Jan. 12, 1999 * Volume 1 Number 16
CONTENTS:
A R O U N D T H E R E G I O N
Russian town emptying sewage into border river
The Russian town of Ivangorod, cut off by an Estonian water company for non-payment of bills, has begun dumping untreated sewage into a river that flows into the Gulf of Finland, according to reports. Narva Vesi, the municipal water company of the Estonian border town of Narva, has cut off water supplies to Ivangorod and halted sewage treatment because the Russian town owes Narva more than 18 million kroons (about USD 1.4 million) for such services, according to a January 5 Baltic News Service report carried by Radio Free Europe (RFE). Since then, Ivangorod has released 1,700 cubic meters of sewage into the Narva River, RFE said. Ivangorod's sewage outlet is 6 kilometers from the Gulf of Finland. Estonian environmental experts reportedly said the untreated waste would not necessarily cause a catastrophe, but may affect the fauna and flora in the area. Contact: Sergei Vikentjev, Narva Green Movement, tel: (372-35) 31-557; or Tiiu Sizova, Town of Narva Environmental Division, tel: (372) 353 4023.
NGOs in CEE can apply for EUR 25,000 grants
Non-governmental organisations from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FR Macedonia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and Yugoslavia have been asked to submit project proposals on the topic of "People in Nature" to the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC). The REC, working in cooperation with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries is overseeing the distribution of EUR 125,000, with a maximum of EUR 25,000 available per project, according to the announcement. The stated goal of the project is to support and encourage environmental projects which give Central and Eastern European people a better contact and understanding of the nature around them. NGOs are encouraged to work together with their local communities, municipalities, parks and farmers to come up with project ideas that are practical and feasible and will be supported by the community. The application deadline is set at March 1. For information or an application form, contact a REC Local Office, or REC Head Office, tel: 36-26 504-000; fax 36- 26-311-294; e-mail: epinguli@rec.org; web: http://www.rec.org.
EBRD grants loan for Zagreb landfill work
The EBRD has signed an agreement with Zagreb authorities to loan the Croatian capital DM 168 million for rehabilitation of the city's Jakusevac landfill, according to a report in a December edition of Croatia Weekly. Contact: Tomislav Brodaric, Zagreb County office of the Croatian Directorate for Environmental Protection, tel: (385-1) 334-466 ext. 106; fax: (385-1) 340-974.
N U C L E A R R O U N D U P
Activists apparently derail plan to transport Bulgarian waste
Following an apparently successful lobbying effort by environmental activists, the Bulgarian nuclear industry has been forced to temporarily call off plans to transport nuclear waste to Russia, according to a Jan. 4 report from Environmental News Service (ENS). Operators of the Kozloduy nuclear plant in northern Bulgaria had been hoping to transport the plant's waste through Moldova and Romania to a storage site in Russia. Activists opposed to the plan presented a petition, signed by more than 200 environmental groups around the world, to the legislatures of the four countries involved. Although Moldova had already signed an agreement to go through with the plan, officials announced Dec. 22 that the Moldovan parliament now opposes that agreement, according to the ENS report. An alternative transport route, through Romania and Ukraine, has not yet been developed, ENS said. Contact: Polina Kireva of Ecodefense in Sofia, tel: ( 359) 265-8216; or Vladimir Slivyak of Ecodefense in Moscow, tel: (7-011) 243-7286; e-mail: ecodefense@glas.apc.org; or Evgeny Adamov of Minatom, tel: (7-011) 239-4908, or 233-3751; or Bulgarian Atomic Energy Committee, tel: (359-2) 720-217.
Belgrade group sees growing opposition to plan to import waste
A representative from a Belgrade environmental organisation said he has yet to receive a response to an open letter asking officials to abandon a proposal to import nuclear waste for storage at the former Gabrovnica uranium mine near the Bulgarian border. But he added that the "good reaction from the international community," as well as local groups, indicates that there may be sufficient opposition to defeat the proposal. Dusan Vasiljevic of Green Table said the letter, signed by over 100 groups around the world, was presented at a Dec. 13 press conference in Belgrade at the same time that it was forwarded to the environment ministers of the Federation of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia. Vasiljevic said that his group, and the Timok Club from Knjazevac, a town located near the old mine, circulated the letter to prevent the site from becoming a dumping ground for "nuclear waste from all over Europe." If the mine must be used, it should be "only for the nuclear waste which we produce domestically, which of course would be much less," Vasiljevic said. Contact: Green Table, tel: 381 11 457-463; e-mail : greentbl@eunet.yu; web: http://come.to/the.green.table or the Federation of Yugoslavia's environment ministry, tel: (381-11) 635-910.
Data on Temelin power plant coming in now
The first documents in a study on the viability of the controversial Temelin nuclear power plant in sourthern Bohemia were to be submitted to the Czech cabinet on Jan. 11, according to a report from Radio Prague. By the end of the month, a mixed commission of Czech and foreign experts are expected to complete a working version of a report meant to help the cabinet decide whether to finish construction of the plant, which has spurred protests from Austria, the report said. Contact: Jan Stuller, Director, Czech State Office for Nuclear Safety, tel: (420-2) 2422-3139; fax: (420-2) 2162-4704.
Lithuania envisions two scenarios for closing Ignalina
The Lithuanian government has approved in principle two scenarios for closing the Ignalina atomic power station, according to a Dec. 24 Baltic News Service report carried by Radio Free Europe. Under the first plan, Ignalina would be forced to close sometime in the next two years; under the second, it would be upgraded and allowed to continue to operate until 2020 or even later, the report said. The European Commission has been pressuring Lithuania to expedite the closing of the old style twin reactors at Ignalina. Lithuania is the most nuclear power-dependent nation in the world with over 80 percent of its power coming from nuclear plants. Contact: Lithuanian environmental spokeswoman Natalija Gedvilaite, tel: (370-2) 723-251; e-mail: Leidybos.biuras@nt.gamta.lt.
E U A C C E S S I O N
DGXI in important talks with accession candidates
Important discussions between the European Commission and six countries seeking to join the European Union began in Brussels Jan. 6, according to a report from the ENDS Daily news service. During the next two months, up to 70 officials from each accession country and 16 units in the Commission's environment directorate, DGXI, will seek to develop a thorough picture of the environmental obstacles that the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Cyprus must overcome during the accession process, the report said. Once this work is done, further political negotiations can precede, later in the year, the report said. Contact: European Commission's DGXI enlargement unit, e-mail: enlargement@dg11.cec.be, web: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg11/enlarg/home.htm; or European Commission Directorate General for Environment, Timo Makela, tel: (32-2) 299-2300;
fax (32-2) 299-0310.
Upgrading Czech water to EU standards to cost $2 billion
A World Bank study found that it could cost over USD 2 billion to bring Czech water hygiene standards up to the level of the European Union, according to a Jan. 11 report from Radio Prague. Despite the broad range of things to do -- from practical areas like upgrading water-processing technology, to legislative matters such as introducing the principle that water polluters must pay clean-up costs -- an Environment Ministry official said he was confident the Czech Republic would be able to meet the EU requirements by the target year of 2005 set by the European Commission, the report said. Contact: Czech Environment Ministry, Ing. Rut Bizkova, Director, Public Contacts Department, tel: (420-2) 6712-2040 fax: (420-2) 6731-1496.
B U S I N E S S A N D E N V I R O N M E N T
French oil company invests in Romanian Black Sea drilling
France's oil giant Elf Aquitaine has signed an agreement in Bucharest with the national oil company Petrom to explore 10,000 square kilometers of the heavily polluted Black Sea over the next 30 years, according to a Dec. 22 Associated Press report carried by Radio Free Europe. While off-shore oil exploration and removal has a potential to cause pollution, Elf, which does extensive exploration in the North Sea, touts itself as a leader in research to prevent and control pollution in off-shore operations. Contact: Thomas Saunders, Elf Media Relations, tel: (33) 1 47 44 42 30
J O U R N A L I S M N E W S
Harvard University offers fellowships for environmental journalists
Harvard University has announced that it has openings for two environmental journalists to pursue graduate and undergraduate studies through the Neiman fellowships. The accepted candidates would receive full tuition and a stipend for living expenses and would undergo a course of study for September of this year through the following June, according to an announcement distributed by the Nieman Foundation. The announcement said that there are no educational prerequisites for Neiman Fellowships. To qualify for consideration, applicants must be full time staff or freelance environmental journalists, have at least three years of professional experience in the media and their employer's consent to take a year's leave of absence, the announcement said. Non-American applicants are urged to get their applications in soon, as the deadline is March 1. For more information, contact the Program Officer, Nieman Foundation, tel: (1-617) 495-2237 fax: (1-617) 495-8976; e-mail: nieman@harvard.edu; web: http://www.Nieman.harvard.edu/nieman.html
Latest REC Bulletin online
The latest edition of the quarterly newsletter of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) is now online. This edition features extensive coverage of what the Climate Change talks recently held in Buenos Aires mean for this region. See the edition at: http://www.rec.org/REC/Bulletin/Bull83/BULL83cover.html
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.
