Caucasus Environmental NGO Network
(CENN)
Weekly Digest
September 14, 2005
NEWS FROM GEORGIA
Projects Under Millennium Challenge Program to be Launched in Spring
2006
Source: Sarke Information Agency, September 6, 2005
Projection works are underway, while projects themselves, which are
worth
around $300 million, will be launched in spring 2006 as part of the
Millennium Challenge
<; more Poverty risks in Georgia Source: The Messenger, September 9, 2005 At the UN Millennium summit n 2000, former President Eduard Shevardnadze signed the Millennium Declaration with other world leaders and it so doing, shouldered the -obligation to reduce poverty in Georgia by one half by 2015. During the subsequent five years, however, poverty has only riser in the country. In determining the definition of poverty, the indicators used are the minimum cost of living and the poverty line, though many experts contend <; more Tbilisi's Lost Secret Garden Source: The Georgian Times, September 12, 2005 The green wonder above Tbilisi, the invigorating fresh air, the merry and sparkling splashes of a mountain cascade, the balmy rainbow of rare flowers and the self-sacrificing work of devoted research assistants and simple workers, their heartache for the beauty they have taken care of during all their lives - this is 'Tbilisi's lost secret garden'. Throughout its long history, the Tbilisi Botanical Garden (TBG) has seen periods of development and prosperity, as well as hard times of pain and humiliation when it fell into decay. The Tbilisi Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Georgia has passed through some significant stages in the almost 370 years of its existence. The history of the Garden began in 1636 <; more Amazing and Colorful Variety of Flowers Source: The Georgian Times, September 12, 2005 Bright and always lively flowers have great power and this has been known since the very ancient times. A bunch of flowers can make a crying child smile as he becomes interested in their shape and color; it can melt a cold heart of a woman and cause the tears of gratefulness, love and tenderness in the mother's eyes. Many think that they posses really mystic power and it is hard not, to agree with it, at least partly, as flowers are with us during the most emotional minutes of our lives. Georgia was always famous for its rare and beautiful flowers. As our warm and mild climate was favorable to the growing of almost all kinds of decorative plants <; more NEWS FROM AZERBAIJAN CONSTRUCTION OF AZERBAIJANI PART OF SCP TO BE COMPLETED IN 2005 Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, September 4, 2005 The overall South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) project's Azerbaijani part is about 70 per cent complete, AzerTAj correspondent told by the BP press-service. To date the constructors had strung 398 km of pipe, welded 330 km in Azerbaijani sector <; more BP SOCIAL INVESTMENT PROGRAMME UNDERWAY Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, September 5, 2005 Implementation of a $1mln 736 thousand-social investment programme, covering the Baku-Tbilisi Ceyhan Oil pipeline and South Caucasus Gas Pipeline <; more NEXT MEETING OF KAZAKH-AZERBAIJANI WORKING GROUP ON BTC DUE Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, September 5, 2005 The Kazakh-Azerbaijani intergovernmental working group that has been established for transporting of Kazakh oil via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline will hold its next meeting on September 15, AzerTAj correspondent refers on the State Oil Company (SOCAR). The meeting will discuss all concluding details of the agreement <; more Swiss company purchases September portion of Baku-Novorossiysk oil Source: Inside Europe, September 7, 2005 Swiss Litasco company has become the purchaser of 79,000 tons of oil to be exported by the State Oil Company (SOCAR) through the Baku-Novorossiysk northern pipeline in September. The consignment loaded into tankers <; more NEWS FROM ARMENIA Yerevan to be Cleaned Source: Eeinnews, September 5, 2005 Yerevan will be cleaned with the help of a Russian company with which the Armenian side has signed a contract to get refuse-cleaning containers. The head of the Construction, reconstruction and communal economy department of the Yerevan municipality Frunzik Basentsyan informed about it today. The residents of the Arabkir community <; more Basin of Lake Arpi to Become National Park Source: ARMENPRESS, September 7, 2005 The basin of Lake Arpi and Akhurian River, situated in the Ashotzk mountains, close to the borders with Turkey and Georgia, approximately 110 km northwest of the city of Yerevan, in northwestern Armenia will be turned into a national park. Financial aid is expected <; more FORESTS IN ARZNI AND NUBARASHEN RESTORED Source: ARMINFO, September 7, 2005 The Forests Restoration and Development Fund of Armenian jointly with the Armenian Agricultural Ministry have elaborated two programs on restoration of forests in Arzni and Nubarashen. Executive Director of FRDF Vladimir Movsisyan made this statement at a discussion at the Armenian Government today. <; more Economic Growth and Reduction of Poverty in Armenia? Source: Einnews, September 9, 2005 According to the 2005 report about Human development, Armenia occupies the 83rd place among the 177 countries in the world. The calculations of the report have been made on the ground of the 2003 statistic facts and in three directions: education, life length and Gross output. <; more International News Environmental-US: Wetlands Loss Left Gulf Coast Naked to Storm Source: Inter Press Service News agency (IPS): by Stephen Leahy, September 1, 2005 Massive destruction of wetlands and rampant coastal development are among the reasons Hurricane Katrina may have killed thousands of people on the U.S. Gulf Coast and wreaked upwards of 25 billion dollars in damages. "This was predicted. It is not surprising that a Category Four storm like Katrina would result in such devastation," said Robert Twilley, director of the Wetland Biogeochemistry Institute at Louisiana State University <; more River Roding Flood Risk Strategy Open Meeting Source: Environmental Agency, September 5, 2005 People living or working in the floodplain of the River Roding can find out about their level of flood risk and the long-term options to manage it, at an open evening next week. On September 14 the Environment Agency is holding an open evening in Woodford Green giving people an opportunity to view large maps showing the extent of the floodplain and look at the different options currently being investigated to manage the risk of flooding <; more Millennium Golas: Watery South Pacific Has Not a Drop to Drink Source: Inter Press Service News agency (IPS): by Kalinga Seneviratne, September 5, 2005 The Pacific Ocean covers 32 million square kilometers of blue water that takes up a third of the world's surface, and its 10,000 scattered islands with a land mass of 130,000 square kilometers is home to 8 million people. Yet, most of them lack potable water. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG), committed to by the world's governments five years ago, aims <; more EU and China Climate Policy cut from the Same Cloth Source: WWF News, September 5, 2005 The EU and China, two key actors in the global political arena, have signed an agreement on global warming, recognizing the huge economic, social, and environmental importance of climate change. At the Annual EU-China Summit in Beijing, China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, who holds the European Union Presidency, and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, agreed <; more Mount Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Programme begins in East Africa Source: The World Conservation Union (IUNC), September 6, 2005 Good news for the conservation of Mount Elgon: On 2 September an agreement was signed between the East African Community Secretariat, the Government of Norway and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to implement the four-year programme of integrated ecosystem management for Mount Elgon, one of Africa's largest mountains shared between Kenya and Uganda. <; more Hundreds of Orangutans Captured or Killed Each Year in Kalimantan, New Report Shows Source: WWF, September 6, 2005 Hundreds of orangutans are either killed or captured every year in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. A new Traffic report, launched today to coincide with the Inter-governmental conference of UNESCO's Great Apes Survival Project in Kinshasa (DRC), warns <; more `Green' Parliamentarians to Promote Improved Forest Governance in Central Africa Source: IUNC The World Conservation Union, September 6, 2005 Gland, Switzerland, 2 September 2005 (IUCN) - A high level delegation from the Republic of Cameroon, headed by His Excellency Roland Matta, President of the Central African network of parliamentarians for sustainable forest management, recently visited the IUCN headquarters. This visit formed part of a European tour (Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France and the Netherlands) to raise <; more Community Service for Breaking Waste Rules Source: Environmental Agency, September 6, 2005 On September 2, 2005, Joseph Toon, 66, operating from Beveridge Lane Industrial Estate, Ellistown, Leicestershire pleaded guilty at Coalville Magistrates to four charges relating to him depositing, keeping, treating and disposing of waste on land which did not have a Waste Management License. <; more EU to Help China Tackle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Source: Planet Ark, September 6, 2005 The European Union agreed on Monday to give China the technology for a coal-fired power station designed to combat global warming as part of a wider accord on energy issues and climate change The clean coal-power plant will employ <; more Oil Industry Embarks on Recovery Source: The Messenger, September 7, 2005 Though still seriously hobbled by Hurricane Katrina, the vast and crucial Gulf Coast energy infrastructure showed signs of recovery yesterday, as some refineries worked to restart and the price of oil in overseas trading fell to near pre-storm levels. <; more Rosneft Could Finance Burgas-Alexandroupolis Pipeline on Its Own Source: SEEUROPE.NET, September 7, 2005 Rosneft is ready to independently finance the Russian part of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, Rosneft President Sergei Bogdanchikov said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. <; more Louisiana Scientists Expect Major Environmental Damage Source: Planet Ark, September 9, 2005 Biologists expect to find major destruction when they take their first close-up look at Hurricane Katrina's impact on wildlife habitats and Louisiana's vital fishing industry, the state's top conservation official said Thursday. Dwight Landreneau, Louisiana's secretary for the department of wildlife and fisheries <; more NGO NEWS WWF Continues Leopard Protection Project in Syunik Source: ARMENPRESS, September 5, 2005 Traces of three out of 10-12 leopards believed to live in Armenian forests are recorded in the southern province of Syunik. The total number of leopards in the South Caucasus is 20-24, with another 10-12 in Azerbaijan. The number of leopards in the conflict zone of the district of Karabakh is estimated <; more Legal News New law would curb air pollution by school buses, garbage trucks Source: AP New Jersey, September 7, 2005 A diesel engine emission reduction plan signed into law Wednesday could have New Jerseyans breathing easier in the years to come. But first, voters must approve a constitutional amendment in November that would put the program into effect. The plan, which backers called the most comprehensive in the nation, is geared to cut air pollution and health risks by <; more NEW PUBLICATIONS Collection on Environmental Law Source: Environmental Public Advocacy Center (EPAC), September 7, 2005 Development of the human society in the twenty-first century is supposed to be accompanied by the increasing role of the environment. Meanwhile, the more human beings want to extract from nature, thereby violating the ecological balance, the fewer chances nature and its components have to recover. Ecological crisis as a violation of the balance of ecological systems and the relationship of humans and nature is a matter of concern worldwide. <; more Announcements Explore Georgia with Caucasus Travel - Adjara Source: The Messenger, September 2, 2005 What is Adjara: Located in the south-western corner of Georgia, this glorious place has always been a paradise for tourists - an attractive spot with its nature, climate, hospitable people and diverse variety of cultures and religions. So familiar, on the one hand, and completely unknown on the other hand. Control over this region has changed hands many times over the Centuries between Turks, Georgians, Russian, At present Adjara is undergoing a very difficult period, though one day this Eden will no doubt rediscover its former glory. <; more Announcement - Georgian Health and Social Projects Implementation Center Invitation for Bids Source: `24 Saati'(`24 Hours'), September 5, 2005 Georgia Primary Health and Social Development (PHCD) Project This invitation for bids follows the general procurement notice for this project that appeared in Development Business, issue no. 585 of June 30, 2002, most recently updated on Jan 16 2005, Issue No. 646. <; more Georgian Tourist Agency `La-Ta' Tour We represent a young Georgian tourist agency `La-Ta' Tour, which despite of 6 months existence has established itself on the market as a company offering premium service quality. Our main aim is to promote tourism in Georgia and show you the `hidden' wealth of our ancient country. <; more First Announcement and Call for Papers - ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF OIL TRANSPORTATION European Commission FP6 INCO SSA-Research Workshop Organizer: Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Radiation Problems Date: November 22-25, 2005. Place: Baku, Azerbaijan <; more **************************************** ************************************ Subscribing Information CENN lists are created to maintain e-mail discussions of Caucasus Environmental NGO Network members. CENN has been distributing information since 1998. All the published digests and bulletins issued in both English and Russian languages present incredibly rich environmental information base that give the reader the whole picture of the environmental process taking place during the recent 5 years in the South Caucasus region as well as abroad. To subscribe or unsubscribe from CENN mailing list service, please send an email to info@cenn.org and place the
`subscribe’ or
`unsubscribe’ command as the first line of the message body.
If you would like the information about your organization and activities
to
be distributed via the CENN mailing lists (the current number of CENN
mailing list members represents 11049), if you want your voice to be
heard
around the world, please send your information at the following email:
info@cenn.org
For more information about the program, please visit CENN web-page:
<; CENN INFO Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) Tel: ++995 32 75 19 03/04 Fax: ++995 32 75 19 05 E-mail: info@cenn.org URL: