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  • CENN - September 30, 2004 Daily Digest

    CENN – SEPTEMBER 30, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
    Table of Contents:
    1. Fire in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
    2. Guides to Georgian Rangers of Borjomi-Kharagauli Natural Park
    3. German co. to Pump $20-$25 mln into Armenian Metals Plant
    4. Beekeeping Center Opened in Armenia
    5. ATP Executive Director Addresses UN DPI NGO Conference
    6. Armenian Government Purchase First 10,000 Tones of Nitric Fertilizers

    7. Why was the Agency of Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring
    Dissolved?
    8. Water-pumping Station Launched in Mingachevir
    9. Climate Problems Dedicated
    10. CEI Press Release / 27.09.2004 / St.Petersburg, the International
    Car-Free Day
    11. Japan Should Adopt Emission Trading Scheme, Says WWF
    12. Master's Programme Sustainable Development at the University of
    Utrecht in The Netherlands



    1. FIRE IN BORJOMI-KHARAGAULI NATIONAL PARK

    Source: Rustavi2, September 30, 2004
    Georgian Times, September 30, 2004

    A fire broke out south to the Borjomi-Kharagauli forest-park and alpine
    zone of the Borjomi preserve on September 29, 2004. Head of the
    Department of the Protected Territories Gia Asatiani told INTER-PRESS
    that especially the south part of the forest-park in the Atskuri village
    is endangered. According to the spread news, approximately 30 firemen
    have been trying to prevent fire; the cause of the fire is yet unknown.

    In accordance with the official information, the Borjomi-Kharagauli
    National Park covers more than 76 hectares of sub-alpine and alpine
    meadows, with rare species of flora and fauna.


    2. GUIDES TO GEORGIAN RANGERS OF BORJOMI-KHARAGAULI NATURAL PARK

    The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs requests your attention on two
    new guides in Georgian, which will be distributed, to the rangers of the
    Borjomi-Kharagauli Natural Park. This represents the end result of
    co-operation between the French National Forestry Organization and the
    Georgian State Department of Forests on a project called "Assistance to
    the Georgian government in the elaboration of criteria and indicators
    for the definition and identification of protected areas".

    We would greatly appreciate comments and recommendations on the guides.

    For sending your comments, please contact
    Merab MACHAVARIANI,
    Environment and Forest Policy Expert,
    Georgian State Department of Forests
    E-mail: [email protected] (in English and Georgian)

    Steven SPEED
    International Expert
    French National Forestry Organization:
    E-mail: [email protected] (in English and French)

    two new guides in Georgian please see the follow link:
    http://www.cenn.org/info/GuideGeo FS 1.doc
    http://www.cenn.org/info/GuideGeoFS2.doc


    3. GERMAN CO. TO PUMP $20-$25 MLN INTO ARMENIAN METALS PLANT

    Source: Interfax, September 16, 2004

    Germany's Cronimet intends to invest $20 million-$25 million in the Pure
    Iron works in Yerevan, which processes molybdenum concentrate.

    The money should reach the plant in 2005-2006, in accordance with an
    investment program, Genrik Karapetian, the plant's director, told
    Interfax.

    Most of the money will be spent making the plant more environmentally
    friendly, introducing new technology and putting new products on line,
    Karapetian said.

    The Pure Iron works currently produces pure molybdenum but eventually
    plans to make metal plates and special alloys, he said.


    4. BEEKEEPING CENTER OPENED IN ARMENIA

    Source: A1 Plus, September 19, 2004

    Multi Agro beekeeping center was opened Thursday in Armenia. The center
    is working with 2,567 beekeepers. This year 14 tones of honey were
    produced but half of honey haul was taken to feed bees.

    The center director Roza Tsarukyan says honey is to be exported in the
    future. She said not only honey but pollen and medicines are planned to
    be exported overseas.


    5. ATP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ADDRESSES UN DPI NGO CONFERENCE

    ARMENIA TREE PROJECT

    65 Main Street
    Watertown, MA 02472
    617-926-8733
    [email protected]
    www.armeniatree.org

    For Immediate Release
    September 10, 2004

    WATERTOWN, MA -- Armenia Tree Project (ATP) Executive Director Jeff
    Masarjian participated this week in a panel held as part of the 57th
    annual United Nations Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental
    Organization Conference at the UN headquarters in New York. The
    conference, titled "Millennium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes
    Action," is taking place from September 8-10, 2004.

    The focus of the conference is the role of NGOs as well as civil society
    and governments for implementing the eight Millennium Development Goals
    adopted by the UN in 2000. ATP was invited to participate in the
    conference by the Armenian General Benevolent Union in association with
    Rotary International, NGO Committee on Human Rights, Peace Action, and
    the World Federation for Mental Health.

    At the September 8 panel discussion with representatives of two other
    NGOs, titled "Overcoming Obstacles to Economic Growth and Community
    Development: The Role of Civil Society," Mr. Masarjian outlined the ways
    that ATP reforestation efforts are addressing many of the UN Millennium
    Development Goals. The following is an abridged text of Mr. Masarjian's
    speech:

    ATP Programs Contribute to Fulfillment of UN Millennium Goals in Armenia
    By Jeff Masarjian, Armenia Tree Project Executive Director Armenia Tree
    Project was founded in 1994 in response to the massive felling of trees
    for fuel during the harsh winters of the early 1990s. The mission of
    Armenia Tree Project is to improve the human, economic, and
    environmental conditions of Armenia through the planting of trees,
    aiding those with the fewest resources first.

    Forests and trees are important and necessary components for maintaining
    the environmental and economic infrastructure of a nation. They clean
    the atmosphere, absorbing carbon dioxide and pollutants, while
    simultaneously releasing oxygen. They attract and retain moisture, both
    in the air and the soil, helping to regulate and stabilize the climate.
    They prevent erosion and landslides, while retaining precious topsoil,
    which is otherwise washed away with the rain, becoming silt in rivers,
    streams and lakes, choking plant and animal life.

    Forests also provide habitats for a diverse array of flora and fauna.
    Armenia is home to over 3,600 species of flowering plants, many of which
    are endangered and exist only in the ecosystems provided by the
    dwindling forests.

    >>From 1994 - 2002, Armenia Tree Project focused its activities on
    creating jobs through re-greening public spaces, many of which were
    littered with the stumps of sacrificed trees. ATP works closely with the
    residents of local institutions, such as schools, senior centers,
    hospitals, and orphanages, as well as neighborhoods.

    Once accepted as an ATP site, residents receive the training and tools
    they need to plant and tend the trees. The relationship is based upon a
    contract between ATP and the recipient institution or group, which
    agrees to replace the trees at its own expense if less than 70 percent
    survive.

    By appealing to residents' self interest, and using informal incentives
    to promote compliance with the agreement, ATP is fostering a growing
    respect for the environment through traditional value systems and needs
    of the community. Residents--who had previously been plagued with
    despair, while expecting the government or others to do something for
    them to improve their lot--are now in a position of taking action to
    make a direct impact on their immediate environment.

    To date, ATP has assisted community residents in planting over 375,000
    trees at 477 sites in every region of Armenia through our Community Tree
    Planting program. ATP works closely with community schools to develop
    environmental lessons, which are not typically part of the standard
    curriculum.

    The restoration of urban green spaces is the goal of ATP's Coppicing
    Program, which employs several hundred Armenians each year in seasonal
    work. Coppicing is a forestry technique by which tree stumps with intact
    root systems are trimmed of shoots, leaving the strongest one to grow
    into an exact replica of the original tree.

    To date, ATP staff has supervised the restoration of 760 acres of land
    at several sites, including the Armenian Genocide Memorial, Botanical
    Gardens, Victory Park, and Paros Hill, all located in Yerevan. Over
    155,000 trees have been restored through ATP's coppicing program since
    1999.

    The trees ATP supplies to community sites are propagated from seeds and
    cuttings in our two state-of-the-art nurseries, founded in 1996 and 1998
    in the refugee villages of Karin and Khatchpar. The nursery sites were
    chosen specifically to provide employment opportunities for Armenian
    refugees from Azerbaijan who are supporting extended families, and who
    would otherwise have no source of income. The nurseries' 29 employees
    are responsible for the production of 50,000 trees each year for
    planting at community sites.

    The 53 species of trees growing in our nurseries are all indigenous to
    Armenia, and were chosen for their hardiness in surviving Armenia's
    harsh climate. With the opening of the new Michael and Virginia Ohanian
    Environmental Education Center at ATP's nursery in Karin village,
    students from the State Agricultural Academy and elsewhere will attend
    multi-media seminars and receive hands-on field practice with our staff.

    In 2001, in response to a growing body of evidence published in
    documents by the UN, the World Bank, and other sources regarding the
    immediate and critical state of Armenia's deforestation and path towards
    desertification, ATP initiated a series of strategic planning sessions
    to devise new interventions that might have a greater impact for the
    people and land of Armenia.

    We realized that we needed to devise innovative new programs which would
    not only plant considerably more trees, but also address the widespread
    poverty and despair suffered by nearly half of all Armenians. Many
    Armenians live in rural villages, and are forced to strip the
    surrounding forests of trees for heating and cooking fuel, as well as
    for sale to commercial interests.

    In Fall 2002, ATP met with the leaders of Aygut, a small, slowly dying
    Armenian refugee village, comprised of 290 families. Youth and young
    adults would routinely leave seeking opportunities elsewhere, and elders
    longed for their lost homes and villages in Azerbaijan.

    The school principal spoke of a plot of land near the river which she
    had hoped would someday be an orchard, supplying income to purchase
    badly needed school supplies. ATP agreed to provide technical assistance
    and 500 fruit and nut trees for the site, if residents could collaborate
    together to clear the land, build irrigation channels and a road to the
    site, and fence it in for protection from livestock. ATP also developed
    an environmental curriculum for the school and trained teachers in
    presenting it.

    The members of the Aygut community succeeded in completing their part of
    the contract within weeks of our initial meeting. By Spring 2003, 500
    fruit and nut trees were planted by school children and adults, assisted
    by the US Ambassador to Armenia, John Ordway, and other invitees, who
    celebrated Earth Day at the new Aygut School orchard on April 22. I'm
    very happy to report that I observed the first cherries blossoming on
    the trees this summer.

    Seventeen families also signed up to participate in a pilot project
    whereby they would be trained to propagate several thousand tree seeds,
    collected locally, in newly developed backyard nurseries. For each
    surviving seedling that the participant will then plant in the forest,
    ATP will provide a set payment.

    Seven species of local tree seeds are currently being propagated, and
    some have already reached a height of 12 inches and may be out planted
    this fall. In this, the pilot phase of the project, 20,000 seedlings are
    being grown; we hope to increase this 10 fold over the next two years by
    expanding this micro-enterprise opportunity to more residents in Aygut
    and other villages.

    This project can potentially increase the annual income of participating
    families several times over, without negatively impacting the amount of
    land needed for subsistence farming. In addition, because the trees are
    grown using a short-term rotation cycle of 12-18 months, the per-unit
    cost is less than in our traditional nurseries, creating a win-win
    situation for everyone.

    There are 13 villages in the river valley where Aygut is located,
    comprising 6,000 people. ATP plans to replicate programming in three new
    villages in 2005, using the same methodology to promote economic,
    ecological, social, and cultural development. We expect that the fruit
    produced in this valley will not only contribute to residents' food
    security, but also attract the interest of businesses involved in fruit
    juice production and export.

    Early on in our involvement with the residents of Aygut, it became clear
    that the humanitarian and development needs of this village were far
    beyond ATP's individual capacity. We took a very collaborative approach
    to our work in the village, inviting other international aid
    organizations and NGOs to visit the village and observe the progress
    achieved over the past year.

    Organizations such as UN World Food Program, UNDP, Heifer International,
    Project Harmony, USDA, Peace Corps, Satsil, and Jinishian Family
    Foundation, among others, have contributed expertise and support in
    furthering the social and economic evelopment of Aygut.

    The Mayor recently reported that since ATP initiated programming there,
    emigration from the village has halted, there has been a noticeable
    improvement in the overall demeanor and perspective of villagers, and
    there was even a record number of births, all indicators of a growing
    sense of hope and optimism.

    In addition to this innovative community development and reforestation
    programming, ATP this year partnered with a local environmental NGO,
    called Tsiatsan, in the city of Vanadzor, to build a six hectare
    reforestation nursery that has the capacity to produce over one million
    trees each year beginning in 2006. These trees will be used to reforest
    the devastated hillsides around the city, which have become subject to
    serious erosion and landslides over the past 13 years.

    In conclusion, Armenia Tree Project is implementing its mission to
    protect and restore Armenia's forests through a unique combination of
    programming that aims to plant a growing number of trees each year,
    while providing opportunities for employment, sustainable economic
    development, training and education.

    Our goal is to empower residents to become stewards of their environment
    while also enhancing their standard of living and hopes for their
    children's future. It is our hope that our decentralized approach to
    developing an environmental ethic based on education, action, and
    self-determination will eventually lead to a national and even regional
    commitment to environmental protection and enforcement of sustainable
    practice.


    6. ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT PURCHASE FIRST 10,000 TONS OF NITRIC FERTILIZERS

    Source: Arminfo, September 15, 2004

    The Armenian Government will purchase 10,000 tons of nitric fertilizers
    for forthcoming autumn and spring sowing, said Armenian Minister of
    Agriculture David Lokyan at the Armenian National Assembly today.

    He said that should need arise, the Government will purchase a second
    lot of fertilizes. Besides, another 2,500 tons of nitric fertilizers
    will be imported to the country due to a Japanese grant from Voronezh.
    In 2004 the ministry distributed 18 tons of fertilizersfor 3,700 drams
    for one sack to the country's regions. However, after, the market price
    of fertilizers rose and the Government allocated 72 mln drams dotations
    to maintain stability of prices by the end of 2004. Lokyan said that
    import of fertilizes in 2005 will become a serious problem, as "Azot"
    plant in Georgia factually belonging to the ITERA International Group
    intends to rise the price of its production to the international level.
    The minister said that production of fertilizers in the country is
    impossible in the nearest future, as the country's chemical industry is
    not ready for it. He said that Vanadzor chemical plant belonging to the
    Armenian-Russian company "Prometey-Khimprom" is able to produce only two
    types of fertilizers.


    7. WHY WAS THE AGENCY OF HYDROMETEOROLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
    DISSOLVED?

    Source: Investigative Journal lists of Armenia / HETQ Online, September
    29, 2004

    "It is clear that for some reason the government doesn't want to have a
    real picture of the environment," says Tamara Hovhannisyan, deputy head
    of the now defunct Agency of Hydrometeorology and Environmental
    Monitoring.

    According to the March 17, 2004 Decision # 420-N by the Government of
    Armenia, the Agency of Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of
    the Ministry of Ecology was reorganized as the Division of Meteorology
    and Atmospheric Pollution Monitoring. This change provoked various
    comments, some of them outraged.

    "In reality, this reorganization, at first glance presented within the
    context of structural reform, might indicate the involvement of quite
    serious corporate interests," say former managers at the agency. One of
    their arguments is the fact that in the more than ten years that it has
    existed, the Armenian Parliament has adopted only one law in this field,
    the Law on Hydrometeorology, and it did so in response to public demand,
    when there were no private interests involved.

    It should come as no surprise that the head of the Standing Commission
    on Health, Ecology and Social Issues of the National Assembly, Gagik
    Mkheyan, was unaware of the recent government decision. But rather than
    reflecting on his lack of information, Mkheyan laid down conditions:
    "Unless you tell me how you found out about the decision, I will not
    talk to you; I place a high value on my every word."

    The fact is the dissolution of the Agency of Hydrometeorology and
    Environmental Monitoring is a direct consequence of parliamentary
    inaction.

    Gennady Kodjoyan and Tamara Hovhannisyan have worked in the field of
    ecology for nearly forty years, mostly at the managerial level.
    According to Kodjoyan, he was entrusted to manage the structure under
    circumstances in which there were no laws or regulations defining what
    exactly an "agency" was.

    "It was impossible to head something when it was unclear whether it was
    a governing body, a policy designing body or a supervisory body, or none
    of the above. Managing implies having tools and resources, but we were
    given neither staff, nor financial, material nor professional leverage.
    In general, it is not clear in our country what an agency means. The
    legal framework is completely missing," Kodjoyan explains.

    Then what one can expect from an agency in the field of, say,
    atmospheric pollution or natural resources management, when one out of
    three employees of the agency owns private minibus lines, manages a
    cement plant, or runs another air-polluting enterprise? The point is
    that the regulation of the legal framework in the field of environmental
    monitoring will bring with it huge penalties for polluting air, water,
    and soil. Environmental laws will have to be implemented, which will
    affect large and small oligarchs. This is something that Armenia is not
    ready for.

    But Kodjoyan says, "It's a matter of time; sooner or later European
    institutions will oblige us to meet these requirements."

    The government explains the recent restructuring as being aimed at
    "eliminating redundancy in the activity of various departments of the
    ministry, making the ministry's functioning more efficient, as well as
    ensuring sectoral division."

    "In order to do this it is first of all necessary to create an efficient
    system of management," Kodjoyan insists, "It depends on what we want to
    do. If we want to fish in troubled waters, we can leave everything as it
    is. If we want everything to be clear and transparent to all of us, the
    tools exist, there is no need to reinvent the wheel."

    To improve efficiency, Gennady Kodjoyan recommends separating the
    functions of the Ministry of Ecology and creating four independent
    departments -resource analysis (monitoring); resource management;
    strictly ecological issues, including the development of laws, normative
    acts, etc; and supervision, which will control the implementation of
    laws be entitled to impose penalties.

    "Otherwise, if one department deals with all these issues, that is, it
    itself utilizes resources and as a result pollutes the environment, and
    it itself monitors the levels of pollution, then it is clear that there
    is a conflict of interest here," he says.

    The fact is, the dissolution of the Agency of Hydrometeorology and
    Environmental Monitoring is "change for change's sake" and does not
    signal a real attempt to raise the net efficiency of the reforms.

    At present, the dissolution of the agency has deprived us of the ability
    to get complete information about, and to analyze and assess the results
    of, ecological monitoring. Moreover, it is not clear who is, in place of
    the agency, now implementing state policy on environmental monitoring,
    if such a policy exists at all.


    8. WATER-PUMPING STATION LAUNCHED IN MINGACHEVIR

    Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
    September 22, 2004

    A new water-pumping station supplying Migachevir and three IDP's camps
    with drinking water has been recently constructed and put into operation
    in Mingachevir.

    Speakers said that the station had been constructed in accordance with
    President Ilham Aliyev's instructions given during his visit to
    Mingachiver on July 8, 2004.


    9. CLIMATE PROBLEMS DEDICATED

    Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
    September 24, 2004

    Seminar related to the issues of technical support of commitments taken
    by the countries of Caucasus and Moldova in the field of climate changes
    was held at the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.

    The representatives of several Ministries, state committee, NGOs,
    National Academy of Sciences attended the work of the seminar

    The workshop was held in frame of the project "Mechanism of pure
    development" implementing in accordance with the regulations of Kyoto
    Protocol. Azerbaijan attends this project since 2004. Main goal of
    2-year project is to promote in formation of the institutional
    infrastructure for realization of numerous projects aimed at reduction
    of level of hotbed gases in atmosphere, preparation of national program
    in the field of climate changes and reduction of their impact on the
    environment and human health.


    10. CEI PRESS RELEASE / 27.09.2004 / ST.PETERSBURG, THE INTERNATIONAL
    CAR-FREE DAY

    Centre for Environmental Initiatives

    PRESS RELEASE
    September 27, 2004

    On September 26, 2004 the Centre for Environmental Initiatives organized
    in St.Petersburg a special competition as an event linked to the
    International Car-Free Day. The competition was also supported by the
    Running City project and Children of the Baltic youth environmental NGO.
    The goal of the competition was promotion of public transportation and
    bicycle in St.Petersburg.

    33 teams competed in two categories - Public Transport and Bicycle.
    Their task was to visit 10 points in the central and northern parts of
    St.Petersburg.

    "The competition results showed poor state of public transportation in
    St.Petersburg. - says Alexander Fedorov, the Council chairman of the
    Centre for Environmental Initiatives. - The 50-km way took 4 to 5 hours
    for those competition participants who went by public transport."
    Bicyclists made the same way in 3 hours, on the average. On weekdays,
    when the city is full of traffic jams, bicyclists would have even
    greater advantage over other transportation methods.

    The most urgent environmental problem in St.Petersburg is air pollution.
    Car traffic contributes over 80 % in it. The permissible levels of
    pollutants content in the air of all major streets are greatly exceeded.
    Now understanding is growing in the world that only development of
    public transportation is a real and sustainable solution to transport
    and environmental problems of big cities. Public transport creations
    much lesser air pollution per one passenger as compared to private cars.
    In St.Petersburg, about 85 % of all trips are made by public transport.
    Public transportation in St.Petersburg should be improved, but not
    destroyed.

    Residents of those cities where much attention is paid to public health
    and to the environment, use bicycles a lot. For that, they have safe and
    comfortable bike paths and other elements of bike infrastructure.
    According to the study performed by the Centre for Environmental
    Initiatives in July 2004, there are more bicycles in St.Petersburg than
    private cars. However, there are no bike paths and corresponding road
    signs in the city. "Many people, especially young, would like to use
    bicycles in the city. – says Olga Senova, the Children of the Baltic
    Board chairperson. - Unfortunately, hazards and difficulties force most
    of them to leave their bicycles at home. Our city has a lot of
    possibilities to create bike infrastructure, and these possibilities
    must be used."

    St.Petersburg NGOs are sure that improvement of the public
    transportation system in the city is the real and the only possible way
    to solve transport and environmental problems. And development of
    bicycle here would put our city in a row with other cities in the world
    that take care not only of economic growth, but also of health and
    comfort for their residents.

    For more information please contact:
    Centre for Environmental Information
    [email protected]
    Phone/fax: +7 812 3156622


    11. JAPAN SHOULD ADOPT EMISSION TRADING SCHEME, SAYS WWF

    Press Release Embargoed for 28 September 10:00 am in Tokyo

    Tokyo, Japan - Japan should make more effort to reach its target under
    the Kyoto protocol of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 6% below 1990
    levels by 2012, by adopting a scheme to trade emissions in climate
    changing gases, WWF, the global conservation organisation, said today.
    The Japanese government should clearly state its aim of introducing a
    domestic emissions trading scheme by 2008, and start preparations in
    2005 and a pilot phase in 2006.

    A new WWF report, commissioned from the German think tank Oeko
    Institute, proposes an emissions trading scheme that would help Japan
    cut its emissions by 168 millions tons. Currently Japan is 7.6% over its
    1990 levels, with two thirds of its emissions coming from its energy and
    industrial sector.

    While industry has been opposed to other CO2 emission strategies such as
    a carbon tax, WWF Japan believes that emissions trading could be more
    attractive. According to the report, an emission trading scheme is the
    most flexible tool to identify cost effective measures for emission
    reductions; it would therefore help Japan's competitiveness.
    Furthermore, if the scheme is designed to be compatible with other
    emerging markets such as the European Emissions Trading System, it will
    offer even more cost reduction advantages while remaining
    environmentally credible and effective.

    "The answer to Japan's climate pollution problem is a mix of policy
    measures, yet this should include an emissions trading system," said
    Yurika Ayukawa, head of the WWF Japan climate programme. "It is
    essential that we internalize pollution costs so that they become a
    factor in company accounts. Through the trading scheme, innovative
    companies will be rewarded and laggards will be punished. It's a fair,
    market-driven system that can obtain astonishing results when handled in
    the right way."

    The world's first emission trading scheme will enter into force in
    January 2005 between European Union member states. The City of London is
    set to become a major trading place for climate damaging emissions.
    Meanwhile plans are afoot for a number of states in the US to set up a
    joint emission trading system. National systems will eventually be
    linked to a global trading scheme when the Kyoto protocol enters into
    force.

    For further information:
    Ms. Hiroko Sakuma (press officer), tel: +81-3-3769-1713
    Mr. Naoyuki Yamagishi and
    Ms. Yurika Ayukawa (Climate Change Programme officers)
    tel: 81-3-3769-3509
    Email: [email protected], [email protected]=20

    Full report at
    http://www.panda.org/downloads/climate_change/final0926.pdf

    Editors Notes:

    o Under emissions trading scheme, power stations and large
    energy-intensive steel, cement, chemical and iron manufacturers match
    their CO2 emissions with permits issued by governments. Any companies
    exceeding these allowances have to buy spare ones from firms which have
    found ways of keeping greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.

    o The EU emission trading scheme will come into force in January 2005.
    The EU has apportioned its target of emission reductions under the Kyoto
    Protocol to each member state. Each government has then drawn up
    national allocation plans for installations of the industry sectors
    concerned. The scheme will at first run for a three-year trial period.
    WWF has criticised the National Allocation Plans as too weak for the
    system to reduce emissions sufficiently.=20
    o In Japan, the Guidelines for Measures to Prevent Global Warming are
    currently being reviewed for its first step (2002-2004). If current
    measures are found to be not enough to meet the Kyoto target, new and
    additional measures need to be introduced for the second step
    (2005-2007). This year, 2004 is a crucial time to propose new measures
    for a climate policy of Japan. Japan's emissions are 7.6% above 1990
    levels. If we miss this chance this year, the next chance will be 2007.
    This is why WWF Japan is launching this proposal.


    12. MASTER'S PROGRAMME SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
    UTRECHT IN THE NETHERLANDS

    Dear Colleague,

    We are currently seeking applicants for admission to our master's
    programme Sustainable Development at the University of Utrecht in The
    Netherlands.

    The master Sustainable Development is a two-year programme. It starts
    twice a year, in February and in September, and it consists of three
    different tracks:

    A) Energy and Resources
    B) Land Use, Environment and Biodiversity
    C) Environmental Policy and Management

    Since 2003 international students with various academic backgrounds and
    nationalities follow this programme, because:

    o The programme offers a unique multidisciplinary approach, working with
    research teams of experts that do not shy away from confrontation and
    integration of ideas and viewpoints.
    o The programme is developed by the Utrecht University's Copernicus
    Institute for sustainable development and innovation, one of the world's
    leading research groups on sustainability issues.
    o The programme offers a varied combination of lectures, working groups,
    case studies, excursions, multidisciplinary and internationally
    orientated research projects and internships with external
    organisations.

    For more information about the content of the programme, the course
    outlines or the entrance requirements, please visit our website:
    www.geo.uu.nl/mastersd. You can also order a brochure online.

    Mariëlle van Gelderen
    Information Officer
    + 31 30 2537828

    University of Utrecht
    Department of Innovation & Environmental Sciences
    Budapestlaan 4 (room Z002) 3584 CS Utrecht
    The Netherlands
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