Common interests address common questions in Graz
Some say the Spirit of Rio is dying, but environmental ministries
disagree. In Graz, Austria on 28 August, the environmental ministers
from four Danube countries discussed global and regional environmental
issues, including UNCED's Agenda 21 and the Lucerne conference's
Environmental Action Program. The conference brought together
environmental ministers and representatives from Slovenia, Hungary,
Slovakia, and Austria. It was held in order to keep communication lines
open regarding both global and regional environmental issues shared by
these four countries that share the Danube River, says Zsuzsanna
Arokati of the Department for International Cooperation in Hungary's
Ministry of Environment and Regional Planning. Other issues, including
ways of creating multilateral cooperation, information sharing and
regional economic and environmental issues, were also discussed.
There were no official agreements made during the conference, but the
countries agreed to hold a series of workshops about environmental
measurement and information systems. Hungarian and Slovak
environmental ministries discussed separately the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros
Dam, but the plenary session's agenda did not include the dam. Says
Arokati, the conference took place in a common feeling of cooperation,
so the Spirit of Rio may be alive afterall. A larger question is,
however, if this spirit will turn into real action and long-term
results.
Contact:
Department for International Cooperation
Ministry of Environment and Regional Planning
Budapest, Hungary
tel: (36-1) 201-3843, fax: (36-1) 201-2846
THE BULLETIN * AUTUMN 1994