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taught online A new interactive website will help governments implement an environmental protocol that will be opened for signature at the May Environment for Europe conference in Kiev. This virtual classroom, now under development, is intended to smooth adoption of the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) Protocol under the Aarhus Convention. Sponsored by the Dutch government, this website will officially be launched at the Kiev conference on May 22, when the PRTR Protocol will be opened for signature. The virtual classroom will give technical assistance for the protocol's implementation practical help to countries which decide to develop and operate such systems. The site will be presented at a conference side event on the launch date. The virtual classroom will play an especially important role during the period between the protocol's adoption and the date it comes into force. The instructional site will operate under the guidance of the PRTR Working Group and will be hosted by an international organisation such as the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). UNITAR acts in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the UN Environmental Programme, which have extensive experience in PRTR matters. The classroom will be interactive, demand-driven and userfriendly. Interested parties can pose questions about it to moderators at http://prtrvc.unitar.org. The site will set up guidance documents on how to implement the protocol and will serve as a tool for the exchange of technical information about setting up and operating PRTR systems. It will also give scientific and technical support for evaluation of the first step outlined in the protocol and will collect recommendations for further development of the protocol. Possible areas of development include those that could not be fleshed out during the document's negotiations, including on-site transfer, storage, how diffuse pollution sources should fit in reporting requirements, and other issues to be discussed at the first meeting of parties after the protocol enters into force. The virtual classroom will have starter kit to explain how to set up a PRTR system;information on the legislative, institutional and practical steps by countries currently developing such systems;and information on existing PRTR systems in various formats, including video, Internet links and guidance documents. Events that matter The REC's environmental events database has been updated. For information on conferences, workshops, seminars and exhibitions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)or related to CEE, we encourage you to visit the REC's website at www.rec.org. To have your event included on the site, send us an e-mail. New webpage tells about Kiev In preparation for the upcoming conference in Kiev, the REC has launched a page on its website at www.rec.org/REC/Introduction/Kiev2003/. For the Kiev conference, the REC is organising four side events May 21-23 in the ExpoCentre. You can read more about those side events and learn when and where they will take place during the conference. |
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