|
 |
| Home | About Us | News | Resources | Services | Forum | Search | |
Services for Environmental Journalists from South Eastern Europe |
|
 | |
| |
 |
|
||||||
 |
|
|
SEE ENVIRONMENT WATCH Information for journalists interested in the Environment of South Eastern Europe February 20, 2003 * Volume 2, Number 2 |
|
|||
|
|
|
* * * Romania Needs Constructive Help to Create Sustainable Forests Bucharest, 10 January 2003 - Forests are one of Romania's three main resource areas, along with agriculture and tourism, which could be developed sustainably. More than a quarter of the country is forested, and two thirds of these forests are in mountainous areas. Romania has spent the past decade transforming from a totalitarian state to a modern democracy. It hasn't been an easy process but a great deal of progress has been made. Coming from dictatorship, Romanians need help to formulate viable policies. Negative criticism from western advisors does not help - it rather tends to put off leaders here. Romanians need to recognise that "forest development" will include logging and, hopefully, the creation of a value-added wood-product industry. It's not enough to rely solely on the export of logs and sawn timber. Foreign visitors often remark on the extent of logging in Romania, however in one typical logging town, the annual harvest of just 1% of its 7,000-hectare forest results in many logging trucks coming down its one road. Done in a sustainable way, logging can keep a community gainfully employed. A comparison between a Romanian town blessed with woodlands and one without drives this home. The hope is for Romania to create a balanced forest policy, leading to development of the timber industry (including value-adding activities), the protection of natural reserves, and the development of tourism. Criticism by foreign media has not helped in this regard, although there are cases when it is justified, such as the controversial Rosia Montana mining proposal. Even so, such schemes might represent the final fling of the "old guard". More and more, the NATO and EU accession processes are encouraging legislators here to take a broader and more transparent approach. Along with timber-industry employment, Romania's forest policy should consider tourism. At present, logging does too much damage to hiking trails and areas that could be used for camping or other types of recreation. There will be conflicts between logging and tourism, but a balance can be struck. -- Story by Julian Ross, Working Horse Association of Romania * * * Albania Lacks Adequate Pesticide Law Tirana, 30 December 2002 - Pesticides imported into Albania as humanitarian or medical aid during the last 10 years are not adequately controlled by law. This has meant that pesticides here are used along the seacoast and in suburban areas, creating a hazard for humans, animals and sea life. Albania needs to project itself from this hazard, but authorities here are ill-equipped to do it. According to the Ministry of Environment, no permission was ever given for pesticide imports, yet these products flow uninterrupted onto the local market. In Albania, many polluters release liquid pesticides into rivers and other bodies of water but the perpetrators cannot be penalised because existing law on "environmental treatment of polluted waters" dates from 1974. "A lot of those subject to the law, despite their dangerous emissions, still act within the norms of 30 years ago, and this means we cannot penalise them," said a representative of the Ministry of Environment. During the last few years, almost half of the active industrial companies in Albania have been emitting dangerous liquids without proper drainage systems. Experts say that protection and maintenance natural waters is one of the weakest points of the responsible agencies. The most critical environmental problems will be identified within four years, according to a recent decision government decision. One area of major concern is arsenic releases in the city of Fier, considered a time bomb of health hazards for inhabitants. A clean-up project is estimated to cost up to USD 1 million. There remains a particular problem with releases of hazardous liquids in mountainous areas. These will require extensive physical and chemical treatment to prevent harm to nature. Some polluters will be slapped with severe penalties, and other could be shut down temporarily or for good. -- Story by "Massmedia and environement Association News", Albania. * * * Sandblasting Operation Hit With Temporary Closure Sarajevo, 28 December, 2002 - The Bosnian pressure group Fondeko recently announced an important environmental court victory. Upon recommendation by the ombudsman, the Ministry of Urbanism and Environmental Inspection ordered a factory that produces a sandblasting compound in the Diva Grabovica valley to cease production for 60 days. Fondeko have long lobbied for the protection of the natural wonders of Diva Grabovica in the Neretva Valley, but local officials did a little to uphold a high court decision in June 2000 to close down the sandblasting complex. Diva Grabovica is a fragile eco-system on Cvrsnica Mountain and is home to many endemic creatures, including an endangered species of wild goat. The sandblasting plant operated illegally for years with no intervention from the authorities. -- Story by Tim Clancy, FONDEKO, Bosnia and Herzegovina. * * * Government Threatens Shut-Down of Smelter Skopje, 30 January - The Macedonian Government has threatened to close a lead and zinc smelter in Veles if an investigation proves it is endangering the health of local residents, according to the Macedonian Ministry of Environment. The government recently decided to establish a special office to examine the pollution in Veles. It is to report to the cabinet by the end of February on the number of Veles citizens that have fallen ill due to air and water pollution. "We are currently measuring the pollution," said Snezana Nakovska, chief of cabinet at the Ministry of Environment. "But without the participation of the other ministries, the government cannot close the smelter. Instruments have been fitted on the smelter's filters, but we cannot say whether these filters function properly." According to other sources, precision Japanese instruments have been fitted onto the tops of the smelter's chimneys, and these should give accurate information on the composition of the exhaust and how hazardous it is. Hazardous gasses may be escaping from cracks in the lower parts of the chimneys. Some Veles parents have said they want to take their children to Moscow for special vitamin treatments and detoxification, but such treatments cost EUR 170 and their effectiveness takes six months to judge. The Ministry of Environment has not agreed to support examinations and treatments of Veles children by foreign doctors. "If the parents decide to take their children abroad for a treatment, it is their decision," Nakovska said. "We cannot interfere but there are institutions in Macedonia that can perform such tests. The competent persons from the Health Ministry should find a solution." Minister of Environment Ljubomir Janev caused controversy by stating that a file on pollution research in Veles mysteriously disappeared. Ministry officials have said the file was probably taken by former Minister Marjan Dodovski, who has denied the charge. The Ministry's central laboratory measured the pollution in Veles in the autumn of 2001 and spring 2002, and the state secretary at that time, Vladimir Cerkezov, said repeatedly that the data would be published soon. "The results cannot disappear just like that," Dodovski said. "They are in the Ministry and are available to anyone who is interested. Even if someone wanted to hide the data, it would emerge eventually. If some documents are lost, they can be replaced immediately with new ones." -- Story by Ljubica Grozdanovska, "Dnevnik", Macedonia. * * * Albania Swings Wrecking Ball at Illegal Buildings Tirana, 28 December 2002 - Albania has recently begun to crack down on the chaotic, un-permitted construction that plagues its urban and natural environments. In Albania, where once you could find refreshing parks, you may now find new buildings with a lack of esthetic merit or noticeable planning. The building of such structures comes at a great environmental cost, and their destruction costs money - money that could have been saved had building codes been followed in the first place. The demolition work causes air pollution and creates eyesores that remain indefinitely. Recently, the Albanian government approved a law against illegal buildings, which calls for protection of undeveloped land and rehabilitation of damaged areas. Some enforcement operations have taken place in the following cities: Tirana: More than 2,000 illegal buildings are slated for demolition, including pubs, restaurants, motels, discotheques, and ironically the offices of lawyers and health services. This is part of the project concerning "cleaning and greenness." Vlora: In one of the most beautiful cities of Albania, 200 illegal buildings will be demolished. The Council of Territory Regulation has decided that the 200 buildings on the Vlora coast will be demolished beginning November 28. The local government and its police force are already preparing for the activities in the Vjosa River Gorge, the Pish Porosw forest and the old beach of Zvernec. Shkodra: Albania's second big city is nestled in one of the most important environmental areas of the country. Local police, supported by City Hall, are engaged in the battering down of 150 illegally built structures. Other demolitions are needed in important environmental areas such as the Adriatic coast and the shores of Ohrid and Prespa lakes, which are are strewn with disorganized, illegal development. -- Story by "Massmedia and environement Association News", Albania. * * * 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 2003 by the Regional Environmental Press Center ********** | Home | About Us | News | Resources | Services |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
