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HEAVEN
means clean air and quiet cities By Grazyna Krzywkowska
Urban planners, traffic engineers, and environment and health officers have been working for decades to reduce the negative effects of transport on the environment and human health. Yet air and noise pollution remain serious concerns for citizens — and authorities. As functioning transport networks are a much needed basis for economic growth, solutions don't come easily. But successful attempts exist — one being an experiment called HEAVEN. "HEAVEN" stands for a Healthier Environment through the Abatement of Vehicle Emissions and Noise. A research and development project initiated in 2000, HEAVEN is part of the European Commission's Fifth Framework Programme. It has established an IT application for monitoring and modelling air quality, noise pollution and urban traffic congestion in Berlin, Leicester, Paris, Prague, Rome and Rotterdam. In short, it offers a platform for decision makers and the public for access to information about ambient air quality and noise levels via the Internet. It combines this with a decision-support tool to assess impacts of different traffic management scenarios on the urban environment and health. According to the project team, HEAVEN created innovative information tools to monitor and model near realtime air pollutant emissions and noise pollution. Why? To manage traffic congestion and the dispersion of pollution caused by it more effectively . HEAVEN also helps cities to comply with EC law by helping them meet standards on air quality and noise levels. In Prague for instance, mechanisms have long been established for the monitoring of air quality and realtime traffic. However, involvement in the HEAVEN project has helped the city to integrate these two major databases, along with data on emissions from other sources, short-term meteorological forecasts and digital topographical models. Maria Kazmukova of Prague's City Development Authority said: HEAVEN helps us understand the environmental situation and assess the impacts of different measures which could be taken for its improvement. Fewer ride the bus According to an OECD report published under the auspices of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT), Prague has seen a 75 percent decline in the number of trips made on public transport since 1990 and a rise of up to 50 percent in the level of car ownership (to one car for every two citizens, compared with an average of one for three in the CEE region). The ECMT recently called for improved cooperation between the European Union and CEE countries, noting at a 2001 conference on Intelligent Transport Systems in CEE Countries that a common platform between the CEE and EU countries to establish future transport telematics projects would be beneficial. The HEAVEN project already responds to this call, and more specific information can be found online at heaven.rec.org. The final results of the project s research were made available at a conference hosted in Prague on December 5-6, 2002 (see heaven.rec.org/conference-prague.html for the meeting's conclusions). The event was attended by more than 100 transport and environment experts from 37 urban administrations across Europe, who heard from HEAVEN's partner cities how the decision support system and information platform could be transferred to other towns and cities. Key decision makers also discussed the issue of integrating transport and environment into the decision-making process through the use of information technology. They concluded HEAVEN offers a reliable platform for future integrated assessment at the European level of the environmental and health impacts of urban transport. The HEAVEN initiative is now looking to build on its success by involving other European cities. A proposal could be developed and considered for submission to the recently launched multiannual Sixth Framework Programme on Research and Technological Development. NGOs gear up for Kiev To ensure significant representation by environmental groups at the Environment for Europe Conference in Kiev in May 2003, the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, with support from the Norwegian Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, awarded grants to six different groups from the Balkans and European Union candidate states. A total of EUR 163,000 was given, with the hope of ensuring a well-defined and properly implemented session at Kiev 2003 for non-governmental organisations, including the separate NGO session with the environmental ministers of participating states. The grants were intended to promote cooperation and networking between NGOs in Central and Eastern Europe and to improve lobbying strategies and collaborative work with the working committee for Kiev 2003. The grant winners plan to attend Kiev 2003, to promote their work Kiev 2003 is the continuation of the so-called Environment for Europe process, which began in 1991. The lead NGOs that received grants, and their projects, are: Man and Krkonose, Czech Republic: Raising mountain issues. Borrowed Nature Association, Bulgaria: Environmental education. CEEWEB, Hungary: Promoting biodiversity. Institute for Sustainable Development, Poland: Promoting local think tanks in enlarged Europe. Gliwice chapter of Polish Ecological Club: Mitigating agriculture's impact on biodiversity. Environmental Law Center, Poland: Establishing liability for industrial accidents. Cities win EU funds Fifteen municipalities from European Union candidate countries have won grants to help them achieve compliance with EU environmental laws. The grants, sponsored by the European Commission, were earmarked for implementation of EU environmental legislation related to pollution and public awareness raising. Eligibility was restricted to local authorities in the 10 countries expected to enter the EU in 2004 plus Turkey. The grants call was a follow-up to the "City Towards EU Compliance Awards" in 2001, and targeted the winners of those grants. An evaluation panel comprised of three independent experts winnowed 29 applications down to 15, who shared EUR 213,299 in grants. The winning municipalities, and their projects, are: Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic: Inventory of illegal dumps. Mesto Trebic, Czech Republic: Implementing strategy for EC waste directives. City Board of Pulawy, Poland: Ecological education for local residents. Giurgiu City Hall, Romania: Raising awareness about environmental laws. Ramnicu Valcea Town Hall, Romania: Public involvement in environmental protection. Municipality of Wagrowiec, Poland: Education about selective waste collection. Tapolca Town Municipality, Hungary: Improving access to environmental information. Municipality of Miskolc, Hungary: Improving access to environmental information. Municipal Office in Elblag, Poland: Expanding selective waste collection. Municipality of Maribor, Slovenia: Sustainable use of underground water. City of Kladno, Czech Republic: Making waste collection EU-compatible. Municipality of Domzale, Slovenia: Public participation in making laws EU-compatible. Kaunas City Municipality, Lithuania: Air quality improvement. Municipality of Etropole, Bulgaria: Models for adapting to EU environmental legislation. Office of town Rimavska Sobota, Slovakia: Expanding selective waste collection. German grants boost SEE cooperation Protection of the imperial eagle, a campaign against genetically modified foods (GMOs) and the protection of water from mining operations were among 11 winning project proposals recently awarded by the German government's GTZ corporation. In cooperation with the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), GTZ an agency dedicated to improving the living conditions and perspectives of people in developing and transition countries awarded a total of EUR 290,000 to projects to be carried out by 30 non-governmental organisations based in South Eastern Europe. The lead NGOs that received grants, and their winning projects, are: Greener Bourgas Foundation: Addressing pollution of Black Sea shoreline and lakes. Centre for Environmentally Sustainable Development: Mine water pollution control. Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds: Protecting endangered birds, including the imperial eagle. Za Zemiata (For the Earth) : Putting environment on the reconstruction agenda. Green Network of Vojvodina: Promoting GMO-free goods in supermarkets. Svetla Nikolova, Bulgaria: Promoting organic agriculture. Centre for Environmental Information and Education: Promoting traditional handicrafts for sustainable development. Knowledge Association: : Motivating youth against global warming. BlueLink Information Network: Improving information exchange by environmental groups. Eco Association Children of the Earth : Establishing financial mechanisms to conserve biodiversity. Milvus Group: Working against the smuggling of endangered birds. REC staff on the move NEW STAFF Nicholas Bown - User Support Assistant Kornelia Deak - Receptionist Petur Farkas - Project Officer, CO Hungary Igor Kostovski - Project assistant, CO Macedonia Tinatin Kvatchantiradze - Project Assistant Meelis Magi - Financial Assistant, CO Estonia Robert Orban - Civil Servant Marina Ordzanova - Project Assistant, CO Macedonia Kornelija Radovanovic - Project Manager, CO Macedonia Julia Skarabot - Project Manager, Slovenia Ilze Strausa - Project Officer, CO Latvia Kristina Vilimaite - Project Officer, Library and Information Services Motoharu Yamazaki - Direc--tor of Japan Special Fund OTHER CHANGES Grazyna Krzywkowska - from Information Programme to Environmental Policy Programme DEPARTURES Lajos Farmakisz - Receptionist Balazs Kovacs - Head of Site Management Unit Mary McKinley - Communications Manager Kazunobu Onogawa - Assistant Executive Director and Director of Japan Special Fund Otilia Petre - Project Officer, Information Services Merje Polma - Financial Assistant, CO Estonia Zlatko Samardjiev - Project Manager, CO Macedonia Damir Selak - GTZ, Local Project Officer Sunita Selak - GTZ, Local Project Officer Dragana Tar - Project Manager Balazs Toth - Civil Servant Edvard Zdesar - Information Officer, CO Slovenia |
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NGOs
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