CENN – May 13, 2004 Daily Digest
1. EIA Report of the ” Project on Processing of the Samshvilde Dacite,
Tetritskaro Region” By The “Georgian Geological and Mining National Company”
Ltd
2. CEE Environmental Health conference announcement
3. ANKARA: Gonul: 135 Million Tons Of Oil Were Transported Through
Turkish Straits
4. Ecology Problems Endanger Security Of Armenia
5. Dogs Won’t Be Killed
6. Armenia Tree Project Press Release — US Ambassador’s Roundtable
Participants Plant Evergreen at Tsitsernakaberd
7. AAA: MCC Selects Armenia for Direct Grant Program
8. Armenia, Global Day of Action
9. Growing demand for solar stand-alone systems in developing and
threshold countries
10. Greenpeace challenges Head of the World Bank to expand funding of
renewable energy projects
11. The World’s Largest Democratic Environmental Forum to Assemble in
Thailand in November 2004
1. EIA REPORT of the ” Project on Processing of the Samshvilde
Dacite, Tetritskaro Region” BY THE “Georgian Geological and Mining National
Company” Ltd
Source: “Sakartvelos Respublica” (“Republic of Georgia”), May 11, 2004
In accordance with the Georgian legislation, “Georgian Geological and Mining
National Company” Ltd. submitted EIA report to the Ministry of Environment
of Georgia to obtain an environmental permit for the activity of second
category Project on Processing of the Samshvilde Dacite, Tetritskaro Region.
EIA report is available at the press-center of the Ministry of Environment
(68, Kostava str., VI floor) and at the Department of Environmental Permits
and State Ecological Expertise (87, Paliashvili Str., Tel: 25 02 19).
Interested stakeholders can analyze the document and present their comments
and considerations until June 24, 2004.
Public hearing will be held on June 24, 2004 at 12:00, at the conference
hall of the Ministry of Environment.
2. CEE Environmental Health conference announcement
First Biennial Central and Eastern European Environmental Health Conference
The Central and Eastern European Environmental Health Conference will have
four primary objectives:
a. To gather scientists and students from the U.S. and Central and
Eastern Europe to discuss environmental health issues of common interest;
b. To discuss improved methods for assessing exposure and predicting
dose;
c. To discuss specific health effects associated with exposure to
chemicals at waste sites with a focus on developmental and reproductive
health; and,
d. To explore the latest advances in risk management technologies,
tools, and techniques.
The improvement of Environmental Health in the U.S. and CEE countries is
dependent on education and training of young scientists. Thus, a major focus
of this conference is to encourage collaborations between engineers,
toxicologists, environmental health practitioners, and other disciplines
with their academic counterparts. Scholarships are available.
Key dates
May 15 Abstracts, first round
June 30 Deadline, early registration
July 15 Abstracts, second round
September 30 Deadline, early registration for students
Sponsors include the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and the World Health
Organization (WHO)
3. ANKARA: Gonul: 135 Million Tons Of Oil Were Transported
Through Turkish Straits
Source: Anadolu Agency, Turkey, May 10, 2004
Turkish National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul has said, ”135 million tons
of oil were transported through Turkish Straits last year. This amount is
expected to increase by nearly 50 percent in 2010.”
Speaking at a panel discussion on ”Security in Black Sea Region” under the
21st International Workshop on Global Security Conference in German capital
Berlin, Mr. Gonul highlighted important of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil
pipeline project, saying that the project would enable them to transport 50
million tons of oil annually.
Expressing Turkey’s satisfaction with co-operation in efforts to provide
peace and stability in the Black Sea region despite ongoing crises in
Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan, Gonul said that trade in the region had
accelerated, stability had been provided and relations between regional
nations had been improved since 1992.
Stressing that Turkey attributed great importance to regional and
international co-operation and solidarity, Gonul recalled that Turkey had
been actively supporting the Balkan Stability Pact, Southeast European
Defense Ministers’ Initiative and the Black Sea Economic Co-operation
(BSEC).
Noting that Turkey had further improved its bilateral relations with the
regional countries after the Cold War era ended, Gonul said that 23 separate
conventions and protocols were signed with the Black Sea littoral countries
to this end.
Recalling that co-operation agreements were signed with Russia and Ukraine,
Gonul noted, ”Turkey’s bilateral relations with Bulgaria, Romania and
Georgia have further improved following the Cold War era. Another
significant security dimension of the Black Sea stems from its strategic
position as a transit corridor for energy resources. Besides Russian oil,
Caspian oil has also been transported through the Black Sea. Meanwhile,
Turkey is seriously concerned over increasing vessel traffic in the Black
Sea and in the Turkish Straits.”
Referring to political problems in the Black Sea region, Gonul said,
”Southern Caucasus has begun gaining more importance due to transportation
of oil, natural gas and foodstuff. Any instability in the region would have
negative impacts not only on the region, but on the whole Europe and
Atlantic.”
Listing autonomous Republic of Adzharia and the Upper Karabakh disputes as
the most important sources of instability in the region, Gonul called on the
regional countries to exert more efforts to resolve these crises.
Gonul added, ”the Black Sea countries should also take some further steps
in fight against international terrorism, organized crimes and weapons of
mass destruction. I believe that improvement of bilateral relations in the
region would make a valuable contribution to efforts to provide peace and
stability in the region.”
4. Ecology Problems Endanger Security Of Armenia
Source: A1 Plus, May 10, 2004
The ecology crisis may abet the political instability. Settlement of
ecological problems helps to lessen the political tension. There are
numerous unsolved issues in the ecology sphere of Armenia, which may
endanger safety of the country.
The members of OSCE and UNEP told this during the discussion over
“Assessment of “Hot Spots” in Ecology and Security Spheres of Armenia”.
The aim of this program is to find the reasons of deterioration of the
environment in South Caucasus states and to apply measures to prevent them.
According to OSCE Economy and Ecology Councilor Gianluca Rampolla, drinking
water pollution, the waste, the old industrial establishments, which may
cause accidents during natural disasters, are the problems endangering
Armenia.
Mr. Gianluca informed that program would be introduced in Azerbaijan the
following week.
5. Dogs Won’t Be Killed
Source: A1 Plus, May 10, 2004
Yerevan Vice-Mayor Arman Sahakyan has today met journalists at a press
conference. He announced there are about 10.000 stray animals in Yerevan.
According to him, the stray dogs won’t be killed. They will be injected,
sterilized, cleansed and released.
“500-1000 animals in Yerevan can be sterilized daily”, Sahakyan says.
Armenian Government has allotted 20 million drams to solve the problem of
stray animals. But Vice-Mayor thinks it is not much.
He also informed that the cemeteries located intolerably near the dwelling
zones of Yerevan will be moved to new areas.
6. Armenia Tree Project Press Release — US Ambassador’s
Roundtable Participants Plant Evergreen at Tsitsernakaberd
Armenia Tree Project
Yerevan 375025, Aygestan 9th Str., #6
Tel./Fax (374 1) 569910
Internet:
E-mail: trees@arminco.com
Press Release
May 10, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
US Ambassador’s Roundtable Participants Plant Evergreen at Tsitsernakaberd
Thursday, May 06 – John Ordway, the US Ambassador to Armenia, presided
during a special tree planting ceremony at Tsitsernakaberd on May 6, 2004 as
part of the Spring 2004 meetings of the semi-annual “U.S. Ambassador’s
Diaspora Roundtable.” After laying flowers in front of the Eternal Flame,
Roundtable participants planted a tree with the Ambassador in the alley of
evergreens. Armenia Tree Project (ATP) arranged the tree planting. Susan
Yacubian Klein, ATP Country Director, who also participated in the
Ambassador’s Diaspora Roundtable, accompanied the Ambassador during this act
of respect.
For further information, please contact Karen Sarkavagyan at the Armenia
Tree Project, phone numbers 569910 and 553069, E-mailtrees@arminco.com
The Armenia Tree Project was founded in 1994 during Armenia’s darkest and
coldest years with the vision of securing Armenia’s future by protecting
Armenia’s environment. Funded by contributions from Diasporan Armenians, ATP
has planted and rejuvenated over 500,000 trees at more than 450 sites
ranging from Gumri to Goris.
7. AAA: MCC Selects Armenia for Direct Grant Program
Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: info@aaainc.org
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2004
Contact: David Zenian
E-mail: zenian@aaainc.org
MCC SELECTS ARMENIA FOR DIRECT GRANT PROGRAM
Washington, DC – Armenia and 15 other countries were recognized by the
United States as “good partners” who can apply for financial assistance
through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) created by the U.S.
government to help select countries of the world, MCC Chief Executive
Officer Paul V. Applegarth said at a news conference last week.
“Being selected as a country eligible for funding through the MCC’s
Millennium Challenge Account means that the United States considers the
selected country a good partner and that it clearly deserves further
encouragement. But this partnership is based on accountability,” Applegarth
told reporters.
“The Armenian Assembly welcomes the U.S. decision which is yet another
window of opportunity for Armenia to reinforce sound political, economic and
social policies that promote economic growth. We congratulate the
government and people of Armenia for winning this global competition for
additional American support,” Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair
Hovnanian said.
In making its determination, the Board of Directors of the MCC considered
both the past and current policy performance of the candidate countries in
the areas of “governing justly, investing in their own people and promoting
economic freedom.”
“It is very encouraging to see that Armenia has cleared the first major
hurdle and is now eligible to apply for funding through the billion dollar
MCC aid program set up by the Bush Administration to support policies that
promote good government. Assuming that Armenia’s proposals are ultimately
funded, this will mark the first direct grant from the U.S. to the
government of Armenia,” Hovnanian said.
The other selected countries are: Benin, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Georgia,
Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua,
Senegal, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu.
Applegarth, who was nominated to the post as MCC Chief Executive Officer,
and confirmed by the Senate this week, said: “Our mission – encouraging and
rewarding good policies that produce sustainable economic growth – holds
profound implications for freedom and security across the globe. Today’s
decision demonstrates the clear commitment of the U.S. to reducing poverty
and human suffering. This is a new approach to foreign aid. We want to
encourage partnership, and we want to promote good government.”
Applegarth said it was now up to the selected countries, including Armenia,
to present their “specific plans and proposals” for further scrutiny and
evaluation before any determination is made on the amount of aid each
country will get.
“Let us not take anything for granted. Being on the list of selected
countries does not mean an automatic qualification for assistance from
Millennium Challenge Account,” he said.
Applegarth said the next and more important step now included a hands-on
evaluation by an MCC technical group to each of the selected countries and
the submission of specific and compact proposals by the countries
themselves.
“The money is in place, and it is up to the selected countries to move fast
and get their specific requests in. But we have to underline one important
factor: We expect accountability and there is no such thing as a perpetual
qualification. Any country could be dropped if it fails to meet
expectations,” Applegarth said.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
8. Armenia, Global Day of Action
“Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment” NGO calls environmental
organizations and mass media to celebrate the Stockholm Convention on POPs
entry into force on 17th May.
The world has taken one bigger step today in halting and reversing the
poisoning of global ecosystems and peoples. Armenia is one of more than 50
countries that have agreed to be bound by the Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants. This is the first world-wide agreement aimed
at stopping the production and use of some of the world’s most toxic
substances. The convention officially comes into force on May the 17th,
triggering obligations on the part of the countries that belong to the
convention.
It obliges countries to begin working toward ending the production and use
of the twelve chemicals listed under the convention: The list includes
pesticides such as aldrin, cholordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor,
hexachlorobenzene, mirex and toxaphene. Industrial chemicals in the list
include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and unintended byproducts, which
include dioxins, and furans. These POPs are highly toxic, and persist in the
environment, lasting for years or even decades before degrading into less
dangerous forms. They evaporate and travel long distances through the air
and through water, and they accumulate in fatty tissue.
So this is a time to celebrate, secure in the knowledge that better health
and a better environment for all has not been bought at the expense of
poorer nations. However, we celebrate cautiously.
Pesticides usage in Armenia has been always widespread both in agriculture
and in public health. Obsolete and banned pesticides, lack of inventory,
storage and disposal are especially important and urgent issue among
environmental problems in Armenia. Among the POPs problems the stockpile of
obsolete pesticides is one of the major concerns. The situation is
complicated by the fact that the burial place is located just in the
mudflows area on the top of the hill. The major environmental treated
represent PCB, contained in old and out of order equipment, such as
refrigerators, transformers and condensers. Huge number of enterprises in
Soviet Armenia was considered sources of dioxins, furans and biphenyls. Some
of them still exist.
The list has already been started by scientists working in the fields of
health and the environment. Some are older chemicals that should really have
been on the original Stockholm Convention list, such as Lindane. This is a
pesticide that has been showing up at disturbing levels in some parts of the
world. Lindane has a bad effect of peoples’ nervous and immune systems, and
has been identified as a potential cause of cancer.
Researchers are also beginning to see startling levels of some newer
chemicals building up in people and animals. Brominated flame retardants,
chemicals used to make materials more fire-proof, are showing up in the
breast milk of people around the world. More than 200,000 tonnes of this
chemical are produced each year. It is not yet clear what effects these
chemicals have, but they are of concern because they have been shown to
accumulate in the bodies of people and animals.
The process to get these substances, and others, added to the substances
controlled by the Stockholm convention is not very easy. The substances have
first to be proposed for addition by at least one country, which has then to
supply information on the chemical, its properties and effects or likely
effects on the environment and people. There is then a series of reviews of
the information, until finally; all the countries which have ratified the
Convention get to decide on whether or not to include the new chemical in
the Convention. Governments tend to only undertake this sort of action if
they are convinced that it is required by their people.
For the Stockholm Convention to be effective, it must be an active
Convention, continually responding to the challenges of a changing world.
For that to happen our governments must understand that we will continue to
watch, and to push for them to ensure that the good start made by this
convention does not falter.
9. Growing demand for solar stand-alone systems in developing and
threshold countries
Industry Forum Photovoltaics for Rural Electrification
Freiburg, 06.05.2004. Intersolar, Europe’s largest solar technology trade
fair (24 to 26 June 2004), will offer a prestigious platform to
international companies and representatives from the world of research and
science. This year’s programme will feature an English-language industry
forum on Photovoltaics for Rural Electrification, organized by the Club for
Rural Electrification (CLE). Hand in hand with plant connected to the grid,
stand-alone systems are now becoming increasingly important for sustained
energy development, explains Rafael Wiese, Managing Director of CLE. The
event is aimed at international decision-makers in economics and politics,
financial services providers and NGOs.
The electrification of areas not connected to the grid in developing or
threshold countries is essential to the development of infrastructure in
rural zones. Photovoltaic technology is ideal for providing a sustained and
economically viable basic power supply in the sunny regions of developing
and threshold countries. Stand-alone systems generated some 100 MW in 2003.
Experts estimate that around 2 million of these systems are used around the
world to provide a basic supply of electricity for light, radio and TV. In
Europe, stand-alone systems provide a degree of independence from national
grids, and are especially popular for camping and leisure activities.
The Photovoltaics for Rural Electrification industry forum at Intersolar
2004 offers information on export markets with opportunities for
decentralised power supply facilities. The organiser, the Club for Rural
Electrification is an association of companies and institutes which has set
itself the objective of improving the competitive situation for medium-sized
German PV companies and facilitating market access for these operators.
Member companies will be presenting their ideas and products at Intersolar.
Those who attend the forum will be able to swap ideas in one-to-one
discussions with the speakers. All presentations will be in English.
This year’s Intersolar is expected to attract some 11,000 visitors. A
wide-ranging programme featuring over 20 separate events will cover the
entire spectrum of international solar industry operations. Intersolar
fringe events will include a review of the latest product developments in
the solar sector. Excursions around the Freiburg solar region will also be
available.
For the latest information please see or
Further information:
Solar Promotion GmbH
Mr. Horst Dufner
P.O. Box 100 170
D-75101 Pforzheim
Tel.:+49 (0) 7231 / 35 13 80
Fax:+49 (0) 7231 / 35 13 81
dufner@intersolar.de
10. Greenpeace challenges Head of the World Bank to expand
funding of renewable energy projects
Issued Wednesday 12th May, 2004: Greenpeace is set to challenge James
Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, to establish a new direction for
World Bank lending on energy and to immediately increase lending on
renewable energy projects to equal lending on fossil fuels. Greenpeace would
welcome the opportunity to work with the World Bank to implement clean
energy projects in the developing world if such a re-balancing in its energy
portfolio took place.
It is estimated that 2 billion people in the world currently don’t have
access to electricity. The World Bank, which was set up with the aim of
alleviating poverty and is funded by taxpayers in supporting countries, has
over the past decade spent 18 times more on fossil fuels and the
conventional energy sector than on renewable energy (2).
Greenpeace UK Executive Director Stephen Tindale said, “By shifting funding
to renewable energy the World Bank could dramatically improve the
livelihoods and prospects of billions of people in the developed and
developing worlds while protecting the climate.”
He continued, “Climate change poses the most significant environmental
challenge facing the world today and its impact will be felt
disproportionately by the billion plus people in the developing world who
live on less than a dollar a day. They are the ones who are particularly
vulnerable to extreme weather events, reductions in rainfall and changes in
disease vectors.”
He added “There is an environmental, economic and social imperative to help
the countries in the South develop without compromising their future or
exploiting their resources in an unsustainable way. Renewable energy is one
of the key ways to achieve this.”
The renewable energy industry needs public support from institutions like
the World Bank to ramp up investment significantly and promote its product,
especially in the rapidly growing economies of the developing world.
There is a precedent for a shift in the focus of World Bank lending. In the
1990s, projected demand for refrigeration in the rapidly growing economies
of the developing world – and especially China – demonstrated that the
problem of ozone depletion was set to become much worse.
The World Bank, along with Greenpeace, worked with the Chinese government
and one of the biggest manufacturer of refrigerators in the world to produce
a refrigerator that met the needs of the increasingly prosperous Chinese
population without making a clearly identified environmental problem even
worse.
Backing the Greenpeace proposal Wei Lin of the Chinese Renewable Energy
Industries Association said, “Renewable energy can play an important role in
China’s future. Support from the World Bank for China’s renewable energy
efforts would be a significant boost to the country’s plans. With the World
Bank’s help, China could deliver considerable renewable energy capacity,
foster the industry and develop skills to harness renewables. For example,
for wind energy alone there is the potential to develop 20GW by 2020, the
equivalent of more than 7 nuclear power stations the size of the UK’s
Sizewell B plant”.
The call will be made at the Greenpeace Business lecture (1) in central
London tomorrow (13th May).
The new initiative from Greenpeace comes as the World Bank considers the
results of the Extractive Industries Review (EIR) conducted on behalf of the
World Bank by Professor Emil Salim of Indonesia (2). The EIR found that
funding extractive industry projects was not a suitable use of public money
in the vast majority of cases and does not promote sustainable development.
It recommends that the Bank re-allocate funding towards renewable energy.
Greenpeace is one of 300 organisations that have written to Wolfensohn
calling on him to radically reform the way the World Bank supports oil and
mining industries. Others include Oxfam, Amnesty International, Friends of
the Earth as well as investors representing over $400 billion. Four Nobel
laureates including Archbishop Desmond Tutu have also urged the Bank to
adopt the review’s recommendations.
In the letter to Wolfensohn, Tutu and the other Nobel Laureates said, “War,
poverty, climate change, greed, corruption, and ongoing violations of human
rights…these scourges are linked to the oil and mining industries. Your
efforts to create a world without poverty need not exacerbate these
problems.
“The Review provides you an extraordinary opportunity to direct the
resources of the World Bank Group in a way that is truly oriented towards a
better future for all humanity.”
Editor’s Notes:
For more information contact Greenpeace press office on 0207 865 8255.
(1) The Greenpeace Business Lecture is taking place at the Royal Society of
Arts, 8 John Adam Street, London WC2 on 13 May 2004. Registration begins at
5.45pm and the lecture starts at 6.30pm prompt. Media spaces are strictly
limited and must be organised in advance. To check if spaces are left
contact Louise Edge, at Greenpeace Press Office on 0207 865 8255.
(2) For more information on the EIR, view
11. THE WORLD’S LARGEST DEMOCRATIC ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM TO ASSEMBLE IN
THAILAND IN NOVEMBER 2004
Source: IUCN, May 12, 2004
How can our planet meet the needs of growing populations and expanding
markets without sacrificing nature? This question will be at the heart of
the debate at the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress, which will open on
17 November in Bangkok, Thailand, under the theme: “People and Nature – only
one world”. The Congress is the governing body of IUCN – The World
Conservation Union. It is held every four years and represents the world’s
largest democratic environmental forum where governments and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) jointly establish conservation
priorities, guide the Union’s policy and approve its Programme. IUCN’s six
specialist Commissions draw on the expertise of some 12,000 of the world’s
leading scientists, practitioners, economists, lawyers, and educators.
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
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Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
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