ROMANIAN SCIENTISTS REFUTE WARNING OF MASSIVE
QUAKE NEXT YEAR
Researchers at the Russian Academy of Science are predicting
that a major earthquake, with a seismological magnitude as high
as 9, will hit Romania's Vrancea area, as well as parts of Russia,
next year, but Romanian scientists question that prediction,
according to a May 21 report on the Ananova news web site.
Seismologists at the Institute for Earth Physics in Romania say
that an earthquake may hit the country, but not before 2006, and
they claim that a quake with a magnitude of 9 would change the
relief map of the world, and is highly unlikely, Ananova reported.
Contact:
Lucian Ion Matei, University of Bucharest, Faculty of
Geology and Geophysics, tel: (40-1) 760-6655, 614-3508 ext. 152, 154; 
e-mail: matei@mail.gsci.vsat.ro

ROMANIAN TOURISM MINISTER FACES OPPOSITION TO
DRACULA PARK
Romanian Tourism Minister Dan Matei Agathon said on April 15
that he would resign if the government does not go through with
building Dracula Park, a proposed theme amusement park that has
raised concerns of environmentalists, according to Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE). The local and international community
have opposed the idea of building the theme park in Sighisoara, an
area of relatively untouched historical and natural beauty. During a
recent visit to Romania, Britain's Prince Charles expressed his
opposition to the project on environmental grounds, and in a May 7
phone call with the prince, Romanian President Ion Iliescu said that
he is not necessarily in favour of the project, according to RFE.
"Iliescu said he has assured Prince Charles that Romania is 'open
to all suggestions' and that the project will not be 'blindly
implemented,'" RFE reported. 
Contact:
Romanian Environment Ministry, tel: (40-1) 410-0246 or (40-1) 410-0215; e-mail: biodiv@mappm.ro

BULGARIA TO LIMIT WATER USE BEFORE SUMMER CRUNCH
In the hopes of avoiding water shortages that have plagued Bulgaria
in recent summers, the government decided on May 9 to limit
water consumption, according to reports. The country, like much of
South Eastern Europe, underwent a severe drought last summer
and has had recurring water shortages in past summers.
Environmentalists have said that the problem is due to climate
change, which is apparently impacted by human activity, as well
as poor water management practices. Bulgaria's cabinet decided
that citizens should be allowed to use between 90 and 120 litres
per capita per day, and consumers who exceed that limit would be
charged double, according to a report from Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty. Inhabitants of Sofia currently consume about
600 litres of water per day and in some other towns, consumption
is as high as 800-900 litres, the report said. 
Contact:
The Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters Press Office, 
tel: (359-2) 940-6231; or Bulgarian Environment Minister Dolores Arssenova, tel: (359-2) 940- 6222; web: http://www.moew.government.bg

BULGARIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY'S LAKE SREBARNA
REPORT IS ONLINE
The Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water has completed
its report on the Ramsar protected area of Lake Srebarna and the
report is now online, according to a May 8 edition of European
Water Management News (EWMN). Ramsar is an international
convention intended to protect especially valuable natural areas
around the world. At the request of the World Heritage Committee,
the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water conducted a
mission to the lake Srebarna area to report on the success of
rehabilitation efforts at the site, according to EWMN. The mission
took place in October and the details of its findings are in the
report, online at: http://www.ramsar.org/ram_rpt_47e.htm

EU FUNDING FOR SEE IS IN THE CARDS
The European Union has announced that a new financial
instrument called CARDS will be its basis for assistance to
countries in South Eastern Europe (SEE). According to
documentation provided by the EU, the CARDS instrument will be
the main means from now on for distributing the EUR 4.65 billon
that the EU is planning to give to the SEE region between 2000
and 2006, for work ranging from reconstruction and return of
refugees to developing civil society and the media. To find out
more, download the document at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/see/docs/cards/sp02_06.pdf

DATABASE CONTAINS INFORMATION ON REReP PROJECTS
A new database on the web site of the Regional Environmental
Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) contains information
on projects being funded under the Regional Environmental
Reconstruction Programme for South Eastern Europe (REReP).
The REReP is the basis for international environmental policy in
South Eastern Europe. It offers a means for channelling support to
a variety of projects that address the most urgent environmental
needs of the region. According to an announcement from the REC,
which acts as the secretariat to the REReP, "This unique database
was created in order to improve access to information on REReP
project implementation, and thus enhance the transparency of the
process as a whole and facilitate regional networking and
cooperation. There are 48 current projects, with records containing
data about the project timeline, funds awarded, objectives and past
and planned activities. The database will be updated regularly and
it is open to additions from the REReP stakeholders." The database is online at: http://www.rec.org/REC/Databases/RERep/Default.html. 
For more information about REReP, see:
http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/REREP/default.html

POLAND IS LEADER IN CONVERTING CARS TO LPG FUEL
About 80 percent of Poland's cab drivers have already converted to
liquid petroleum gas (LPG) fuel, which costs about a third the price
of regular petrol in Poland and is preferred by the European Union
as being environmentally friendly, according to a May 20 report
from the Warsaw Business Journal. Converting cars so that they
can use LPG, also known as autogas, is done at hundreds of
garages around Poland, and the fuel is available at 2,600-2,900
petrol stations around the country, the Business Journal report
said. 

It added that Poland is currently the most active country in
Europe when it comes to converting cars to take LPG fuels, and it
is the third-biggest consumer of LPG, after Italy and the Netherlands. "In 2000 there were 590,000 LPG-converted cars in Poland and in 2001 that rose by 140,000, so we are definitely the most dynamic market and by now are on the road to overtaking Italy and the Netherlands in LPG consumption," the article quoted Sylwia Popawska of the Coalition for LPG as saying. 
Find more information about LPG at the following web sites: http://www.lpg-vehicles.co.uk/ or http://www.e-lpg.com/product.asp

LITHUANIA SAYS EU MUST FUND CLOSURE OF ITS NUCLEAR
PLANT
Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas said on May 16
that he expects the European Union to pay the entire EUR 2.4
billion cost of closing the Ignalina power plant, which produces 70
percent of the country's energy, according to Reuters. "(The EU)
should cover all the costs, from various sources, putting that into
both its budget until 2006 and its budget after 2006. This is a European problem, not Lithuania's problem," Brazauskas was quoted as saying. As part of EU accession negotiations, Lithuania has pledged to close the first unit of the Chernobyl-style nuclear plant by 2005, but it has yet to accept an EU recommendation on closing Ignalina's unit two by 2009. Lithuania hopes to reach an agreement with the EU by July on the Ignalina plant, according 
to Reuters.

BALTIC SALMON MAKING A COMEBACK, BUT TROUBLE STILL
LOOMS
Efforts by the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) and the
International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission (IBSFC) to revive the
Baltic Sea's seriously depleted salmon stock have increased the
annual yield of juvenile wild salmon in the region from 300,000 in
1995 to 1.3 million in 2001, according to a press release from
HELCOM. The Baltic Sea's salmon stock has been badly damaged
by over-fishing and pollution, but apparently the situation is slowly
being reversed. "Eight rivers have reached the long term 50 percent
production objective for each salmon river set by HELCOM and
IBSFC. A few of the larger rivers have even reached above their
estimated potential production levels," the release said. "However,
the stock status in the smallest forest rivers in the Bothnian Bay
and in the small Estonian rivers is still in an alarming situation and
a lot of rehabilitation of spawning areas is needed in many Baltic
salmon rivers." The press release cautioned that it is still too early
to tell if a combination of releasing stocked fish and controlling
fisheries will prove sustainable in the long run. 
Contact:
The Baltic Salmon Action Plan, web: http://www.ibsfc.org/doc/WS-4-5.htm
or Ulrike Hassink, email: ulrike.hassink@helcom.fi tel: (358-9) 6220 2235.

DANGEROUS ALGAE BLOOMS COULD HIT BALTIC THIS
SUMMER
Blue-green algae, belonging to the genera aphanizomenon and
nodularia, the latter of which can be poisonous to humans and
animals, might appear in certain parts of the Baltic Sea this
summer, Finnish scientists have warned, according to a press
release from the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM). The forecasts,
based on hundreds of samples analysed by the Finnish
Environment Institute, were the first ever warnings of dangerous
algae in the Baltic, the press release said. "The Finnish scientists
believe the first mats of blue-green algae will appear in late June or
early July if the summer is warm, and peak in late July," the press
release said. "Cold and windy summer weather conditions would
probably postpone the climax to August, and blooms would be less
intense. The Finnish Environment Institute's algae hot-line will
operate weekdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. during the summer, tel: (358)
1080 8898. 
Contact:
Ulrike Hassink, email: ulrike.hassink@helcom.fi, tel: (358-9) 6220 2235

BIODIVERSITY EXPERTS SOUGHT FOR INCLUSION IN
DATABASE
According to an announcement from IUCN: "The IUCN Regional
Office for Europe is setting up a database of experts working in
biodiversity and nature conservation related fields in order to help
Central and Eastern European (CEE) and Newly Independent
States (NIS) countries to implement their National Biodiversity
Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs). The database consists of
experts of financing, legislation, regional/local planning, institutional
strengthening, protected areas, communication, training and
education and the EU accession process. The experts must have
an in-depth experience in working in one or more CEE countries,
and additionally be able to work and report in English and/or
Russian. Upon request, the experts should be available for short-
term field missions or providing advice. Interested applicants should
send a recent curriculum vitae to edina.biro@iucn.org."

NEW ENVIRONMENT/GEOGRAPHY JOURNAL SEEKS
CONTRIBUTIONS
The International Journal of Fieldwork Studies, "a new international,
peer reviewed, Internet-based journal developed as part of the
Virtual Montana Project," has announced that it is seeking articles
on the topics of geography and environmental studies. Papers for
the December 2002 issue should be ready by June 14, the
announcement said. Full notes for contributors are available on the
Virtual Montana Web Site at <http://www.virtualmontana.org>.
Contact:
E-mail: IJFSeditor@hope.ac.uk

CEU ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT SEEKS RESEARCH
ASSISTANT
The Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy of the
Central European University has announced that it is advertising a
short-term position for a research assistant to work at the university's offices in Budapest. The research assistant will be expected to conduct and execute a research project related to sources of funding for environmental remediation projects. Candidates should have a degree in environmental policy, international relations or another relevant field, and should be able to work under deadline, the announcement said. 
Contact:
Krisztina Szabados, tel: (361) 327-3021; e-mail: envsci@ceu.hu.