October 20, 1998 * Volume 1, Number 12
A R O U N D T H E R E G I O N
Oil slick floats toward Croation national park on Adriatic
A 15-kilometer long oil slick in the Adriatic Sea is threatening a national park on Mljet, one of Croatia's most beautiful islands, Reuters reported on Oct. 16. The daily newspaper "Vjesnik" said that the oil was apparently the result of a tanker spill, but Dubrovnik port official Nikola Beusan reportedly said that was not the case. "The oil is made up of coagulated patches of tanker fuel that have been in the sea from 1,000 to 10,000 hours. It is the aftermath of the bad weather which made the particles coagulate and has to be cleared mechanically," Reuters quoted Beusan as saying. Dubrovnik port officials reportedly said that the spill was not a serious threat.
Contact: Croatian State Directorate for Environmental Protection, Andrija Randic, head, Office for the Adriatic, tel: (385-51) 213-499.
Report surveys public participation in environment and health matters
A new report, developed to help prepare recommendations for a Europe-wide summit on the environment and public health, examines the state of access to information, public participation in decisionmaking and access to justice in environmental and health matters in the region and the continent. The three-part, 415 page report, looks at Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the Newly Independent States (NIS), Western Europe and Europe as a whole. The report's introduction explains that it was prepared by local experts and the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) as background information for the third Ministerial Conference of Environment and Health Ministers, to be held in London in 1999. Part I of the report is to include detailed surveys of legislation and practice in 21 nations, and a regional overview, as well as an attempt to assess how easily the public can participate in decisions and receive justice in the area of public health and the environment. Part II of the report is meant to evaluate existing selected international legal instruments dealing with access to information, public participation and justice in environment and health matters. Part III of the report gives an assessment of good practices on access to information, public participation and access to justice in national and local environmental health action programmes. The report could play an important role in shaping policy at the meeting in London next June. The last meeting of this scope and stature to cover European environmental issues was this past June's ministerial conference in Aarhus, Denmark, for which the REC also prepared an assessment on public participation. An international agreement on public participation, known as the "Aarhus Convention," was hailed as the most important achievement of the conference in Aarhus. It seems likely that a similar agreement may be hammered out in London. Copies of the latest report, entitled "Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environment and Health Matters," are available from the REC.
Contact: Magda Toth Nagy, Manager of the REC Public Participation Programme, tel: (36-26) 504-000.
Danube convention goes from words to action
The Danube River Protection Convention (DRPC), an international agreement on environmental action to clean and preserve the river, is set to enter into force on Oct. 28, according to a report from "Green Phare Newsletter." The convention, which was ratified by nine Danube countries and the European Union, represents an attempt to create a regionally focused environmental strategy to help the river. The countries that signed on -- Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia -- have been discussing the concept of the convention since 1991 and have already agreed upon a work plan but are just now beginning to implement that plan, the report said. Several events are scheduled for the end of October to mark the commencement of the Convention.
Contact: Danube Programme Coordination Unit, Teun Botterweg, tel: (43-1-21) 345-5615; or Alenka Burja.
Sustainable cities and towns conference set in Sofia
A Nov. 12-15 conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, which is part of The European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign, will help local authorities from around the region work out regionally adapted solutions for protecting the environment, according to an announcement. The conference is part of a Europe-wide initiative for sustainable development and Local Agenda 21, which currently involves nearly 400 European local authorities. The Sofia conference is one of four planned by the Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign to better understand specific problems in the north, south, east and west of Europe, the announcement said. The Sofia Conference focuses mainly on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, but also on south-eastern Europe and the New Independent States. The outcomes of the regional conferences will play an important part in shaping the third pan-European conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, which will take place in the year 2000.
Contact: European Sustainable Cities Campaign Coordinator, Anthony Payne, fax: (32-2) 230-8850; or Antoaneta Yoveva, Plamena Borisova of the Conference Bureau in Sofia, phone: (359- 2) 980-15-40.
New Hungarian minister, ambassadors learn of REC's new mission
Hungary's new Minister of Environment Pal Pepo praised the work that the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) has done to engender international cooperation for the region's ecology, during an Oct. 16 ambassadorial meeting at the Hungarian Ministry of Environment, according to a press release. At the meeting, the REC presented its future plans for environmental support for 15 countries in the region to the new Hungarian government, foreign ambassadors and embassy representatives stationed in Budapest. REC Executive Director Jernej Stritih outlined his organisation's successes during the recent Pan-European conference for Europe's environment ministers held last June in Denmark, as well as the REC's increased mandate in the Environment for Europe process, supporting the EU enlargement process in the environmental sector and initiating a new business and environment initiative for the region, the release said. The ambassadorial briefing is a regular event, but this was the first time that the briefing was held outside the REC's head office (in Szentendre, Hungary) and the first briefing attended by a Hungarian environment minister. According to the press release, these changes are indicative of the REC's enhanced role in helping to protect the environment of Central and Eastern Europe.
Contact: Paul Csagoly at: tel: (36-26) 504-000, fax: (36-26) 311-294.
N U C L E A R R O U N D U P
European Commission seeks consultants on CEE nuclear safety
The European Commission is seeking consultants to assist in assessing nuclear safety in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries that want to join the European Union, according to "europe environment" newsletter. An invitation for consultants to submit their proposals for this work can be found in the "Official Journal of the European Communities," No.C293 of Sept. 22.
Contact: The local office of the European Commission, or the commission's head office, tel: (322) 299-1111.
Activists threaten to block Russia-Bulgaria nuclear transport
Bulgarian and Russian anti-nuclear activists are threatening to conduct "radical actions" in order to prevent future transportation of spent nuclear fuel from Bulgaria to Russia, but increasing costs may be enough to reduce the traffic of radioactive waste, according to an Oct. 13 report from Environmental News Service. The threats followed an Oct. 7 meeting in Moscow, between the officials of the Russian Ministry for Atomic Power (Minatom) and anti-nuclear activists, the report said. Vladimir Slivyak, anti-nuclear campaigner for Ecodefense, who participated in the meeting said the way nuclear fuel reprocessing is handled, "creates large additional amount of liquid nuclear waste approximately 160 times larger than the amount of spent nuclear fuel sent," ENS reported. At the Oct. 7 meeting, Minatom chief, Evgeny Adamov, said Bulgaria and other countries sending spent nuclear fuel to Russia for reprocessing will soon have to pay USD 1,000 or more per kilogram, though presently, Bulgaria pays Russia about USD 620 per kilogram, the report said. It is possible that Minatom's new prices will make the sending of spent nuclear fuel to Russia too expensive for Bulgaria, activists say, but they are not waiting for that to happen. According to the ENS report, Russian and Bulgarian anti-nuclear activists have launched a campaign to gather signatures to back their demand to cancel future nuclear transport. The petition is addressed to the governments and parliaments of Bulgaria, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine.
Contact: Vladimir Slivyak of Ecodefense, tel: (7-011) 243-7286; or Evgeny Adamov of Minatom, tel: (7-011) 239-4908, or 233-3751; or Bulgarian Atomic Energy Committee, tel: (359-2) 720-217.
Reports of radioactive mushrooms from cee prompt eu crackdown
The European Union is planning to strengthen controls on mushroom imports from Central and Eastern European countries, following an unusual spurt in the number of shipments reported to be radioactively contaminated, according to an Oct. 15 report from Environmental News Service. Contamination of mushrooms and other forest products with radioactive cesium has been a continuing problem since Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1986, but after receiving 19 notifications of contaminated shipments from Austria, Germany and France in quick succession, the European Commission convened an urgent meeting of a regulatory committee, the report said. The Commission announced on Oct. 15 that it is planning to issue a new regulation imposing stricter controls on mushroom imports, according to the ENS report. In particular, this will require EU countries to monitor mushroom imports more intensively for radioactive contamination and to define points of entry of mushrooms imported from countries such as Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Ukraine.
Contact: European Commission, tel: (322) 299-1111.
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.
