Caucasus Environmental NGO Network
(CENN)

Weekly Digest
September 21, 2005

NEWS FROM GEORGIA

Action On Struggle Against Poverty
Source: PrimeNews Agency, September 10, 2005

Activists of the movement “Future without Poverty” will hold an action in
Tbilisi on Saturday within the frameworks of the international day “White
belt”. <; more US SIGNS $295.3M COMPACT WITH GEORGIA AS PART OF MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE Source: "Sarke", September 13, 2005 A compact on disbursing $295.3 million to Georgia as part of the Millennium Challenge program was signed yesterday as <; more GEORGIA HOPES TO RECEIVE $600M FROM INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Source: Information Agency "Sarke", September 14, 2005 Apart from $295.3 million, the US has disbursed to Georgia under the Millennium Challenge program the Georgian government hopes to receive up to $600 million in loan from international financial institutions. <; more Officials Laud Millennium Challenge Aid Agreement Source: The Messenger, September 14, 2005 The signing of the Millennium Challenge agreement for USD 295.3 million in aid to Georgia underlines the continuing and strengthening relationship between Georgia and the United States, officials from both countries said Monday. Speaking at the signing ceremony for the new aid agreement, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the agreement, the largest so far from the new U.S. aid program, "represents America's long-term commitment to Georgia's future success." "Our partnership will only continue to grow stronger <; more NEWS FROM Azerbaijan HEALTH MINISTRY OF AZERBAIJAN: "THERE WAS NEVER BACTERIOLOGICAL WEAPON IN AZERBAIJAN" Source: "Azertag", September 7, 2005 Health Ministry of the Azerbaijan Republic is rather surprised upon the information disseminated in mass media on allegedly presentation by Azerbaijan to the United States of the samples of bacteriological weapon, the Ministry's spokesman told AzerTAc. <; more AZERBAIJAN TO CELEBRATE WORLD TOURISM DAY Source: "Azertag", September 13, 2005 Within the frameworks of the World Tourism Day, an exhibition dealing with domestic tourism will be held in Baku October 1. Over 50 travel agencies and hotel owners will take part in the exhibition to be held at the Baku Business Center <; more news from Armenia SEVAN THREATENING THE TREES Source: A1plus, September 7, 2005 Today the session of the RA Forests Repair and Development Fund Trustee Council took place which was presided over by the President of the Council, RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan. <; more GERMANY ALLOCATES 2.2 Million EUR TO ARMENIA FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT "BIO-DIVERSITY AND NATURE PROTECTION IN SOUTH CAUCASUS REGION" Source: ARMINFO, September 9, 2005 German Government has approved 2.2 million EUR to Armenia for implementation of a program "Bio-diversity in the South-West of Armenia" and "Protection of bio-diversity in Javakheti through transboundary cooperation." A relevant agreement was signed today by Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia Vardan Ayvazyan and Representative of German KfW bank in Armenia Karapet Gevorgyan. <; more ATTENTION TO AGRICULTURE Source: Armenian News Agency "A1plus", September 14, 2005 Today in New York UN General Assembly 60th session high-level meeting started. Heads of Governments of more than 170 countries participate in the summit, including the RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan. On September 13 Andranik Margaryan met the (MCC) heads temporary executive director
<; more International News UN agencies team up to promote eco-friendly, development-oriented tourism Source: UN Dispatch, September 7, 2005 With massive growth in tourism predicted in the coming years, two United Nations agencies have teamed up to produce a set of guidelines to help governments around the world to promote a sustainable tourism that spreads prosperity while avoiding harm to the environment and local communities. For the first time, the UN World Tourism Organization ( <; WTO) and the UN Environment Programme ( <; UNEP) have <; combined their efforts < ly_digest_21_9_05_en.html> more

The environment matters
Source: WWF News, By Claude Martin, September 9, 2005

Many of us in the conservation world are concerned that the natural
environment – as the fundamental provider of life on this planet – seems to
have dropped off the international community’s radar screen in the lead up
to the UN-hosted World Summit.

This is an alarming realization as natural resources and the environment are
being degraded and destroyed at record pace.
<; more Flood-Water Sampling Chemical Data Available Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, September 11, 2005 The Environmental Protection Agency in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality today posted data from New Orleans flood water chemical samples collected <; more Europe's environmental future demands more action in key sectors Source: European Environmental Agency, 11 September, 2005 Policy makers must better integrate environmental issues across EU policies Existing policies alone will not be enough to save Europe's environment from extensive environmental change in the long term, according to a new report released today by the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen. <; more EU bio-fuel target 'incompatible with biodiversity targets' Source: Eco-portal news, 12 September, 2005 Delegates at last week's European Conference on Climate Change and Biodiversity, organized in Oxford shire by English Nature, were told that the EU's target of 5.75% bio-fuels for transport <; more New funding to sustain rivers and wetlands Source: Environmental News Agency, September 12, 2005 The Environment Agency published (on September 9) proposals to increase the cost of licenses to abstract water from rivers and groundwater in England and Wales. The increase would create a fund to enable the Agency to revoke historical rights to water which need to be revoked or limited to prevent damage to the environment and compensate abstractors whose rights are revoked. It will also meet the costs of new responsibilities assumed by the Environment Agency under the Water Act 2003. <; more US Agency Approves Private Nuclear-Waste Facility Source: Planet Ark, September 12, 2005 Washington - US regulators Friday approved a private firm's plan to store tens of thousands of tons nuclear waste above the ground on an American Indian reservation in Utah. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the license to Private Fuel Storage to store the radioactive waste on the reservation of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians, about 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. <; more Canada Doesn't see Breakthrough at Post-Kyoto Meet Source: Planet Ark, September 13, 2005 Ottawa - A major Montreal meeting charged with starting to draft a successor to the Kyoto climate change accord is unlikely to produce a breakthrough, a senior Canadian official said on Monday. <; more Clean Air agreement with nation's largest hazardous waste operator Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, September 13, 2005 The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Clean Harbors Environmental Services that is expected to enhance calculating and reporting on benzene emissions from North America's largest operator of hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities. This settlement involves ten facilities in eight states. It confirms the proper industry standard for compliance <; more Environment: Why Is the Ozone Hole Growing? Source: Inter Press Service News Agency, September 13, 2005 A huge ozone hole has developed over Antarctica for the second year running, exposing southern Argentina and Chile to high levels of damaging ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. <; more Black Sea turns cleaner Source: Bulgarians News Network, September 13, 2005 Sofia - The Black Sea has gradually become cleaner in the past few years, according to observations of the Oceanology Institute of the Bulgarian Science Academy, state TV informed Tuesday. <; more Environmental effect on diseases could be underestimated Source: European Environmental Agency, 13 September, 2005 The current way of analyzing connections between environment and health attributes only 2-5% of European mortality and morbidity to environmental factors. However, this so-called "burden of disease" approach is likely to be flawed, according to EEA executive director Professor Jacqueline McGlade who spoke today at the 2005 conference of the UK Health Protection Agency at Warwick University. <; more Two for the price of one: save water, serve people Source: WWF News, 13 September, 2005 Gland, Switzerland - As Heads of State meet in New York for the World Summit, a new report from WWF shows a strong link between environmental improvement and economic development that can no longer be ignored. The report - Freshwater and poverty reduction: Serving people, saving nature - analyses projects in Brazil, Colombia, China, and South Africa, demonstrating dramatic improvements in the livelihoods of poor local communities where WWF-supported conservation projects are in place. The projects show that <; more World's Largest Hippo Population Almost Gone - WWF Source: Planet Ark, September 13, 2005 Johannesburg - An aerial survey shows what was once the world's largest hippo population in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being poached to extinction, conservationist group WWF International said on Monday. <; more Two Decades of Protecting the Ozone Layer to be Marked Source: UNEP's press release, September 13, 2005 International Ozone Day to mark the signing of Montreal Protocol on 16 September Vienna Convention to Celebrate Two Decades of Protecting the Ozone Layer on 21 September "An extraordinary success story - but saving ozone layer an unfinished business," says UNEP. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and governments around the world are preparing to celebrate two key milestones <; more Oil Leasing Proposed for Remote Chukchi Sea Source: Planet Ark, September 15, 2005 Anchorage - New expressions of industry interest have prompted the US government to propose oil and gas leasing in the Chukchi Sea, a remote but potentially energy-rich area between northwestern Alaska and northeastern Siberia, officials said Tuesday. The Minerals Management Service, an agency of the Interior Department, said it will start planning for a Chukchi lease sale to be held in late 2007 or early 2008. It would be the first lease sale in the region since 1991. <; more REGIONAL FORUM ON COMBATING ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME FORMED Source: Planet Ark, September 15, 2005 Experts from a range of international agencies, meeting in Bangkok, have agreed to set up a Regional Forum to be facilitated by UNEP ROAP to help curb the trade of environmentally hazardous chemicals as well as natural resources and endangered species in the region. The Forum allows access to information <; more NGO News NGOS MARK GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST WASTE AND INCINERATION Source: IISD Reporting Services, September 9, 2005 A group of NGOs has organized a week of awareness-raising activities on waste issues. The network challenges governments to adopt and implement policies that will prevent waste <; more NGOs Oppose Veterinary Department Chief Source: The Georgian Times, September 19, 2005 Some Georgian environmentalists are concerned over the shutdown of state-run veterinary services across Georgia. They blame Jambul Maghlakelidze, Chairman of the Veterinary Department of Georgia, of withholding information about the process. Maghlakelidze, who signed the order to liquidate the services on July 1, 2005, dismisses these charges as `groundless'. According to a protest letter from the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN), the order to shut down state-owned veterinary bodies <; more Legal News Environmental laws fall by the wayside Source: the Daily Star: By Raed El Rafei September 14, 2005 Many companies ignore the need for EIA studies or pay lip service to their implementation. One need only take a look at the over-urbanized slopes crunched by quarries or take a dip in the sea where water and waste co-exist to realize protecting the environment is not a priority in the land of the cedars. The continuous proliferation of projects that do not respect environmental standards makes one wonder why laws drafted for the protection of the environment in 2002 have not yet been implemented. <; more New Publication European Environment Outlook - EEA Report No 4/2005 Source: European Environmental Agency, 11 September, 2005 Protecting our environment is a key element in ensuring sustainable livelihoods for today's and future generations. Indeed, the most recent Euro barometer surveys show <; more Fundraising Opportunity The CEE Fundraising Achievement Award 2005 The Civil Society Development Foundation Hungary (CSDF Hungary) and Fundraising Competence Group GmbH introduce a new award for celebrating fundraising success stories of the recent years and promoting best practices of the emerging nonprofit sectors in Central and Eastern Europe. <; more Announcement TACIS FUNDED PROJECT intends to recruit 2 experts to assist the EU Source: "24 Saati" ("24 Hours"), September 15, 2005 "Legal Advice in Support of Reform of the Social Protection and Health Care Sectors" The recruited experts will be responsible for preparing analysis according to the defined project objectives and criteria. (in years) <; more Tender Announcement - Invitation for Bids Source: The Georgian Times, September 19, 2005 Specific Procurement Notice Georgia Municipal Development and Decentralization Project II Improvement of Gori Water Supply System Loan/Credit No. 3701-GE Contract/ Bid No. GOR/201 This invitation for bids follows the general procurement notice for this project that appeared in Development Business No. 657 of June 30, 2005. Georgia has received a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) toward the cost of the Municipal Development and Decentralization Project II, and it intends to apply part of the proceeds of this credit <; more ANNOUNCEMENT - Partner to finance a Project Source: The Georgian Times, September 19, 2005 LTD 'IKATO' seeks a partner to finance a project (G-689 Natural Biopreparation from Georgian Plants). The project has been subject to expertise at the ISTC. <; 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
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