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CENN Daily Digest - 04/08/2004

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  • CENN Daily Digest - 04/08/2004

    CENN - APRIL 8, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
    Table of Contents:
    1. Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline to be Ready by Mid-2005
    2. NGO News Line Launched!
    3. Western European Governments not Taking Illegal Logging Seriously
    4. The International Conference - Environmental Safety: Nature and
    Society
    5. GIS & Remote Sensing for Wildlife Managers Using the New ESRI
    Software ARCGIS
    6. Measuring Land Cover Change and its Impact on Endangered Species



    1. BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN OIL PIPELINE TO BE READY BY MID-2005

    Source: Interfax, April 7, 2004

    The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil export pipeline will be ready for use in the
    first half of 2005, David Woodward, president of British Petroleum
    Azerbaijan, said in Tbilisi on Tuesday after a meeting between an
    Azerbaijani delegation and Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania.

    He said that at the moment 60% of construction work has been completed
    on the Georgian side: pipes have been welded on 150 km of the 248-km
    section. "The pipeline will be ready for use in the first half of next
    year," Woodward said.

    In turn, Natik Aliyev, president of the State Oil Company of the
    Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR), said that the pipeline is being built
    according to plan and will be completed on schedule. "For us, as for
    international financial and oil circles, this has been and continues to
    be a priority," Aliyev said.

    The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project will cost $3.6 billion. The future
    pipeline will stretch 1,767 kilometers (443 km through Azerbaijan, 248
    km through Georgia and 1,076 km through Turkey) and will have a capacity
    of 50 million tonnes of oil per annum

    Participants in the BTC project are: British Petroleum (30.1%), SOCAR
    (25%), Unocal (8.9%), Statoil (8.71%), TPAO (6.53%), ENI (5%), Itochu
    (3.4%), ConocoPhillips (2.5%), Inpex (2.5%), TotalFinaElf (5%), and
    Amerada Hess (2.36%).


    2. NGO NEWS LINE LAUNCHED!

    NEWS RELEASE
    April 5, 2004
    Yerevan, Armenia

    April 5. The USAID-funded World Learning NGO Strengthening Program is
    pleased to announce the launch of NGO News Line, a unique online
    initiative available on our website www.worldlearning.am. The current
    option presents the latest NGO news on a special page exclusively
    devoted to news releases from Armenian NGO sector.

    On this page all interested Armenian NGOs can not only read but also
    share information about their programs and events by getting directly
    involved in the News Line update. As soon as the news is submitted to
    World Learning's Information department via email:
    [email protected], the NGO information is processed, translated and
    posted on the website both in Armenian and English.

    We strongly believe that through the News Line public organizations in
    Armenia will have the opportunity to spread their message to a larger
    audience using this resource and providing better communication and
    information distribution services to NGO community.

    The World Learning NSP is funded by the USAID and has been operating in
    Armenia since August 2000. Working together with NGOs through providing
    training, technical assistance and grants, World Learning has helped
    them to become broader based and stronger advocates for civil society in
    Armenia.

    For more information contact
    Zara Amatuni
    Information & PR Specialist
    World Learning for International Development
    NGO Strengthening Program, Armenia
    24 Moskovian Street, Apt. 1
    Tel.: (3741) 543576, 582620, 520851
    URL: www.worldlearning.am


    3. WESTERN EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS NOT TAKING ILLEGAL LOGGING SERIOUSLY
    Brussels, Belgium - A new WWF online report launched today shows that
    European governments are not effectively combating illegal logging.

    The report rates 12 countries on 9 different steps needed to tackle this
    problem, and finds that none of them has achieved a satisfactory
    performance overall.

    According to the new WWF online Government Barometer, the UK comes out
    best - rated moderate to good - and is clearly ahead of Denmark, Germany
    and Sweden, which are credited with an overall moderate performance.

    Austria, Finland, France, Greece, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and
    Portugal are rated poorly.

    The survey shows that most governments support efforts at the European
    Union (EU) level to outlaw imports of illegal wood, tackle illegal
    logging in accession and candidate countries, and follow through with a
    proposed voluntary mechanism to keep illegal timber out of the EU.
    However, they are failing to implement strong measures in their domestic
    markets.

    For example, while EU governments purchase about 20 per cent of all wood
    products sold in the EU for public works, only six countries (Austria,
    Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, and the UK) have committed to buying
    wood from legal and sustainable sources. Of these, only the UK is
    monitoring implementation of its public procurement policy.

    The UK is also the only country to have a partnership with a
    wood-producing country (Indonesia) to combat illegal logging and related
    trade.

    According to WWF, similar initiatives launched by other EU countries
    don't include clear targets to actively reduce the import of illegal
    wood to the participating EU country and cannot be seen as real
    partnerships.

    "The trade in illegal timber around the world is a multibillion dollar
    business, and EU countries, through their buying power, have a key
    responsibility in reducing it," said Duncan Pollard, Head of WWF's
    European Forest Programme. "These countries must speed up their efforts
    to tackle an illegal activity that destroys nature, impoverishes local
    communities, and distorts markets. There is no excuse for inaction:
    commitment is good, but action is better."

    Half of the timber imported into the EU comes from Russia and Eastern
    Europe - and a significant portion of this is likely to be illegal.

    Previous WWF reports have shown for example that up to 50 per cent of
    all logging activities in the Russian Far East and in Estonia, and up to
    20 per cent in Latvia and 27 per cent in Northwest Russia, are illegal.

    Although available information for most accession and candidate
    countries is fragmented, WWF believes illegal logging is a major issue
    in these countries. The conservation organization also expects more
    illegal timber from Russia to enter the EU via accession countries after
    EU enlargement.

    With its new online Government Barometer, WWF will continue to monitor
    government commitments, attitudes, and actions on illegal logging over
    the coming months.


    "Governments often make it sound as if they are doing all they can to
    curb illegal logging and trade, but the reality is different," said
    Jacob Andersen, WWF Forest Officer. "Our new online barometer will make
    it easy for everybody to see who is taking real action and who is simply
    hiding behind words."

    For further information:

    Helma Brandlmaier,
    WWF's European Forest Programme,
    Tel.: +43 676 83 488 217 (mobile)

    Louis B?langer,
    WWF's European Policy Office,
    Tel.: +32 473 562 260 (mobile)

    Claire Doole,
    Head of Press Office, WWF International,
    Tel.: +41 22 364 9550


    NOTES:

    The UK has obtained 12 points out the maximum of 18, followed by Denmark
    (9), Germany and Sweden (7), Austria, Finland, France, Greece, The
    Netherlands and Spain (6), Italy and Portugal (5).

    The 9 steps to combat illegal logging used to rate the 12 countries are:

    1. Position on the development of a voluntary licensing scheme on timber

    2. Position on a EU legislation that would outlaw the import and
    marketing of illegal wood
    3. Position on a EU initiative that would stop illegal logging in EU
    accession and candidate countries
    4. Level of collaboration across government departments on the FLEGT
    action plan
    5. Commitment to ensure public procurement of legal and sustainable wood
    products
    6. Implementation of commitments on public procurement of legal and
    sustainable wood products
    7. Participation in partnerships on combating illegal logging and
    related trade
    8. Effect of participation in partnerships on combating illegal logging
    and related trade
    9. Level of priority for projects in wood-producing developing countries
    to reduce illegal logging


    4. THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE -- ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY: NATURE AND
    SOCIETY

    The International Conference was held in St.Petersburg, Russia, on April
    2-3, 2004. The Conference was organized by the Center for Environmental
    Initiatives, the Russian State Hydro meteorological University, the
    Russian Geographical Society, and the Interregional Youth NGO Children
    of the Baltic.

    St.Petersburg and Vladivostok, Moscow and Yakutiya, Estonia and Moldova,
    Finland and Armenia, the USA and Sweden - 12 countries and different
    regions of Russia were represented at the conference. The specific
    feature of the conference was the fact that its participants represented
    different sectors of the society: non-governmental and governmental
    organizations, research and educational institutions, and mass media.
    The human impact on the environment is so considerable at present that
    its consequences are of planetary scale and bring threats to human
    civilization. Are there any ways of survival and prosperity? What are
    these mechanisms? All these questions are the essence of the problem of
    "environmental safety," and were discussed by the Conference
    participants.

    Serious attention was paid to nature protection in Russia, where
    negative tendencies are observed. The last four years were the time
    period when the least number of protected nature areas were established
    in Russia as compared to the 50-years history. Never during the last 14
    years there were so few nature protection inspectors, so few
    environmental impact assessments, and so many environmentally hazardous
    projects.

    The Conference participants paid special attention to protection of
    environmental rights of citizens. These rights include the right for
    assess to environmental information, the right for public participation
    in decision-making, and the right for assess to justice in environmental
    matters. Implementation of environmental rights is of high importance,
    especially in Russia. Environmental rights are violated on a broad scale
    during construction of new industrial and transports objects, during
    construction of new, additional buildings in old centers of cities, and
    during destruction of green areas. Protection of environmental rights is
    implemented differently in different countries. Therefore, the exchange
    of Russian and foreign experience at the Conference was of great
    importance.

    Erroneous decisions and blind-alley directions of development are
    consequences of ignorance and poor understanding of environmental
    processes and methods for the problems solutions. Therefore, a
    considerable part of discussions was devoted to environmental education,
    which must be aimed at themes actual for people and the society.

    For example, It is not often that people know, what consumer products
    are better for health and for the environment, what is the reason to
    save energy and other resources, which packages are less harmful to
    nature. Here informal education for youth and adults, joining efforts of
    state educational system and NGOs could be of great use. A good example
    of such activity is the international school program for application of
    resources and energy SPARE presented at the conference.

    Environmental problems are usually of transboundary, and sometimes of
    global character. Therefore, efficient international efforts are needed
    for their solution. The Conference section on international cooperation
    permitted the participants to exchange not only opinions on
    strengthening the cooperation, but also successful experiences in this
    sphere.

    Success of the Conference will favor the main Conference goal - to
    consolidate the efforts of all spheres of the society to provide
    environmental safety and environmental rights of citizens.

    The Conference program, abstracts of papers presented at the Conference
    and other information about the Conference is available on Internet:
    www.cei.ru/environmentalsafety2004.

    For more information please contact the St.Petersburg Center for
    Environmental Information:
    Phone/fax: +7 812 3156622
    E-mail: [email protected]
    www.ecocenter.spb.org
    Pereulok Grivtsova 10, off. 26, 190000 St.Petersburg Russia


    5. GIS & REMOTE SENSING FOR WILDLIFE MANAGERS USING THE NEW ESRI
    SOFTWARE ARCGIS
    An Introduction to the use of Geographic Information Systems & Remote
    Sensing in Conservation and Wildlife Management
    April 12-16, 2004

    Increasingly, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing -
    the mapping of features using imagery acquired either from an aircraft
    or a satellite - have become important tools for decision-making and the
    applied management of natural resources. Many federal agencies and
    NGO's rely on GIS and satellite data for their work and are starting to
    produce their own spatial databases. However, there are few training
    opportunities for wildlife managers to learn the application of GIS in
    everyday management situations. We are offering a course for wildlife
    managers that will provide hands-on experience for the collection of
    data, GIS analysis of the data, and map-making using the latest ESRI and
    ERDAS software.

    PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
    This short course will provide wildlife managers with a working
    knowledge about the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
    and Remote Sensing to the monitoring and management of wildlife and
    forest vegetation. Exercises in establishing locations with a Global
    Positioning System (GPS), data input into a GIS, and spatial analysis
    techniques for GIS will provide hands-on and real world experience
    during the course. Based on examples about habitat selection in
    songbirds and white-tailed deer, course participants will learn how to:
    * Collect GIS data in the field using survey techniques and GPS.
    * Differentially correct GPS data.
    * Input GPS data into GIS.
    * Input field data into GIS.
    * Use GIS for management of large data sets from multiple sources.
    * Design and perform analysis using GIS data and spatial analysis
    techniques.
    * Integrate data with ancillary data, such as satellite imagery, aerial
    photography, and State Agency databases.

    Visit the following web address for more details and registration
    information:
    http://www.nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/ConservationGIS/GIS_training/introduction/

    The CRC will also be offering an Advanced Course in Conservation GIS and
    Remote Sensing April 19-23.
    http://www.nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/ConservationGIS/GIS_training/adv anced_GIS

    Contact:
    David Zaks
    1500 Remount Road
    Front Royal, VA 22630
    540-635-6535 (GIS Lab)
    540-635-6506 (FAX)
    [email protected]


    6. MEASURING LAND COVER CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON ENDANGERED SPECIES
    April 19-23, 2004
    PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
    This one-week advanced GIS and remote sensing course provides
    conservationists with an opportunity to learn how GIS and remote sensing
    can be used to assess the conservation status of endangered species.
    Each participant will be provided with his or her own desktop computer
    for all lab exercises. During the hands-on exercises participants will
    use the Internet, ArcView, ArcView Spatial Analyst, ERDAS Imagine,
    Fragstats, and other spatial analysis programs. Instructors will lead
    participants step-by-step through the process of:

    * Conduct a regional conservation assessment using GIS to determine
    critical conservation areas for an endangered species
    * Acquiring multi-date satellite imagery to quantify land cover change
    and to map the extent of the remaining habitat
    * Using landscape analysis to determine optimal landscape configurations
    for conserving the endangered species.

    Visit the following web address for more details and registration
    information:
    http://www.nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/ConservationGIS/GIS_training/advanced_GIS

    Contact:
    David Zaks
    [email protected]
    1500 Remount Road
    Front Royal, VA 22630
    540-635-6535 (GIS Lab)
    540-635-6506 (FAX)



    --
    *******************************************
    CENN INFO
    Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

    Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
    Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
    E-mail: [email protected]
    URL: www.cenn.org
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