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SEE ENVIRONMENT WATCH Information for journalists interested in the Environment of South Eastern Europe June 6, 2003 * Volume 2, Number 7 |
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* * * Waste Avalanche Threatens Danube Belgrade, June 2003 - A landfill that already pollutes a tributary to the Danube may fall into the Danube if plans for expand the dump go through. The main waste dump for Belgrade poses one of that city's biggest utility problems. The landfill, sited 14 kilometres away next to the town of Vinca, accepts most of the solid waste for 1.6 million residents. The city produces around 1,200 tonnes of waste per day. On a weekday about 160 truckloads of refuse are dumped at the site, and traffic slows only slightly on Saturday and Sunday. Local authorities plan to expand the landfill, operation since 1970, by 50 hectares to a total of 130 total hectares. This will be achieved by adding to the depth of the waste in the valley. According to experts at International Waste Management Group (IWMG), the waste mass, which is 60 metres deep in places, could slide down the valley into the Danube. No obstacles would prevent such an avalanche, the orchards on the lower slopes of the valley being no match millions of tonnes garbage. The landfill site itself is basically a tributary valley of the Danube, and it is being filled in a rather haphazard manner. The site is not lined and the tributary flows through the centre of the site - in some places directly under the mass of refuse. No consideration has been given to the protection of ground waters, surface runoff or drainage. Environmentalists have urged for the implementation of a waste separation system for Belgrade households, but much investment would be needed to buy several thousand containers selective-waste containers, vehicles to transport them, and appropriate facilities to recycle the waste for use by industry. This problem exists not only in Belgrade but all over Serbia and Montenegro. Some believe the problem cab be solved only with foreign investment. -- Story by Ekoforum, contact: repc_eko@yahoo.com * * * Campaign Wins Temporary Ban on GMOs Tirana, June 2003 - A parliamentary commission voted for a five-year ban on imports into Albania of genetically modified products, and ordered the environmental ministry to prepare a legal framework on such goods. The issue has stirred debate in the Albanian media about whether the country should open its doors to genetically modified organisms, or "GMOs." The arguments began when officials from the Albanian Food Ministry negotiated to open the market to genetically modification soybean and corn. The Organic Agricultural Association began a public-education campaign in conjunction with 24 environmental associations and 45 scientists to explain what genetically modified organisms are and why they should not be allowed onto the market. Protestors also exerted pressure on the Albanian Parliament, suggesting the changing of an article in the draft law about the protection of biodiversity. Lavdosh Ferruni, head of the Organic Agricultural Association, said the Parliamentary Commission for Food approved a change to Article 31 in the biodiversity protection bill. Now it includes a paragraph stating that "Importation and introduction of GMOs are banned from entering Albania for a period of five years," Ferruni said. The commission ordered that during this time the environment ministry must prepare a framework law on GMOs. The director for biodiversity protection at the environment ministry, Zamir Dedej, confirmed that a draft law for GMOs had been prepared by the Environment Ministry. That statute will permit the presence, importation or introduction of GMOs only after a scientific study has been conducted to evaluate the given product's risk and impacts on the environment. These studies will determine the parameters of any license given by the environment ministry, Dedej said. Through Dedej credited the GMO campaign for its positive result, he noted that the protestors didn't propose steps to implement the ban or suggest an institution to enforce it. -- Story by Raimonda Sallaku Nelku, Masmedia and Environment Association, Albania - contact: raymillenium@yahoo.com. * * * Funds Found to Clean Discharges into Ohrid Lake Pogradec, June 2003 - Sewage flowing into Ohrid Lake from its Albanian shore will finally be treated according to international environmental standards. The German Bank for Reconstruction and Development, KFW, has lent its support for a new wastewater treatment plant in accordance with an agreement signed recently between the Albanian and German governments. Support will be provided in the form of finance, consultancy and management to the city of Pogradec's Water Supply and Sewerage Enterprise. The pledge of support is an extension of technical and financial assistance by KFW given over the last half year. Of the total EUR 17 million in the new support package, the German Bank for Reconstruction and Development will provide EUR 12 million with the Swiss Government picking up the rest. The funding is dedicated to two purposes, to ensure an around-the-clock water supply to Pogradec and to build a sewage treatment plant for the discharges into Ohrid Lake. A Tirana-based representative of KFW, Piro Trebicka, said the project is not only important to the fish and wildlife of the lake but also to the tourist industry. -- Story by Raimonda Sallaku Nelku, Masmedia & Environment Association, Albania - contact: raymillenium@yahoo.com. * * * Awards Given for TV Programmes on Environment Ohrid, June 2003 - The TV programme "Until it becomes too late," produced by Turkish Radio Television 2, won the Grand Prix of ECO 2003, an international festival of TV programmes about environmental protection and cultural inheritance. The annual ceremony, held for the fourth year, ran Jun 3-5 in Ohrid, Macedonia. The award for best screenplay went to Vladimir Arsovski and Maja Pandeva for the programme "Scream of the Forgotten," produced by Macedonian Television. Yorgos Philipeos was named best director for his programme, "Ships on the Bottom of the Sea," produced by the Greek Television ERT 3. Rein Hard Radtke won the top prize for best camera work for the German production "Monkey Soldiers." The best-editing prize went to Valja Kovaceva for "Fantasy for a City and a Drum," produced by Bulgarian Television. The Association of Environmental Journalists presented its annual award to Romanian TV for the programme, "Smog as Fog." The UNESCO award for a film that best illustrates the values of peace and tolerance among people was presented to Czech Television for the film, "A Drop from the Cup of Immortality." During the festival, a total of 35 TV programmes were screened from Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Greece, the Czech Republic, Malta, Moldova, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Belgium, Ireland, Great Britain, Algeria, Morocco and Turkey. The festival was organised by Macedonian Radio Television, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning. Minister of Environment and Physical Planning Ljubomir Janev said during his opening remarks, "The topic of this festival is the merger of economy, culture and Ohrid, because we all need to take care of the cultural heritage and pass it to future generations as well as take care of our nature and environment." As part of the festival, TV officials from the national stations of Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia and Montenegro, Romania and Moldavia discussed the series "Balkan TV Magazine" and agreed to create programmes about current archaeological research that would be popular to tourists. Participants viewed the TV film "Let's save the Splendor of the Pearl" and could take part in a related debate. They also observed World Environment Day on June 5. The director of the Hydrobiology Bureau in Ohrid, Goce Kosteski, noted that certain activities during the past decade have jeopardized the nomination of Ohrid Lake, first made in 1980, for the UNESCO Registry for World Natural Heritage. He said that the responsibilities arising from this nomination are protection and conservation of natural landscapes, including the shoreline, and the flora and fauna of the eco-system. The population also must protect the water from mechanical, chemical and biological pollution. Representatives of the public utility "Pro Aqua" said that 66 percent of wastewater from the cities of Ohrid and Struga is filtered through a common system, and several activities have been undertaken to increase this rate to 80 percent in Ohrid and up to 90 percent in Struga. -- For more information on the web page www.moe.gov.mk. * * * Campaign Launched to Reclaim Dojran Lake Dojran, June 2003 - Officials and scientists from Macedonia, along with a representative of UNESCO, launched a campaign to reclaim Dojran Lake from a decades-long environmental neglect. State Secretary of the Ministry of Environment Kiril Nastovski said in his opening speech of the inaugural two-day seminar that the starting date was significant. June 5 was World Environment Day and 2003 was the international year for fresh water. He said that UNESCO's support, financial and otherwise, was of great importance for revitalisation of the lake and the region. Lidija Topuzovska, a Macedonia-based representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, confirmed UNESCO's commitment to the cause, noting that it had supported two projects concerning Dojran Lake. "This lake is the richest in the Balkans in micro-flora and fish," said Pance Stojanovski, a scientist who has been researching the lake for 30 years. However, he noted that the lake suffered huge ecological damages which cannot be corrected without an agreement with the Greek government. Stojanovski said that in 1988, on request of Greece, the then Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) allowed five million cubic metres of water to be released from the lake. But Greece took advantage and took 18 million cubic metres, devastating the lake's plankton, the main link in the food chain, Stojanovski said. Thus began the destruction of much of the lake's original flora and fauna as well as 109 species of algae. A system was built to fill the water from the area known as Gjavacko Pole. The system now must be maintained and species must be reintroduced in order to revitalize the lake. Local authorities also need to clean the shoreline of macro-vegetation and mud and those concerned must settle on an appropriate environmental management strategy. The first step should be the signing of a bilateral agreement with Greece on transboundary water management, concluded the participants of the campaign launch. It was also agreed that the lake should be nominated as a UNESCO world heritage site, that a special web-site should be developed and that the international public be alerted to the issue. -- For more information on the web page www.moe.gov.mk. * * * SEE Environment Watch is published twice a month and contains news and information about major environmental issues from South Eastern Europe. It aims to provide an alternative information source for the journalists covering environmental issues. The SEE Environment Watch is published by the Regional Environmental Press Center (REPC), a network of media resource points the SEE region. All rights reserved by REPC. More information and services for environmental journalists from REPC at www.repc.net. ********** Copyright 2003 by the Regional Environmental Press Center ********** | Home | About Us | News | Resources | Services |
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