August 17, 1998 * Volume 1, Number 8
E U A C C E S S I O N
Bulgaria, Romania to cooperate on EU accession
The Bulgarian minister of envirionment, Evdokia Maneva, and his
Romanian counterpart, Romica Tomescu, wrote a joint letter to
European Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregard committing
themselves to cooperation on environmental standards while
seeking assistance for an air quality monitoring system, according
to Europe Weekly Towards Enlargement. The agreement, one of
several such pacts the two nations have signed, would focus on
cutting pollution and improving air quality along common sections
of the Danube River, Europe Weekly reported. In their letter to
Bjerregaard, the ministers reportedly said that the monitoring
system for which they would like European Union funding would
help both countries prepapre for accession.
Contact: Bulgarian environment ministry press office, tel: (359-2) 8472-2231 or (359-2) 981-1385; or Minister Maneva, tel: (359-2) 882-577; or Romanian Minister Tomescu, tel: (40-1) 410-0246; fax: (40-1) 312-4227.
Hungary gives environment priority out of desire to join EU
Because Hungary's EU accession depends on the state of its environment, the new government will give priority to ecological considerations in all sectors of the economy, Minister of the Environment Pal Pepo said on Aug. 5, according to government news agency MTI. A deputy state secretary has been assigned to coordinate the development of information technology, MTI said.
Contact: Dr. Judit Moser, Hungarian environment ministry public relations, tel: (36-1) 201-2619; fax: (36-1) 201-2361.
N U C L E A R R O U N D U P
Atlas shows spread of Chernobyl contamination
A new atlas that shows the areas in Europe contaminated with caesium after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident was presented to the public in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 10, according to Pollution Online. The atlas was compiled by the European Commission and officials from 32 countries of Europe, and contains 45 pages of text in English and Russian and 130 pages of maps. The atlas shows that areas in which the level of contamination is particularly high cover 2,600 square kilometers in Belarus, 560 square kilometers in Ukraine and 460 square kilometres in Russia, according to the report. But areas with high levels of contamination can be seen all over Europe, as far away as Sweden, Britain and Italy, the report said. The report notes that the atlas does not offer information about strontium, plutonium, iodine and other radioactive elements.
Contact: Arwyn Jones, Marc Van Liedekerke, Marc De Cort, Commission of the European Communities Joint Research Centre Environment Institute, tel: (39- 332) 789-162; fax: (39-332) 789-256.
NGO, separatists may block Bulgarian nuclear waste
Although the Moldovan government has approved transit of Bulgarian nuclear waste from the Kozloduy plant to Russia, the separatist authorities in Transdniester, who want to break away from Moldova, say they will halt shipments unless they receive a share of the transit tax paid to the Moldovan capital, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. On August 12, the Moldovan government officially approved the transit, for which Bulgaria is to pay $50 million and another $5 million as compensation in the event of an accident, the radio news service said. According to Radio Free Europe, Ecologist Movement, an NGO, said on August 13 that it may block the transit of nuclear waste from the Kozloduy reactor.
Contact: Bulgarian Atomic Energy Committee, tel: (359-2) 720-217; or The Ecologist Movement (Miscarea Ecologista din Moldova), tel: (373-2) 237-149.
J O U R N A L I S M N E W S
Web site serves region's environmental journalists
The office that puts out Green Horizon has a web presence to make it easier for anyone to take advantage of its free services for environmental journalists. The Media Information Service (MIS) of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe is a nonprofit service set up to encourage coverage of environmental issues in the region. Aside from publishing Green Horizon, the MIS also answers reporters' specific queries about environmental issues. MIS is also working on other services, including a workshop in the fall and a journalists' directory of environmental sources for the region. The web site helps journalists find out more about how the MIS can help them. Anyone can subscribe or unsubscribe to Green Horizon online at the site. Another interactive feature of the site is a form for queries: Journalists can submit questions about the region's environment and receive a reply containing answers and/or possible sources for further information. Queries should be answered within one business day of sending, and usually on the same day. Check out the web site at: http://www.rec.org/media.
A R O U N D T H E R E G I O N
Uranium fouls Bulgarian river
Water tainted with radium and uranium is leaking from the "Byalata Voda" (White Water) uranium mine at Dolna Banya village in Bulgaria's Sofia region, contaminating river water that eventually reaches the Aegean Sea, Environmental News Service (ENS) reported. According to ENS, the Bulgarian newspaper "Demokratsiya" reported August 10 that the level of pollution in the tainted water has been deemed to be 100 times higher than the safety norms by sources in the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment. The contaminants are entering the River Ochushnitsa, which then flows into the River Maritsa, ENS reported. The Maritsa River, the largest river basin in Bulgaria, empties into the Aegean Sea. Environment officials are warning the local population in the nearby villages not to drink the river water or use it for irrigation, ENS reported. Ministry of Environment sources also said that the water of the River Ochushnitsa is dangerous to fish and warned local residents not to eat fish caught in the river or animals that have drunk its waters, ENS said.
Contact: Bulgaria environment ministry press, tel: (359-2) 8472-2231, (359-2) 981-1385; or Environment Minister Evdokia Maneva, tel: (359-2) 882-577.
Lithuania rejects Latvia's fear of new oil terminal
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said in a letter to his Latvian counterpart on August 6 that fears about the ecological threat of a planned Lithuanian oil terminal were groundless, according to Reuters and Baltic News Service. Adamkus, a former U.S. environment official, wrote in response to a letter, which was signed by his Latvian counterpart, President Guntis Ulmanis, and several other Lithuanian officials and which demanded an environmental study of the Butinges terminal, being constructed a few kilometres south of the Latvian border, the reports said. Although environmentalists have been protesting in front of the Lithuanian embassy in Riga, citing fears that an accident at the terminal could damage the Latvian coastline, some local analysts say that behind the protests lie concerns that Latviaâs own key oil export terminal, Ventspils, would be hurt by competition for Russian crude, Reuters said. Adamkus's letter called environmental fears unfounded, and said they reflect "inappropriate political lobbyism on the part of certain oil exporting and transport firms," Baltic News Service reported.
Contact: Lithuanian Environment Ministry Press Representative Natalija Gedvilaite, tel: (370-2) 723-251; e-mail: Leidybos.biuras@nt.gamta.lt; or Latvian Environment Minister Anatolijs Gorbunovs, tel: (371-7) 026-400.
Albania, Macedonia ink lake pact
The ambassadors to the U.S. of Albania and Macedonia met with
World Bank representatives August 10 in Washington and signed an
agreement to protect Lake Ohrid, according to Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty. As was previously reported in Green
Horizon, Albania and Macedonia will cooperate in spending a USD
4.1 million World Bank grant to protect the natural resources and
biodiversity of Lake Ohrid, which is shared by the two countries.
Lake Ohrid, one of the worldâs 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 public participation segment of the project involves
the activities of several local NGOs, and much of their work is
coordinated by the local offices of the Regional Environmental
Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) in Albania and
Macedonia.
Contact: REC local offices in Albania, tel: (355) 423-
9444 and Macedonia, tel: (389-91) 228-535 and (389-91) 112-824;
or Albanian Environment Ministry, tel: (355) 423-0682, or
Macedonian Environment Ministry, tel: (389-91) 227-204.
Slovak official: Hungary must honor dam pact
Hungarian officials' sentiments notwithstanding, Slovakia expects
Hungary to cooperate on the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric
project, a Slovak official said. Foreign Affairs Spokesman Milan
Tokar, in an interview reprinted in the August 6 edition of the
Hungarian daily Nepszabadsag, rejected claims of Hungary's new
environmental advisor, Janos Vargha. Vargha has said that, in
order to comply with a recent decision by the international court in
the Hague, Hungary and Slovkia must cease all work on the
hydroelectric dam project. On July 23, after Vargha's statement,
Hungary's new cabinet annulled an earlier decision to start
construction of a dam at Nagymaros, the last part of the Gabcikovo-
Nagymaros system. Tokar said that Vargha, who lead a campaign
against the dam, has completely misinterpreted the court's
decision, and that Hungary has no choice but to cooperate in the
continuation of the project.
Contact: Slovak Environment Minister Jozef Zlocha, tel: (421-7) 516-2306, or Dr. Judit Moser, Hungarian environment ministry public relations, tel: (36-1) 201-2619.
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.
