A Greenpeace report, published to coincide with a U.N. meeting in Brazil on biodiversity, said that 40 percent of the world’s oceans should be placed in nature reserves.

Just 0.6 percent of the oceans are protected reserves at present, compared with 12 percent of the world’s land, according to U.N. data.

While that protection is put in place, trawling along the ocean bottom should be banned, Greenpeace said.

"An immediate U.N. moratorium on high seas bottom ?rawling is essential to stop the destruction of deep-sea life whilst a global network of marine reserves is established," professor Callum Roberts of York University said in a Greenpeace statement.

The U.N. meeting in Curitiba, Brazil, which lasts until the end of March, will discuss ways to expand protection both on land and at sea to slow the accelerating rate of extinction of animals and plants caused by human activities.

The meeting will discuss the principle of extending marine protection, but will not reach a formal agreement.

The United States is not a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, an international conservation agreement signed by the 188 countries which are meeting in Brazil.

Greenpeace also urged better protection of forests, saying its satellite maps showed that intact forests covered less than 10 percent of the world’s land area, threatening thousands of species of animals and plants.

1. Ghid de implementare a Programelor de Actiune pentru Mediu in Europa Centrala si de Est, Centrul Regional de Protectia Mediului pentru Europa Centrala si de Est, Institutul pentru Comunitati durabile, 2001, Szentendre, Ungaria, 168 p.
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Problematica construirii unilaterale de catre autoritatile ucrainene a unui canal de navigatie pe bratele Chilia si Bastroe ale Dunarii a figurat pe agenda reuniunii la propunerea delegatiei romanesti. Participantii la conferinta au apreciat ca modul in care este aplicat proiectul ucrainean de construire a canalului de navigatie de mare adancime Dunare – Marea Neagra nu respecta prevederile Conventiei Ramsar si standardele internationale de mediu si ca ridica anumite semne de intrebare referitoare la capacitatea organizatiilor internationale de a utiliza instrumente adecvate pentru prevenirea degradarii mediului si, in cazul de fata, a unei zone umede de importanta internationala, ca urmare a initierii unor proiecte de infrastructura cu impact major asupra mediului inconjurator.
Conventia Ramsar a fost, de altfel, unul dintre primele foruri internationale care au adoptat o pozitie pe problematica Bastroe, solicitand autoritatilor ucrainene prin Raportul elaborat in comun cu expertii Programului UNESCO Omul si Biosfera in urma misiunii din octombrie 2003 in partea ucraineana a Deltei Dunarii sa elaboreze un studiu de impact si sa analizeze alte rute pentru construirea canalului, avand in vedere ca ruta Bastroe constituie cea mai proasta alternativa dintre cele prezentate pentru construirea canalului. Cu toate acestea, s-a constatat ca Ucraina nu a dat curs recomandarilor formulate in Raportul Conventiei, lipsindu-le astfel de orice eficacitate.
Reuniune si la Viena
In urma desfasurarii reuniunii, va fi redactat, pana la sfarsitul anului, un raport si vor fi formulate recomandari pentru Conferinta Statelor Parti din cursul anului viitor. Statele participante au subliniat necesitatea includerii cazului Bastroe in acest document, precum si a implicarii mai active a organizatiei in vederea solutionarii cazului cu respectarea instrumentelor juridice internationale la care Ucraina este parte. De asemenea, avand in vedere ca printre competentele exclusive ale Conferintei Partilor se numara si adoptarea unor recomandari specifice, importante state europene – Germania, Franta, Austria si Suedia – si-au exprimat sprijinul si intentia de a prezenta in coautorat cu Romania un proiect de recomandare care sa fie supus dezbaterii Conferintei Partilor.
De asemenea, o delegatie romana condusa de ministrul Mediului si Gospodaririi Apelor, Speranta Maria Ianculescu, va participa, in perioada 13-14 decembrie 2004, la lucrarile celei de a saptea Sesiuni ordinare a Comisiei Internationale pentru Protectia Fluviului Dunarea (ICPDR), ce se desfasoara la Viena. Cu acest prilej, luni va avea loc Reuniunea Ministeriala dedicata celei de a X-a aniversari a semnarii Conventiei privind cooperarea pentru protectia si utilizarea durabila a fluviului Dunarea.

The project will build on the recommendations elaborated during the Moving Borders seminar which was part of ECF Enlargement of Minds programme, held in Villa Decius in Krakow in October 2003. Continue reading Pan-European art laboratory

Fuel and Energy Development Minister Majid Karimov of Azerbaijan, CERA Chairman Joseph Stanislav, DEIK Executive Board member Nihat Gokyigit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Undersecretary Alev Kilic, U.S. President George W. Bush’s Senior Advisor for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy Steven Mann and Iranian Special Representative Mahdi Safari are attending the 2-day conference. Continue reading ENERGY CONFERENCE STARTS IN TURKEY

We, the representatives of NGOs from 7 European countries, have concluded
thefollowing:

RECOGNISING the efforts of the Ukrainian Government to promote the socio-economic development of the Danub? region and to increase the well-being of its people by revitalizing the shipping on the Danube;

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the high internatioinal status of the Danube Delta as one of the most important European wetlands, part of the UNESCO “Danube Delta” Biosphere Reserve, the biggest reedbed complex in the world, Ramsar Wetland Site of International Importance, and one of the 200 Global ecoregions selected by WWF; Continue reading RESOLUTION of the Forum of the NGOs from the Danube River Basin

REC coordinator for Azerbaijan Ilkin Kengerli noted that the main documents to be submitted to consideration of ministers are Ministerial Declaration and European action plan? Environment and Children’s Health?. Ministry of Health representative Fuad Mardanli spoke of such important things as access to quality of drinking water, elementary toilet conditions, safety of children?s food etc. Continue reading CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT IN LIMELIGHT OF CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS

This RFP is sponsored by the International Utility Efficiency Partnerships, Inc. (IUEP). The IUEP has been a leader among the industry groups that have supported voluntary initiatives to address global climate change. The IUEP maintains its leadership by supporting international GHG reduction projects under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Initi?tive on Joint Implementation (USIJI), and by partnering with U.S. and international organizations. Continue reading INTERNATIONAL UTILITY EFFICIENCY PARTNERSHIPS INC.

Romanian and Bulgarian premiers, Adrian Nastase and Simeon Saxa-Coburg Gotha, have attended on Sunday a ceremony marking 50 years since the opening the existing bridge linking Giurgiu and Ruse.

The bridge was inaugurated on June 20 1954, after two years and three months of works and at that time it was one of the longest bridges in Europe, with a total length of 2.2 kilometers.

Adrian Nastase and Simeon Saxa-Coburg Gotha have symbolically met in the middle of the bridge and have attended ceremonies organized on both banks of the river.

The award of the National and European Solar Prizes in 2004 – as in the years before – has the purpose, to widely spread the subject of Renewable Energies. Outstanding innovative projects and initiatives as to the use of Renewable Energies are awarded in different categories.  The call for tenders for the European Solar Prizes by the respective national EUROSOLAR-sections is running simultaneously in several European countries and the prizes are awarded by EUROSOLAR in cooperation with the KfW. The winners of the European Solar Prizes will be chosen among the applicants for the respective national Solar-Prizes. Continue reading Call for tenders for the National and European Solar Prizes 2004