs the energy the plant generates.
Contact: Ukranian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety, tel: (380-44) 228-0644.
Romania eyes new power scheme
Romania's government approved a draft law for restructuring the RENEL electricity state monopoly utility on June 8, according to a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The bill would divide the existing monopoly company into two firms that compete for customers and a third that remains under state control and oversees nuclear energy production, the report said. The draft still has to be approved by the parliament.
Contact: Romanian Ministry of Water, Forestry and Environmental Protection, tel: (40-1) 410-6394; fax: (40-1) 312-2599.
A R O U N D T H E R E G I O N
Police investigate outgoing environment minister
Police in the eastern Hungarian county of Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg publicly announced their suspicions that outgoing Hungarian Environment Minister Ferenc Baja abused his position, but the public prosecutor's office may cal an end to their investigation, according to MTI, the Hungarian news service. Police have been investigating Hunalco Rt., a firm building a bottling unit at Zsurk on the Ukrainian border, since last year, MTI reported. Investigators said they suspect Baja of "granting unlawful advantage" to the company when he decided to support the project from central funds, the news service said. The police apparently do not have sufficient evidence to bring charges, and their request to extend their investigation beyond the June 21 deadline has been denied by the prosecutor's office, according to MTI.
Contact: Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg County police, tel: (36-42) 311-666; or the environment ministry's press office, tel: (36-1) 457-3415.
Investigation continues into leak at Czech factory
Company officials blamed a faulty valve for a leak of lethal hydrogen chloride that occurred on June 9, at the Farmak chemical works in the city of Olomouc, Czech Republic - the same factory where a sulphur dioxide leak resulted in two deaths last year, Radio Prague reported. No one was injured in the leak, but it temporarily posed a threat to a large area of the city, the report said. A representative of the firm reportedly said that the faulty equipment had only recently undergone safety checks, and added that a further detailed investigation is underway. Contact: Farmak CEO Jiri Zak, tel: (420-0) 68-523-1200, or (420-0) 68-554-7111, web: http://www.farmak.cz/; or Rut Bizkova, Czech Environment Ministry, tel: (420-2) 6712-2040.
Macedonia, Albania cooperate to help lake Ohrid
Albania and FYR Macedonia will cooperate in spending a USD 4.1 million grant to protect the natural resources and biodiversity of Lake Ohrid, which is shared by the two countries, the Environmental News Service reported. The World Bank approved the grant on June 12, so that the two nations, who have recently experienced heightened ethnic tensions, can jointly operate the Lake Ohrid Conservation Project, the report said. Lake Ohrid, one of the world's oldest lakes with an estimated age of 2-to-3-million years, is a popular vacation spot fronted by three major cities and is also one of the largest biological reserves in Europe, possessing unique plants and animals that are extinct elsewhere, the report said.
Contact: Albanian Environment Ministry, tel: (355-42) 30-682, e-mail: cep@cep.tirana.al; or Macedonian Environment Ministry, tel: (389-91) 227-204 or 117-288, e-mail: Emihail@unet.com.mk
R E S O U R C E S
Where to look on the web
More and more internet resources offer assistance to those who are interested in environmental information. The following may be worth a look: "The Green Marketplace": The Associated Press reported that EnviroLink Network, the world's largest environmental information service, recently launched "The Green Marketplace," a web site where consumers can access information on a vast array of environmental products. The site can be found at http://www.envirolink.org. EnviroLink has teamed up with LinkShare, one of the leading providers of transaction-based solutions online, to develop a system which allows affiliate sites to earn a percentage of all sales they help generate at the Green Marketplace. Any site interested in offering organic products with EnviroLink can join the Green Marketplace's Affiliate Program by registering at: http://www.linkshare.net. Sustainable Design: A new web site put out by The Centre for Sustainable Design covers the topics of managing eco-design, sustainable product development and design design aspects of environmental communications and a journal of sustainable product design. Find them at http://www.cfsd.org.uk. E&H Online: This is an e-mail bulletin delivering environmental and health-care news from the region direct to your in-box each month. They boast hard-to-find coverage from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the states of the former Soviet Union. The publication costs $20 per year, but readers can get a free trial subscription. Find out more at: http://www.okno.com/ewltr/e-and-h/e-honline.html. The Sustainable Development Gateway: This site has been created by a global network of sustainable development organizations as a central place to find many useful resources. It includes a calendar, lots of links to other sites and a directory and search engine for all members. The site is in English, French and Spanish. Check it out at: http://sdgateway.net/
W H O W E A R E
About Green Horizon
Green Horizon is a free newsletter designed to help journalists stay ahead of environmental news in Central and Eastern Europe. Twice a month, we'll offer tips on upcoming stories 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 (MIS) of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe. The goal of the MIS is to assist the media in covering environmental issues. It is funded by the European Commission's DG-XI and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For a free subscription, research assistance or to find a source: Send
e-mail to: GreenHorizon@rec.org, or call Tom Popper at (36-26) 504-000, fax (36-26) 311-294.
Funded by European Commission's DG-XI and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
