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SEE ENVIRONMENT WATCH Information for journalists interested in the Environment of South Eastern Europe December 10, 2002 * Volume 1, Number 4 |
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* * * Kosovo's New Law Makes the Polluter Pay PRISTINA, Dec. 2 - A draft proposal of environmental legislation has been submitted to the Kosovo Assembly that focuses heavily on the polluter pays principle. Zeqir Veselaj, an adviser at the Ministry for Environment and Spatial Planning, lauded the principle and its success across Europe. "That's why we have followed this principle, and immediately after the law's total approval we will implement it." Kosovo lacks formal environmental legislation. Even where laws exist in other areas, enforcement has been week. According to Veselaj, "building a basis for more efficient environmental protection in Kosovo and the approval of the principle will be a big day for this region, because it is the first time a law of this kind is prepared." The approved environmental law will also include programmes for environmental protection in specific areas. The Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency (KEPA) will be equipped with an information system for environmental protection to gather information about the level of environmental pollution in Kosovo and offer accurate information to the public. This system will offer information about natural resources, environmental irregularities, harmful and hazardous substances, environmental accidents, environmentally protected nature areas and biological diversity. The Kosovo Assembly (as foreseen in the draft proposal) will create an advisory board for environmental protection consisting of established experts and specialists in environmental protection. The board will provide the Assembly with opinions and proposals, and will also inform the general public about the state of the environment in Kosovo. -- Alma Lama, "Zeri" * * * Conference on Transboundary Pollution BELGRADE, Dec. 5 - Environmental legislation, environmental education, environmental monitoring and control, air pollution and management, water management, solid waste management, soil pollution, clean technologies, recycling, radioactivity, ecology, biology and risk assessment were the key themes of the fifth international conference on transboundary pollution in South Eastern Europe (SEE). The conference was organised in Belgrade by the Balkan Environmental Association (BENA). It brought together scientists, politicians and public administrators from SEE and the international scientific community with the aim to improve mutual relations, enhance scientific cooperation and create better environmental conditions for all countries of the region. Environmental problems "can be resolved only through cooperation between countries," said the president of BENA, Fokion Vosniakis, a professor at the Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki in Greece. "Balkan countries have to rebuild mutual confidence that does not exist at the moment." During the conference, BENA proposed two international projects: "Black Sea river pollution and its effects on the Mediterranean area" and "Transboundary pollution in Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Romania through the Danube River." BENA is an international, professional NGO established in 1988, with headquarters in Thessaloniki. It brings together professionals with environmental concern from various scientific, academic and legal areas from Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. -- Ekoforum (ekoforum@eunet.yu), Yugoslavia * * * Promoting Regional Cooperation on Environmental Security BELGRADE, Dec. 5 - An international conference for the promotion of environmental protection and general security in South Eastern Europe (SEE) was organised in Belgrade by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. UNEP, OSCE and UNDP have launched a project on Environment and Security in SEE and Central Asia (SEECA Initiative), to help public decision makers in SEE and Central Asia to address the links between natural resources and social stability, by mapping concerns about the environmental and security and presenting them in a visually compelling way. Representatives of international agencies, governments and non-governmental organisations dealing with environmental protection from SEE met in Belgrade to develop a plan that aims to promote cooperation and security in the region by tackling environmental threats. Opening the meeting, Mark Davison, acting head of the OSCE mission, said that countries from SEE must develop a plan that aims to promote cooperation and security in the region. He added that the success of the plan hinges on transnational cooperation. Participants from the OSCE mission, regional governments, United Nations agencies and specialised NGOs provided expert input to improve the understanding of environmental and security concerns in SEE. The recommendations resulting from the meeting will be presented at the "Environment for Europe" Ministerial Meeting, to be held in Kiev in May 2003. Useful link: -- Ekoforum (ekoforum@eunet.yu), Yugoslavia * * * Regional Environmental Press Center Launched in Romania BUCHAREST, Dec. 8 - An array of Romanian journalists attended the launch of the Regional Environmental Press Center (REPC) in Bucharest. Members of the Romanian Environmental Journalists Association (Asociatia Romana a Ziaristilor de Mediu - ARZM) were on hand to field questions from the journalists in the audience about upcoming training sessions and opportunities for remunerative work with the REPC. Also on hand were representatives from NGOs, the REC's country office in Romania and the Embassy of the Netherlands, who applauded the ARZM's initiative. ARZM outlined how the REPC will play a key role in South Eastern Europe. It presented the REPC's main activities, its website www.repc.net and SEE Environment Watch. The journalists also received relevant information about environmental publications and organisations for journalists in Europe. Stressing the importance of strong cooperation between members of the media in the region, ARZM looked forward to fruitful collaboration between the REPC and local journalists. Alexandru R. Savulescu, a member of REPC's Steering Committee, presented the results of a recent needs assessment survey and the situation of environmental media reporting in the different SEE countries. Following the launch, the Romanian media ran numerous articles about the REPC. A network of branch offices supports the REPC, one in each SEE country: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Macedonia and Yugoslavia, with one office in Kosovo (territory under UN interim administration). The REPC is an experimental project administered by the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), based in Szentendre, Hungary. Funded by the Government of the Netherlands, the REPC was established as part of the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme for South Eastern Europe, which administers the environmental activities of the Stability Pact. -- ARZM (arzm@fx.ro), Romania * * * SEE Environment Watch is an e-mail newsletter designed to keep journalists informed about interesting environmental stories developing in South Eastern Europe (SEE). This mailing is going out to everyone on the Green Horizon mailing list. SEE Environment Watch is published by the Regional Environmental Press Center, which has the goal of encouraging more press coverage of environmental issues in the SEE region by making sure journalists are well informed about these issues. This newsletter is designed to assist in that goal by disseminating information. The Press Center, which has an office in Skopje, Macedonia and correspondents in all the countries and territories of the SEE region, also publishes a website at <www.ecopresscenter.org> and answers individual journalist's queries sent to <ecopress@ecopresscenter.org>. The Regional Environmental Press Center is funded by the Government of the Netherlands. The project is being administered in cooperation with the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe. ********** Copyright 2002 by the Regional Environmental Press Center ********** | Home | About Us | News | Resources | Services |
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