CENN: Daily Digest – August 8, 2005 – Armenian Directory & News

CENN – August 8, Daily Digest
Table of Contents:
1. Protectors of Environment Argue with BP
2. The level of Poverty Raised by 3 Percent
3. Small Electric Power Station to be Built in Armenia
4.. Discussion of “Millennium Challenges” Program Pass Successfully
5.. Greenhouse effect could melt nearly all world’s glaciers, says
UN-backed report
6.. EIA Reports
7.. Electronic Conference on: Climate Change and Biodiversity
Conservation

1. Protectors of Environment Argue with BP

Source: “24 Saati” (“24 Hours”), July 30, 2005

Association “Green Alternative” has issued report on implementation of
Bako-Tbilisi-Jeihan Pipeline Construction. Report regards all the
violations that were disclosed by monitoring group in the last year
during construction. “During construction company caused great damage,
even – the damage of roads, irrigation channels and houses. Problems
were raised in the regions where the main income of population was
tourism. For example, in village Cemi due to drinking water pollution
holiday season was disrupted twice,” – declared head of “Green
Alternative” Manana Kocladze. Association “Green Alternative” demands
from Georgian Government report, which will elucidate how 40 million USA
dollars gave by “British Petroleum” were spent. As head of “Green
Alternative” declares in October 2004 “British Petroleum” transferred
this 40 million USA dollars to Georgian Government as grant to invest in
social and economic projects. In the contract signed between the
government and “British Petroleum” it is mentioned that all the
operations regarding this money should be transparent for community. “In
April of 2005 our organization demanded form the government and company
to issue information to make clear what projects were financed form this
grant. Since April we are waiting for replay. It must be investigated on
what basis private company transferred money to the government,” said
Manana Kochaldze.

2. The level of Poverty Raised by 3 Percent

“24 saaTi”(“24 Hours”), August 1, 2005

In Georgia the level of poverty have been raised by 3 percent. In
accordance with the Department of Statistics, in 2004 the level of
poverty was 16.9 percent. In 2002-2003 years this parameter was 16.3
percent. In accordance with the evaluation of the experts of Statistics
Department, in country the level of poverty raises rather slowly.

The highest level of poverty among the regions is characterized for
Qvemo Qartli and the lowest level – Imereti and Tbilisi.

3. SMALL ELECTRIC POWER STATIONS TO BE BUILT IN ARMENIA

Source: PanArmenian.Net. August 3, 2005

Within next few years small electric power stations with a capacity of
70 megawatt will be built in Armenia, RA Deputy Energy Minister Areg
Galstian stated. In his words, investments totaling in $70 million will
be made. At that the investments will be private. Various funds will be
formed for the creation renewable energy sources. The World Bank, the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, KfW Bank and
Kafeschian Foundation showed interest in the project. To remind, June 4
during a press conference in Yerevan World Bank Regional Vice President
for Europe and Central Asia, Shigeo Katsu stated that till end 2005 a
$10-million credit program for renewable energy sources will be launched
in Armenia jointly with the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, UN Ecology Foundation and a number of local financial
institutes. The funds will be also spent on the investigation of the
possibility of using wing energy for electric power processing. The cost
of the program can go up to $15 million, Express agency reports.

4. DISCUSSIONS OF “MILLENNIUM CHALLENGES” PROGRAM PASS
SUCCESSFULLY

Source: ARMENPRESS, August 4, 2005

This year the qualification round of the “Millennium Challenges” program
will end and afterwards the negotiations over preparation of the
agreement will launch, Tigran Khachatrian, deputy finance minister, told
at a press conference.

He said within the frameworks of the program a group of experts from US
arrived in Armenia to assess the separate points of the program from
qualification viewpoint. At present the effectiveness of the points is
being discussed i.e. whether they will secure economic growth and
promote the poverty reduction.

T. Khachatrian said the discussion of the program is going on
successfully and added that they have reached positive response over two
major points which are connected with the construction of community
roads and ensuring water supply. The two issues have been assessed as
important factors for securing economic growth and promoting poverty
reduction in Armenia. The deputy minister also noted that the first real
investments in the program will be made in 2007.

5. Greenhouse effect could melt nearly all world’s glaciers,
says UN-backed report

Source: UN news center, 4 August 2005

Dramatic scenarios from man-made global warming can no longer be
excluded, including the complete disappearance of glaciers from entire
mountain ranges, leading to processes “without precedent in the history
of the earth,” according to the latest update of a five-yearly United
Nations-supported report.

“The last five-year period of the 20th century has been characterized by
an overall tendency of continuous if not accelerated glacier melting,”
says the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) 1995-2000 edition of
the Fluctuations of Glaciers report, complied with the support of the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP).

“The two decades [from] 1980-2000 show a trend of increasingly negative
balances with average annual ice thickness losses of a few decimeters,”
it adds. “The observed trend of increasingly negative mass balances is
consistent with accelerated global warming.”

Analysis of repeated inventories shows that glaciers in the European
Alps have lost more than 50 per cent of their volume since the middle of
the 19th century, and that a further loss of roughly one fourth the
remaining volume is estimated to have occurred since the 1970s, the
report states.

“With a realistic scenario of future atmospheric warming, almost
complete deglaciation of many mountain ranges could occur within
decades, leaving only some ice on the very highest peaks,” it says.

Since the initiation in 1894 of a worldwide programme for collecting
standardized information on glacier changes, various aspects involved
have changed “in a most remarkable way,” the report notes.

Concern increases that the ongoing trend of worldwide and fast if not
accelerating glacier shrinkage at the century time scale is of
non-cyclic nature, there is definitely no more question of the
originally envisaged “variations périodiques des glaciers” as a
natural cyclical phenomenon, it states.

“Due to the human impacts on the climate system (enhanced greenhouse
effect), dramatic scenarios of future developments – including complete
deglaciation of entire mountain ranges – must be taken into
consideration,” it stresses.

“Such scenarios may lead far beyond the range of historical/holocene
variability and most likely introduce processes (extent and rate of
glacier vanishing, distance to equilibrium conditions) without
precedence in the history of the earth.”

6. EIA Reports

Source: “24 Saati” (“24 Hours”), July 29, 2005

In accordance with the Georgian legislation the following EIA reports
are submitted to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural
Resources of Georgia to obtain an environmental permit for the
activities of the second category:

1. “Koka” Ltd s “Project on Development of Lolasheni Deposit East
Part in Tkibuli Region Village Koka”;

2. CHF International – Georgia “Project on the
Construction-Functioning of Irrigation Systems in Qedi Region Villages”;

3. CHF International – Georgia “Arrangement -Rehabilitation of
Drinking and Technical Water Supply System in Samckhe-Javakheti Region
Villages”;

4. CHF International – Georgia “Project on the Rehabilitation of
Water Supply System of Kvareli Region Village Shakriana”;

5. “Merability” Ltd “Project on Development of Deposit of Sagarego
Region Sakhare and Grdzeli (Long) Lakes”;

6. Entrepreneur “Aleksandre Dadianidze” “Project on the
Arrangement Fishery in Gori Region nearby Village Karaleti”;

7. “Sagzamo-Samsheneblo Sammartveli N1” (“Road-Constructing
Institution N1”) “Project on the Arrangement Trout Fishery in Gori
Region nearby Village Karaleti”;

8. “Koromi” Ltd “Project on Development of Inert Materials Career
in Aspindza Region Village Nakalakevi”;

9. Adigeni Region Initiative Group “Project on Artificial
Melioration Water Reservoir in Adigeni Region Village Gordze”;

10. “Bordjomi Natural Product” Ltd “Project on Utilization of 20 Cubic
Meters Chitakhevi Fresh Water”.

EIA reports are available at the Department of Environmental Permits and
State Ecological Expertise (6 Gulua Str.). Interested stakeholders can
analyze the document and present their comments and considerations until
September 12, 2005.

Public hearing will be held on September 12, 2005 at 12:00, at the
conference hall of the Ministry of Environment.

7. Electronic Conference on: Climate Change and Biodiversity
Conservation

Dear colleagues,

The organizers of the UK presidency meeting of the European Platform for
Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS) and the Center for Ecology and
Hydrology (CEH) invite you to participate in the electronic conference
“Climate Change and Biodiversity Conservation: Knowledge needed to
support development of integrated adaptation strategies”, which will run
from 29th August to 16th September 2005. The results of the Electronic
Conference will be presented at the EPBRS delegates meeting in Aviemore
(Scotland), from 2nd to 5th October 2005.

The main scientific theme of UK EPBRS meeting is how climate change
impacts biodiversity and what adaptation strategies might be conceived.
The meeting will review the scientific evidence and provide
recommendations feeding directly into the EU Nature Directors meeting
(to be held in Aviemore from 5th to 7th October 2005). It is anticipated
that the recommendations will cover three areas:

(i) what we already know about impacts of climate change on biodiversity
and the policy options available;

(ii) what are the most important things that we need to find out in
order to develop adaptation strategies;

(iii) how we can ensure the flow of knowledge from research into policy
development.

The e-conference preceding the meeting will focus on the knowledge gaps
and research priorities regarding:

1. The development of adaptation strategies in terms of sites and
ecological networks;

2. The development of adaptation strategies working with other sectors
such as agriculture, forestry, water, energy etc;

3. Understanding, predicting and adapting to change in marine and
coastal ecosystems.

You are kindly invited to subscribe to the electronic conference by
filling the subscription form available at:

In case of any difficulty subscribing, please e-mail Juliette Young

E-mail: [email protected].

Note that there is no need to subscribe if you subscribed to the last
BioPlatform e-conference – you will automatically have access to this
e-conference.

This e-conference will run jointly with the MARBENA project

We would appreciate your kind help in forwarding this announcement to
anyone who might be interested.

For more detail information contact E-conference chairpersons:

Terry Parr

E-mail: [email protected]

Carlo Heip

E-mail: [email protected]

Also

Andrew Stott

UK EPBRS Organising Committee, Department for Environment, Food

and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

E-mail: [email protected]