SalvaEco

Seeing it disappearing into the bamboo forest, Liu Bin, the 28-year-old keeper, had tears in his eyes. "Xiang Xiang is just like my child, who has grown up and will leave the family to live a life independently," said Liu, "I hate to part with Xiang Xiang but I hope it can survive on its own and will not forget me."

Born in 2001, Xiang Xiang, whose mother was ar?ificially inseminated, has spent the last three years in a 200,000-square-metre wildness training compound. With three years’ training, Xiang Xiang has learned how to build a den, forage for food and mark its territory, and it has also developed defensive skills by howling and biting just as a wild giant panda would do, said Zhang Hemin, head of the China giant panda protection centre here.

Experts from the centre performed Xiang Xiang’s last physical check-up and gave it a number of inoculations, before releasing. Xiang Xiang has been released at the height of the bamboo shoot season, making it easier for it to find food, informed Zhang. "The release of Xiang Xiang marks a significant change in ways of saving the endangered species by training the pandas to live in the wild before releasing them, which would top the agenda of China’s efforts to that effect," said Zhao Xuemin, deputy head of the State Forestry Administration.

Chinese scientists have given priority to artificial breeding and protection of the hairy creatures before releasing them to nature, Zhao said, adding that the release also marks the start of China’s efforts to carry out wildness training on other endangered species. According to Zhao, China also plans to release Chinese alligators, David deer, wild horses and red ibis, among others, into the wild after wildness training.

Acest parteneriat implica adesea o relatie contractuala intre institutia publica si o companie privata care obliga ambele parti sa ofere servicii specifice. Acest aranjament contractual presupune desemnarea responsabilitatilor si riscurilor pentru una sau mai multe dintre urmatoarele activitati:
¬ Finantarea proiectului utilizand fonduri publice si (sau) private;
¬ Proiectarea si (sau) realizarea utilitatilor;
¬ Operarea si intretinerea utilitatilor sau serviciilor.
Exista urmatoarele tipuri de relatii public-privat: servicii contractuale; utilitati publice; facilitati financiare de dezvoltare; privatizare; facilitati comerciale. Cooperarea cu sectorul privat include in sine atat avantaje cat si dezavantaje.
Sunt cinci considerente de baza pentru a lucra cu sectorul privat:
¬ Potentialul acces la o tehnologie mai avansata;
¬ Proiectare, constructie si (sau) operare cu costuri eficiente;
¬ Finantare flexibila;
¬ Delegarea responsabilitatilor si riscurilor;
¬ Costuri garantate (un parteneriat intre municipalitate si o companie particulara poate aduce anumite beneficii comunitatii prin garantarea costurilor).
Exista doua potentiale dezavantaje majore in lucrul cu sectorul privat: pierderea controlului local asupra finantarii, operarii si mentinerii utilitatilor (partenerul privat poate sa controleze metoda de realizare a serviciilor, conformarea cu standardele de tratare, nivelurile de descarcare etc.) si riscurile financiare (acest lucru este cu atat mai evident atunci cand compania particulara se confrunta cu probleme financiare sau decide sa se retraga din proiect).
Cooperarea cu sectorul privat poate oferi beneficii foarte mari dar municipalitatea trebuie sa compare atent beneficiile si riscurile. Daca se decide ca o companie privata sa implementeze o parte a PAM, trebuie sa se aleaga foarte atent aceasta companie. Va trebui sa se identifice companiile care au experienta in probleme si tehnologii similare.

¬ Dezvoltarea coalitiei: Autoritatile si ONG-urile pot forma coalitii puternice si eficiente care sustin abilitatea fiecarei institutii de a rezolva problemele si de a strange fonduri.
¬ Asistenta din afara: Unul dintre cele mai puternice si strategice avantaje ale ONG-urilor consta in faptul ca acestea au acces adesea la retele mari de voluntari si cetateni.
¬ Asistenta de implementare: Autoritatile locale nu dispun adesea de experienta sau de resursele necesare implementarii programelor. Pe de alta parte, ONG-urile ar putea fi din ce in ce mai in masura sa indeplineasca acest rol datorita expertizei specializate de care dispun, accesului la fonduri destinate special ONG-urilor si deoarece au o mai mare capacitate de a completa fondurile cu timpul si energia voluntarilor. Exista anumite avantaje si dezavantaje in cooperarea cu sectorul ONG. Avantajele unui parteneriat autoritati -ONG sunt urmatoarele: Deciziile sunt luate mai democratic pentru ca sunt implicati un numar mai mare de cetateni datorita retelei largi de membri si voluntari de care dispun ONG-urile. Deciziile sunt mai bune deoarece incorporeaza o arie mai larga a valorilor si perspectivelor comunitatii.
¬ Resursele de sprijin: ONG-urile pot contribui cu resursele proprii de timp, energie, entuziasm si experienta, care adesea sunt substantiale.
¬ Consolidarea credibilitatii publice: ONG-urile se bucura adesea de mai multa incredere publica, fiind percepute ca mult mai aproape de valorile si interesele cetatenilor.
Exista si cateva potentiale dezavantaje in colaborarea cu sectorul neguvernamental. Acestea include:
¬ Un proces mai dificil si mai indelungat de luarea deciziilor;
¬ Pregatirea organizatiilor. in unele tari ale ECE multe ONG-uri sunt noi si relativ lipsite de experienta.
Cooperarea cu sectorul neguvernamental poate oferi beneficii reale, dar municipalitatea trebuie sa analizeze bine, atat beneficiile cat si riscurile.

The admission came after warnings about such trees from ministers from over 100 countries at a UN conference in Curitiba, Brazil. They urged a "precautionary approach" towards them after hearing that they could "wreak ecological havoc throughout the world’s forests".

Some 16 countries around the world are developing GM trees, and more than a million have already been planted in China. At least 24 species, from papaya to silver birch, from olive to teak, have already been modified; the most commonly treated are poplar, pine and eucalyptus.

The process can speed growth: GM poplars can grow four times faster than traditional softwood trees used for timber and paper. It has also reduced their content of lignin, which strengthens trees but make the wood harder to pulp and whiten for paper.

Other modifications enable them to produce their own pesticides to fight off insects, to resist diseases and to enable them to endure heavy doses of herbicides so that plantations can be drenched to kill weeds without harming the trees.

A GM orange tree, developed in Sp?in, bears fruit after only one year of life, instead of six. Danish scientists have worked on modified Christmas trees, with a view to developing specimens whose needles do not fall off. And in the boldest suggestion yet, an American professor has suggested that trees could be modified to make the moon habitable by growing "huge greenhouses over their heads".

But the ministers in Brazil were concerned that genes from the modified trees could spread great distances on the wind and across national boundaries. Tree pollen can travel up to 2,000 km. And, because trees can live for centuries, modified examples pose a long-term threat to the world’s forests.

Contamination by genes conferring fast growth, for example, could make some forest trees crowd out other species; genes that produce insecticides could decimate rainforest ecosystems, the richest on earth; and genes that reduce lignin could make trees more vulnerable to pests.

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs denied late last week that GM trees had ever been grown in the open in Britain, until given details by The Independent on Sunday.

All the plantations have either been destroyed by protesters or cut down at the end of the experiments. Britain’s only GM trees are now elms, resistant to Dutch elm disease and being grown in "a controlled environment" somewhere in Dundee.

The scientists developing them say they will not plant any outside because they fear "terrorism" by protesters. They will not disclose precisely where they are or give details of the numbers, but confirm that there are "more than a hundred" of them.

Elm

Being grown at a secret indoor location by Abertay University scientists and modified to be resistant to Dutch elm disease. The scientists hope the trees will in time replace the 20 million taken from the British landscape by the disease.

Poplar

Grown at Jealotts Hill Research Station at Bracknell, Berks, and modified so that the wood is whiter for making paper. Most, grown by the biotech firm Zeneca, were destroyed by protesters, but a few were successfully harvested.

Eucalyptus

Grown by Shell Research Ltd at Sittingbourne and West Malling, both in Kent. The tree was modified to resist the use of herbicides, as in most current GM crops. The experiment is now over.

Apple

Greensleeves and Jonagold apple trees, modified to resist insect pests and fungal diseases, were grown by the University of Derby, but destroyed by protesters.

Governments worldwide have issued an unprecedented warning about the greatest biotech hazards so far: GM trees. Trees modified to grow faster, yield better wood, produce whiter paper, resist pests and disease and tolerate herbicides are increasingly being cultivated.

Elms resistant to Dutch elm disease are being grown in Dundee, Scotland. But the scientists involved will not say precisely where they are, or even exactly how many of them are being grown.

The Government was forced to admit for the first time last week that GM poplar, apple and eucalyptus trees have been cultivated outdoors in Berkshire, Derbyshire and Kent.

The admission came after warnings about such trees from ministers from over 100 countries at a UN conference in Curitiba, Brazil. They urged a "precautionary approach" towards them after hearing that they could "wreak ecological havoc throughout the world’s forests".

Some 16 countries around the world are developing GM trees, and more than a million have already been planted in China. At least 24 species, from papaya to silver birch, from olive to teak, have already been modified; the most commonly treated are poplar, pine and eucalyptus.

The process can speed growth: GM poplars can grow four times faster than traditional softwood trees used for timber and paper. It has also reduced their content of lignin, which strengthens trees but make the wood harder to pulp and whiten for paper.

Other modifications enable them to produce their own pesticid?s to fight off insects, to resist diseases and to enable them to endure heavy doses of herbicides so that plantations can be drenched to kill weeds without harming the trees.

A GM orange tree, developed in Spain, bears fruit after only one year of life, instead of six. Danish scientists have worked on modified Christmas trees, with a view to developing specimens whose needles do not fall off. And in the boldest suggestion yet, an American professor has suggested that trees could be modified to make the moon habitable by growing "huge greenhouses over their heads".

But the ministers in Brazil were concerned that genes from the modified trees could spread great distances on the wind and across national boundaries. Tree pollen can travel up to 2,000 km. And, because trees can live for centuries, modified examples pose a long-term threat to the world’s forests.
Contamination by genes conferring fast growth, for example, could make some forest trees crowd out other species; genes that produce insecticides could decimate rainforest ecosystems, the richest on earth; and genes that reduce lignin could make trees more vulnerable to pests.

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs denied late last week that GM trees had ever been grown in the open in Britain, until given details by The Independent on Sunday.

All the plantations have either been destroyed by protesters or cut down at the end of the experiments. Britain’s only GM trees are now elms, resistant to Dutch elm disease and being grown in "a controlled environment" somewhere in Dundee.

The scientists developing them say they will not plant any outside because they fear "terrorism" by protesters. They will not disclose precisely where they are or give details of the numbers, but confirm that there are "more than a hundred" of them.

Elm

Being grown at a secret indoor location by Abertay University scientists and modified to be resistant to Dutch elm disease. The scientists hope the trees will in time replace the 20 million taken from the British landscape by the disease.

Poplar

Grown at Jealotts Hill Research Station at Bracknell, Berks, and modified so that the wood is whiter for making paper. Most, grown by the biotech firm Zeneca, were destroyed by protesters, but a few were successfully harvested.

Eucalyptus

Grown by Shell Research Ltd at Sittingbourne and West Malling, both in Kent. The tree was modified to resist the use of herbicides, as in most current GM crops. The experiment is now over.

Apple

Greensleeves and Jonagold apple trees, modified to resist insect pests and fungal diseases, were grown by the University of Derby, but destroyed by protesters.

¬ Jurisdictia departamentului municipal. Adesea, noile structuri vor trebui folosite pentru a se asigura ca departamentele municipale isi coordoneaza activitatile. Implementarea actiunilor care abordeaza anumite probleme necesita o coordonare atenta intre diferite departamente municipale, cum ar fi: spatii verzi, transport, finante, sanatate publica si protectia mediului. Municipalitatea poate avea in vedere constituirea unui Comitet Interdepartamental, alcatuit din reprezentanti ai fiecarui departament, potrivit sa coordoneze actiunile din timpul reprezentarii.
¬ Jurisdictia completa a municipalitatii. Una dintre problemele majore care preocupa azi multe comunitati este necesitatea unor servicii de mediu pentru noi amenajari, care au loc in afara jurisdictiei legale a municipalitatii. Pentru a aborda aceste probleme municipalitatile si-au extins limitele, au negociat serviciile teritoriale sau au transferat puterea si resursele catre alte institutii publice.
¬ Jurisdictia municipala multipla. Factorii economici pot avea adesea sa sublinieze nevoia municipalitatilor de a coopera la utilizarea si managementul unei utilitati de mediu. Comunitatile de marime mica pot coopera detinand si operand in comun utilitatile pentru apa potabila, apa reziduala si managementul deseurilor solide sau folosind un personal comun in activitati comune etc. Cooperarea poate fi realizata formal prin crearea unor comisii comune sau consilii cu reprezentati ai fiecarei municipalitati participante.
¬ Jurisdictia ecologica. Provocarile pe care le ridica managementul resurselor de mediu in comunitatile de astazi sunt regionale de fapt, ceea ce sugereaza o abordare, tinand cont de limitele ecologice a unor probleme ar fi cea mai potrivita.
Date fiind aceste aspecte jurisdictionale, comunitatea va trebui sa identifice schimbarile organizatorice necesare asigurarii unei implementari eficiente.

GI poate fi responsabil pentru urmatoarele sarcini aferente implementarii:
¬ Facilitarea si asigurarea participarii institutiilor responsabile cu implementarea;
¬ Strangerea de date despre indicatorii relevanti;
¬ Monitorizarea si evaluarea eforturilor de implementare;
¬ Coordonarea unor activitati educationale;
¬ Facilitarea participarii cetatenilor;
¬ Acordarea de consultanta municipalitatii sau consiliului municipal in abordarea problemelor de mediu.
GI poate avea un rol important in a reuni institutii cu diverse responsabilitati in implementare, responsabilitati asociate cu fiecare problema prioritara. O masura care ar asigura coordonarea diferitor institutii este formarea unor Grupuri de Implementare separate pentru fiecare problema.
GI poate facilita angajamentul institutiilor printr-un ?Acord de implementare? prin care fiecare membru al grupului se angajeaza sa indeplineasca anumite sarcini.
GI va trebui sa se intalneasca periodic, pentru a revizui progresul fiecarui grup in atingerea scopului si obiectivelor propuse in PAM. Este important, ca GI sa ofere Consiliului municipal rapoarte actualizate periodic referitoare la stadiu procesului de implementare.

Acting under advice from the government’s wildlife agency, English Nature, 11 local authorities in Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire have frozen all new housing planning applications since October last year inside a vast cordon around the birds’ breeding habitats, patches of heather-covered lowland heath dotted across the area. In doing so they have put future plans for up to 20,000 houses on indefinite hold and caused anguish among local building firms, some of which say they have had to sack staff. The Home Builders’ Federation wants the Government to step in as a matter of urgency.

Yet the situation can be resolved, says English Nature, if the local councils adopt a radical plan and provide new public open space to accompany all new development, which would absorb the extra pressure from visitors that might otherwise put the birds’ nesting success at risk.

The councils are at present considering the plan, while an audit is carried out of all the land in the area that might be available to provide new open space.

In the meantime, the Government is seriously alarmed at the head-on collision between the very different imperatives of housing provision and nature protection. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) strongly supports English Nature’s position; but John Prescott’s Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), which looks after housing, is commissioning new research which might see the agency’s position undermined.

In the little publicity previously afforded to the issue, the ban has been presented as ridiculous: all those houses held up for a few little birds. But in truth it is serious and has been waiting to happen,?as the colossal development of England’s overcrowded South-east – into which the Government wants to put another 580,000 houses over the next 20 years – rolls on unchecked. Sooner or later the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut was bound to hit a barrier of some sort. Now it has.

At issue is not just the fate of the birds, but the protection of the lowland heath on which nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers make their nests, one of England’s most attractive and wildlife-rich but fastest-disappearing habitats.

Recent research has convinced English Nature that public access to heaths – especially people walking dogs – is a much greater threat to the breeding success of all three species that had previously been realised. With the group of heathlands nearest to London, the agency is now formally objecting to any further residential development within five kilometres.

In doing so, it insists it is simply carrying out its obligations to implement EU law.

There are 13 major stretches of lowland heath due west of London, such as Chobham Common in Surrey. Individually, they are already Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) under British legislation, because of the richness of their wildlife. But they have been further designated, collectively, as the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU’s 1979 birds directive, expressly to safeguard the nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers that nest on them.

The directive, transposed into English law as the Habitats Regulations 1994, is extremely tough, and forbids anything likely to have a "significant effect" on the species for which an area was selected. In the past, English Nature concentrated its protection efforts on the management of the heaths themselves, but several studies over the past four years have convinced staff that success in bird breeding is correlated with visitor pressure – the more visitors, the fewer successful nests. Both nightjar and woodlark nest on the ground, while the Dartford warbler nests low down in gorse bushes, and all three are likely to be flushed from the nest by visitors’ dogs, leaving eggs and chicks at the mercy of predators. Although the agency has long insisted on a 400-metre building exclusion zone around protected heathlands, it now believes that people who use the heaths come from farther away than was generally appreciated and a much wider residential building exclusion zone is now necessary.

Since October last year the agency has formally objected to any housing application within five kilometres of the SPA. These 5km zones link together to form an oval area 30 miles across at its widest point and 15 miles deep, taking in such towns as Guildford, Woking, Camberley, Bracknell and Ascot – the very heartland of booming south-east England, "Britain’s California" – where demand for new housing development is immense.

The 11 local councils concerned, following legal advice, are now refusing every housing application for the area. It is impossible to give a precise figure for new houses put on hold, but local builders estimate that plans for more than 3,000 new homes have already been stalled. But if the issue is not resolved, that total is certain to rise steeply. The new housing allocation for the 11 councils is 40,000, of which about 35,000 fall inside the affected area – that is, within five kilometres of one of the heaths. Some of these have been built so a figure of 20,000 new homes likely to be held up is probably nearer the true picture.

The scheme that English Nature is putting forward to solve the problem, labelled the Thames Basin Heaths Delivery Plan, is an entirely new approach to spatial planning, because it would mean that individual housing applications would not necessarily have to be assessed individually for their impact on the SPA.

Instead, land "in mitigation" – alternative open space to soak up added public pressure expected from the new homes – could be provided strategically for the whole area.

The main objection ?rom housebuilders to English Nature’s position is that the 5km exclusion zone around the SPA is too wide.

However, the agency’s chief executive, Dr Andy Brown, said: "All the evidence we can put together suggests that anything within that sort of radius, in terms of new development, is going to have some effect on the bird populations of the sites.

"But we know how to offset that effect – by creating additional green space. So it is possible to have housing in the area if developers and local authorities can work together with the delivery plan."

Untamed England

Heathland, the home of the three bird species which have halted a building boom, is the last truly wild part of the countryside of southern England.

The nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers of the Thames Basin Heaths are characteristic creatures of a special place. While the intimate pattern of small woods and fields that make up most of the South is charming, it is undeniably domesticated.

Lowland heath is quite different. These tracts of dark heather, interspersed with gorse and silver birch, feel untamed, like an entirely different landscape, a different country almost. Bagshot Heath, on the borders of Surrey and Berkshire, feels like it could be in Russia. They are wonderful places to walk.

And, because they are untouched by agriculture, the heaths of the South are rich in wildlife. Chobham Common, near the junction of the M25 and M3 motorways, has recorded 350 species of wild flower, 100 species of bird and 23 species of mammal.

But these heathlands are mere mini-remnants of the huge stretches that once covered much of southern England. Now more than three-quarters of them are gone, and only three major chunks remain: the Dorset Heaths, the Wealden Greensand Heaths in Sussex, and the Thames Basin Heaths west of London.

All plans for new housebuilding have been frozen over a massive area of the Home Counties to protect three species of rare birds in the most remarkable clash yet between environment and development in Britain.

Concerns about the welfare of the nightjar, the woodlark and the Dartford warbler have halted schemes for building thousands of homes over an expanse of nearly 300 square miles, stretching from the M25, west of London, almost to Reading. The unprecedented moratorium has come about because the hitherto-irresistible force of the housing boom in the South-east has run into the immovable object of European Union wildlife protection law, which safeguards the three bird species in a formidable way.

Acting under advice from the government’s wildlife agency, English Nature, 11 local authorities in Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire have frozen all new housing planning applications since October last year inside a vast cordon around the birds’ breeding habitats, patches of heather-covered lowland heath dotted across the area. In doing so they have put future plans for up to 20,000 houses on indefinite hold and caused anguish among local building firms, some of which say they have had to sack staff. The Home Builders’ Federation wants the Government to step in as a matter of urgency.

Yet the situation can be resolved, says English Nature, if the local councils adopt a radical plan and provide new public open space to accompany all new development, which would absorb the extra pressure from visitors that might otherwise put the birds’ nesting success at risk.

The councils are at present considering the plan, while an audit is carried out of all the land in the area that might be available to provide new open space.

In the meantime, the Government is seriously alarmed at the head-on collision between the very different imperatives of housing provision and nature protection. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) strongly supports English Nature’s position; but John Prescott’s Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), which looks after housing, is commissioning new research which might see the agency’s position ?ndermined.

In the little publicity previously afforded to the issue, the ban has been presented as ridiculous: all those houses held up for a few little birds. But in truth it is serious and has been waiting to happen, as the colossal development of England’s overcrowded South-east – into which the Government wants to put another 580,000 houses over the next 20 years – rolls on unchecked. Sooner or later the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut was bound to hit a barrier of some sort. Now it has.

At issue is not just the fate of the birds, but the protection of the lowland heath on which nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers make their nests, one of England’s most attractive and wildlife-rich but fastest-disappearing habitats.

Recent research has convinced English Nature that public access to heaths – especially people walking dogs – is a much greater threat to the breeding success of all three species that had previously been realised. With the group of heathlands nearest to London, the agency is now formally objecting to any further residential development within five kilometres.

In doing so, it insists it is simply carrying out its obligations to implement EU law.

There are 13 major stretches of lowland heath due west of London, such as Chobham Common in Surrey. Individually, they are already Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) under British legislation, because of the richness of their wildlife. But they have been further designated, collectively, as the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU’s 1979 birds directive, expressly to safeguard the nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers that nest on them.

The directive, transposed into English law as the Habitats Regulations 1994, is extremely tough, and forbids anything likely to have a "significant effect" on the species for which an area was selected. In the past, English Nature concentrated its protection efforts on the management of the heaths themselves, but several studies over the past four years have convinced staff that success in bird breeding is correlated with visitor pressure – the more visitors, the fewer successful nests. Both nightjar and woodlark nest on the ground, while the Dartford warbler nests low down in gorse bushes, and all three are likely to be flushed from the nest by visitors’ dogs, leaving eggs and chicks at the mercy of predators. Although the agency has long insisted on a 400-metre building exclusion zone around protected heathlands, it now believes that people who use the heaths come from farther away than was generally appreciated and a much wider residential building exclusion zone is now necessary.
Since October last year the agency has formally objected to any housing application within five kilometres of the SPA. These 5km zones link together to form an oval area 30 miles across at its widest point and 15 miles deep, taking in such towns as Guildford, Woking, Camberley, Bracknell and Ascot – the very heartland of booming south-east England, "Britain’s California" – where demand for new housing development is immense.

The 11 local councils concerned, following legal advice, are now refusing every housing application for the area. It is impossible to give a precise figure for new houses put on hold, but local builders estimate that plans for more than 3,000 new homes have already been stalled. But if the issue is not resolved, that total is certain to rise steeply. The new housing allocation for the 11 councils is 40,000, of which about 35,000 fall inside the affected area – that is, within five kilometres of one of the heaths. Some of these have been built so a figure of 20,000 new homes likely to be held up is probably nearer the true picture.

The scheme that English Nature is putting forward to solve the problem, labelled the Thames Basin Heaths Delivery Plan, is an entirely new approach to spatial planning, because it would mean that individual housing applications would not necessarily have to be assessed individually for their ?mpact on the SPA.

Instead, land "in mitigation" – alternative open space to soak up added public pressure expected from the new homes – could be provided strategically for the whole area.

The main objection from housebuilders to English Nature’s position is that the 5km exclusion zone around the SPA is too wide.

However, the agency’s chief executive, Dr Andy Brown, said: "All the evidence we can put together suggests that anything within that sort of radius, in terms of new development, is going to have some effect on the bird populations of the sites.

"But we know how to offset that effect – by creating additional green space. So it is possible to have housing in the area if developers and local authorities can work together with the delivery plan."

Untamed England

Heathland, the home of the three bird species which have halted a building boom, is the last truly wild part of the countryside of southern England.

The nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers of the Thames Basin Heaths are characteristic creatures of a special place. While the intimate pattern of small woods and fields that make up most of the South is charming, it is undeniably domesticated.

Lowland heath is quite different. These tracts of dark heather, interspersed with gorse and silver birch, feel untamed, like an entirely different landscape, a different country almost. Bagshot Heath, on the borders of Surrey and Berkshire, feels like it could be in Russia. They are wonderful places to walk.

And, because they are untouched by agriculture, the heaths of the South are rich in wildlife. Chobham Common, near the junction of the M25 and M3 motorways, has recorded 350 species of wild flower, 100 species of bird and 23 species of mammal.

But these heathlands are mere mini-remnants of the huge stretches that once covered much of southern England. Now more than three-quarters of them are gone, and only three major chunks remain: the Dorset Heaths, the Wealden Greensand Heaths in Sussex, and the Thames Basin Heaths west of London.

Primul pas in dezvoltarea Planului de Implementare este acela de a reuni institutiile implicate in implementare, membrii GI si alte persoane interesante. Concentrandu-se asupra unei singure probleme prioritare, acest grup poate analiza setul de actiuni identificate in PAM si poate obtine o lista a masurilor specifice necesare implementarii fiecarui actiuni. Dupa o analiza a solutiilor propuse, se poate rearanja o lista a masurilor conform ordinii lor cronologice relative. in continuare, se va determina momentul potrivit pentru implementarea actiunii, iar ulterior o programare in timp pentru fiecare sarcina, care va ajuta la respectarea termenului. Dupa realizarea acestei programari in timp, se vor clarifica si desemna responsabilitatile pentru a incepe fiecare sarcina si apoi se vor identifica toate costurile asociate.

For the past 15 months, Mr Livingstone revealed to The Independent, no one in his household has flushed the toilet after urinating.

The capital’s first citizen has, he explains, been conducting an experiment based on the old adage "if it’s yellow, let it mellow". It has worked so well that he now hopes all Londoners will follow his example.

Polling evidence commissioned by the Mayor’s office says that climate change ranks almost equal with crime and the cost of living among Londoners’ top concerns. Yet London is a wasteful city, expending millions of gallons of purified water washing cars, spraying lawns, or flushing urine away. The Mayor sees his pioneering experiment as a chance to persuade Londoners to change their wasteful habits.

"There is quite a bit that you can do by changing building design, and so on but the really big gains come from changing lifestyles. If people drive a little less, cycle a little more, flush their toilets less, make sure they have got light bulbs that are energy efficient, and a whole range of changes like that, it will make a whole lot of difference."

He added: "If we continue to waste the amount that we do, London will run out of water. We use about 30 per cent more water than French and German people. Londoners use more water than anyone else in Britain and mainly, we just waste it. A third of all the water you use you flush down the loo, and actually there is no earthly reason that you need to flush the loo if you have merely urinated. That’s a huge saving of water.

"The experiment in my own home, which is now into its second year, has been a success. We continued with it right through the summer, and never once did a great bluebottle come in the bathroom. After all, why would a bluebottle wish to slurp up a little bit of nitrogenous waste? It has no nutritional value at all. It’s just that a lot of people have a perception that their urine is some sort of liquid form of their excreta. A lot of gardeners put their urine in a bucket and actually use it. Plant roots love it."

Ken Livingstone was once the bad boy of the Labour Party. Tony Blair’s supporters prevented him being adopted as Labour candidate in the 2000 London mayoral election. When he stood as an independent, he was expelled from the party and it was ruled that it would be at least five years before he was allowed back. But he was soon forgiven, and is now negotiating with the Government about extending his powers.

He wants to be able to overrule the boroughs on major planning decisions. If Labour loses control of more London boroughs inThursday’s election, he is likely to be pushing at an open door.

Meanwhile, he has his eye on one minor planning decision. Mr Livingstone has had solar panels installed in his home, and they will soon be fitted into the roof of his City Hall headquarters. He has heard about David Cameron’s plan to have a wind turbine fitted on his Notting Hill home.

That will require a planning permit from Kensington and Chelsea council, but if they cause any trouble, Mr Livingstone promised: "I’ll turn up as a character witness, in his defence."

How to save water in the home

?By Louise Jury

* Divert water from the roof or the shower into a rain harvester (like a water butt) and use it to flush the lavatory.

* Install a "Hippo" (many water companies supply these free of charge) in the loo to reduce the amount of water in each flush. A brick or plastic bottle will also serve this purpose.

* Don’t leave taps running while brushing teeth or shaving.

* Wash vegetables in a bowl and save the run-off to water plants. Water that contains washing-up liquid can kill aphids on roses.

* Chill a bottle filled with tap water in the fridge – this saves running the tap until the water is cold.

* Wait until you have a full load before using a washing machine or dishwasher. Use the minimum amount of water in kettles and saucepans.

* Maintain your plumbing system; replace faulty washers to avoid leaking taps and avoid burst pipes by installing adequate insulation.

David Cameron cycles to work, followed by a chauffeur-driven car that carries his briefcase and work shoes. Sir Menzies Campbell has bidden a tearful farewell to his gas-guzzling Jaguar. Tony Blair had the lamp outside 10 Downing Street’s famous front door fitted with a low-energy bulb. But Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, has taken the battle for the environment to an entirely new level.

For the past 15 months, Mr Livingstone revealed to The Independent, no one in his household has flushed the toilet after urinating.

The capital’s first citizen has, he explains, been conducting an experiment based on the old adage "if it’s yellow, let it mellow". It has worked so well that he now hopes all Londoners will follow his example.

Polling evidence commissioned by the Mayor’s office says that climate change ranks almost equal with crime and the cost of living among Londoners’ top concerns. Yet London is a wasteful city, expending millions of gallons of purified water washing cars, spraying lawns, or flushing urine away. The Mayor sees his pioneering experiment as a chance to persuade Londoners to change their wasteful habits.

"There is quite a bit that you can do by changing building design, and so on but the really big gains come from changing lifestyles. If people drive a little less, cycle a little more, flush their toilets less, make sure they have got light bulbs that are energy efficient, and a whole range of changes like that, it will make a whole lot of difference."

He added: "If we continue to waste the amount that we do, London will run out of water. We use about 30 per cent more water than French and German people. Londoners use more water than anyone else in Britain and mainly, we just waste it. A third of all the water you use you flush down the loo, and actually there is no earthly reason that you need to flush the loo if you have merely urinated. That’s a huge saving of water.

"The experiment in my own home, which is now into its second year, has been a success. We continued with it right through the summer, and never once did a great bluebottle come in the bathroom. After all, why would a bluebottle wish to slurp up a little bit of nitrogenous waste? It has no nutritional value at all. It’s just that a lot of people have a perception that their urine is some sort of liquid form of their excreta. A lot of gardeners put their urine in a bucket and actually use it. Plant roots love it."
Ken Livingstone was once the bad boy of the Labour Party. Tony Blair’s supporters prevented him being adopted as Labour candidate in the 2000 London mayoral election. When he stood as an independent, he was expelled from the party and it was ruled that it would be at least five years before he was allowed back. But he was soon forgiven, and is now negotiating with the Government about extending his powers.

He wants to be able to overrule the boroughs on major planning decisions. If Labour loses control of more London boroughs inThursday’s election, he is likely to be pushing at an open door.

Meanwhile, he has his eye on one minor plan?ing decision. Mr Livingstone has had solar panels installed in his home, and they will soon be fitted into the roof of his City Hall headquarters. He has heard about David Cameron’s plan to have a wind turbine fitted on his Notting Hill home.

That will require a planning permit from Kensington and Chelsea council, but if they cause any trouble, Mr Livingstone promised: "I’ll turn up as a character witness, in his defence."

How to save water in the home

By Louise Jury

* Divert water from the roof or the shower into a rain harvester (like a water butt) and use it to flush the lavatory.

* Install a "Hippo" (many water companies supply these free of charge) in the loo to reduce the amount of water in each flush. A brick or plastic bottle will also serve this purpose.

* Don’t leave taps running while brushing teeth or shaving.

* Wash vegetables in a bowl and save the run-off to water plants. Water that contains washing-up liquid can kill aphids on roses.

* Chill a bottle filled with tap water in the fridge – this saves running the tap until the water is cold.

* Wait until you have a full load before using a washing machine or dishwasher. Use the minimum amount of water in kettles and saucepans.

* Maintain your plumbing system; replace faulty washers to avoid leaking taps and avoid burst pipes by installing adequate insulation.

Proiectul unui buget si procedurile contabile eficiente presupun:
¬ Desemnarea unei valori monetare pentru activitati specifice;
¬ Ghidarea cheltuielilor astfel incat banii sa fie cheltuiti in activitati care sprijina direct scopul si obiectivele stabilite;
¬ Identificarea resurselor necesare si specificarea momentului potrivit de cheltuire a acestor resurse;
¬ Facilitarea examinarii costurilor actuale ale activitatilor specifice;
¬ Clarificarea relatiei dintre costurile proiectului si cheltuielile administrative si operationale necesare sustinerii proiectului;
¬ Oferirea informatiilor despre problemele potentiale referitoare la cash-flow inainte ca acestea sa apara, astfel incat sa poata fi luate masurile necesare.
Este important ca toate cheltuielile necesare implementarii unei anumite actiuni sa fie identificate si incluse in buget. Costurile din buget includ salarii, asigurari sociale, consultanta, transport, comunicatii, aprovizionarea biroului, echipament, costurile de realizari importante, operarea si intretinerea, chiria si alte cheltuieli. Bugetul proiectului identifica de asemenea surse de venituri si valoarea fondurilor preconizate din fiecare sursa. Aceste venituri pot intra sub forma de granturi sau imprumuturi, taxe la utilizator sau alte taxe.
Pentru a monitoriza cheltuielile si veniturile unui proiect, este foarte importanta stabilirea de proceduri contabile eficiente. Aceste proceduri includ pregatirea unui raport de tranzactii lunare – balanta lunara – care sa urmareasca evidenta tuturor chitantelor si a inregistrarilor financiare interne aferente.